5 reasons Chicago PD will regret killing Alvin Olinsky

4. He was an ally for Voight

One of the great recurring elements of Chicago PD was the long-running friendship between Alvin Olinsky and Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). The two shared more than a few drinks and long talks, and they could always speak to each other in a frank way that they didn’t necessarily with the show’s other characters. And as the final scene of the season finale showed, Voight really needs an ally like Olinsky in his life.

Loyalty is the paramount virtue on Chicago PD, which has cultivated this idea of the Intelligence Unit against the world. No one in the show’s main cast would dare turn against Voight, even as the show has had many of them suffer because of their dedication to their team and their boss (which was a point illustrated again this season, never moreso than in Olinsky’s storyline). There was no one more loyal to Voight than Olinsky, which led to Woods telling Voight “he dedicated his life to you.”

But through a variety of circumstances the show has chipped away at Voight’s bubble. When Sophia Bush chose to leave the series after Chicago PD season 4, that removed Erin Lindsay, who was like a daughter to him. That’s not the show’s fault, but it’s still something that the series has to deal with and factor in as it chooses where its characters go. Now by killing off Olinsky, that’s both of Voight’s biggest supporters who aren’t there anymore. Who is going to be Voight’s shoulder to lean on now? Who will rein him in?

The only series regular who has that pre-series history with Voight left is Trudy Platt (Amy Morton). But she doesn’t get a lot of scenes, since Platt works mostly behind the desk at the district and not with the rest of the team—and in the last few episodes of Chicago PD season 5 she was mostly absent anyway.

Does Chicago PD beef up Platt’s role to give Voight that old friend he needs? Or how exactly is it going to fill that hole? It’s something Voight will have to figure out next season, but it’s also a very real question for the writers that they’ve now forced themselves to answer.