5 reasons Chicago PD will regret killing Alvin Olinsky

5. He had a unique voice

Alvin Olinsky was unlike any other character on Chicago PD. Not only that, but he was unlike most of the characters that you see on TV cop dramas. Most shows focus on cops that are younger, or better-looking, or somehow special like they’re great at their jobs or have some kind of quirk. In Olinsky, we had none of those things—and that’s what made him stand out in a crowded genre.

Not to detract from any of those other TV cops, many of which we love, but Olinsky felt so much like a real cop. He wasn’t some twentysomething handsome guy out chasing down bad guys and looking cool doing it; so what? He didn’t have an interoffice romance; he had his troubled marriage to Meredith (which, our hearts are breaking just imagining how she reacted to the news of Alvin’s death!).

He wasn’t some kind of supercop; he got where he was by working hard and keeping his head down—so far down that there was that running gag in the early episodes where Voight would forget Olinsky had even shown up for work! Even his name wouldn’t be considered cool; the best known Alvin is an animated chipmunk.

But all these things made Alvin Olinsky special. He provided the perspective of a veteran cop from another era. He let his work speak for him, and it said a lot. He gave us an older character when TV is usually full of younger points of view. There was so much he brought to the table that we don’t have anymore, and it won’t be easy to replace.