5 reasons Chicago PD will regret killing Alvin Olinsky

2. It could’ve been written better

Okay, so Chicago PD for one reason or another had to have Alvin Olinsky die. Fine. Even if we accept that, the actual circumstances surrounding his death are something that the show could have handled very differently.

We learned in “Homecoming” that Olinsky was targeted by a drug lord he had once investigated as part of a DEA task force, as revenge for how that investigation had killed Carlos DeLeon’s brother. His murder was revenge for something that had happened years ago, that his colleagues (and the fans) just now learned about.

It felt like Olinsky’s equivalent of Jay Halstead’s randomly appearing ex-wife. Yes, the plot made logical sense, but it wasn’t satisfying from a story or character development perspective. Fans may have thought that Woods put somebody up to attacking Olinsky, and if you think about that for a second, even though it was obvious it would’ve actually been a better idea.

First of all, it had a better logical foundation because that’s the story we’ve been tracking all season long. Woods wouldn’t want Olinsky to die, but having him injured would be another wayto put pressure on Voight. And we know that Woods has unethical ways of doing things; that was how his character was introduced back in Chicago PD season 4!

Plus, Denny being directly involved in Olinsky’s murder would’ve enraged both Voight and the audience—building up even more anticipation for the final showdown between Voight and Woods, which could’ve turned into an actual fight. (But that’s a discussion for another article.) Especially if the intent of killing Olinsky was to punish Voight, why not make the person going after Voight the one responsible?

Yes, Woods is connected to Olinsky’s death because he’s the one who had Olinsky put in jail in the first place, but only coincidentally so. He didn’t tip DeLeon off or collude with him. The exact circumstances of Olinsky’s death were a whole separate thing. And that’s why they didn’t have as much impact, because a plotline created for one episode can’t compare to a story that Chicago PD has had us invest a whole season into.