Chicago PD season 6 character preview: Antonio Dawson

What should happen

The end of last season set Antonio Dawson up to be exactly what Chicago PD season 6 needs: a contrary voice. Chicago PD would have benefited from somebody who would seriously push back against Voight a long time ago, but no one’s ever materialized. Characters argue for an episode or two, but nobody actually draws a line in the sand.

Especially if the show wants to be relevant, the best thing possible is for Antonio to have told the truth to the higher-ups, and not supported Voight’s version of events. It’s hard to have a season that talks about police reform, when Voight runs around unreformed and for the most part, totally unapologetic about it.

Antonio should disagree with him, and it should be for more than the season premiere. He should be the yin to Voight’s yang, and create that push-pull dynamic that will re-energize the show. The two can be on opposite sides ideologically while still being on the same team. It doesn’t mean they don’t care about each other, or they aren’t teammates; it just means they think differently.

When it comes to personal stories, no one should touch Antonio’s personal life with a ten-foot pole this season. Chicago Fire made a pretty good mess of it last season. How about focusing on more of Antonio as a parent?

We haven’t seen much of that, and there isn’t a lot of parenting seen on screen in One Chicago. Showing Antonio as a hard-working single father, trying to co-parent with his ex-wife Laura, would be diving into a side that the entire franchise has been somewhat missing. And maybe focusing on his kids would be healthier for him, too.