Is Chicago PD screwing up the Intelligence Unit?

Chicago PD season 6 has tested Intelligence with personal tragedies and numerous plot twists. But how much is too much for the Chicago PD team?

When Chicago PD killed off Alvin Olinsky at the end of the fifth season, One Chicago fans knew that the Intelligence Unit would have issues. Viewers expected, and welcomed, the idea that it wouldn’t be the same after losing a beloved character.

But the turbulence that Chicago PD season 6 has brought has been major—both in terms of the stress it’s putting on the characters, and a series of plot twists that might not be the best for the overall health of the show.

Almost every main character has had either a crushing personal blow or shocking plot twist this season, and those who haven’t aren’t around enough. And this is only six episodes into the new season!

So in its quest to change the unit and provide entertainment, could the show have gone too far?

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The way Chicago PD handed Olinsky’s (Elias Koteas) memorial and the effects of his absence was perfect. Fans finally saw the other characters mourn, and we were able to mourn with them.

Plus, Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) understandably was lost without his best friend, and audiences saw how the team failed to function in Voight’s absence. The season premiere explored every facet of an Olinsky-less world.

But after that, things have been terrible for many characters, and sometimes it feels terrible just for the purposes of creating dramatic TV.

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Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) is the foremost example. He’s a character whom Chicago PD put through the wringer last season, having him go into a downward spiral caused by post-traumatic stress issues (even though those issues were mostly explored off-screen). Halstead lost his longtime girlfriend between seasons, almost lost his badge when he accidentally shot a child in “Reform” and then needed therapy.

Then this season, the decision was made—albeit in an episode of Chicago Med—to kill his father Pat (Louis Herthum). Not only did the Chicago Crossover have Pat die, but he died with Jay having called him a “thankless old prick,” and then Jay wound up getting shot chasing down the man who was responsible.

But Jay Halstead isn’t the only Chicago PD character who’s had trouble. While Voight spent the first part of the season getting beaten up while mourning Olinsky, Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) now has a shoulder injury that may or may not imply a possible drug addiction, Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) lied to a review board, and this week Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) not only saw his father get shot but found out that he’s also broke.

Television shows have to create drama, but this isn’t ordinary TV drama. These are all big changes, all happening to the same group of people in a relatively short period of time. And what’s almost more concerning is that some of them don’t seem to make a lot of sense.

Take Antonio’s shoulder. Is Chicago PD season 6 hinting that he’s hooked on those painkillers he lied about taking, or is he just covering up an injury out of pride? We don’t know yet, because the show brought it up in “Ride Along” and then completely ignored it in the next episode.

Or there’s Burgess, who has looked up to Voight and trusted him so completely that she listened to him over her boyfriend in last season’s “Politics”, pushing his advice aside and instead taking the word of Katherine Brennan (Anne Heche) instead.

Why does Burgess listen to someone she has no reason to trust, especially over someone she has every reason to believe? Just because Brennan painted her as a “female hero”? And then she was shocked when the Deputy Superintendent left her twisting in the wind. Burgess shouldn’t be that naive, especially the Burgess who’s been painted as a savvier, more cynical cop since coming up to Intelligence.

Burgess’s ex-fiancee Ruzek is now carrying on an affair with Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), and Chicago PD fans are divided about it, with good reason. That plot twist is a slap in the face to fans of Burzek, who were teased with a reconciliation between them for the last two seasons.

The show had Ruzek and Burgess kiss when he returned from his undercover work in the fourth season, then they had a one-night stand during the fifth season. Why have those things happen if the series had no intention of paying them off? Ruzek and Upton’s pairing felt like choosing the one that had more surprise value than the one it had actually been setting up.

And even if you’re not a Burzek shipper, it’s just not quite convincing. Upton is so upset that Halstead could have died that she…gets drunk and sleeps with someone else? And she so wants to ignore that it happened that she…goes out and does it again? The logic isn’t there.

If Chicago PD had allowed Ruzek and Upton to develop, like actually showing us signs of potential romantic interest between the two, this could’ve been a perfectly acceptable pairing. Even if they had the drunken one-night stand, it could have gone from there and let them grow closer to each other.

But they’re just falling into bed together, there’s no relationship development, so there’s no feeling of authenticity. Even in this week’s episode “Fathers and Sons” when Upton showed up at the ED to check on Ruzek, it didn’t feel like they were that close. She showed more concern when she was checking on Halstead after that accidental shooting last season.

Upton deserves better than Chicago PD throwing her into a ship without a purpose, especially one that has her demonstrating less than great judgment and that will cause all kinds of trouble when Burgess inevitably discovers it. She’s a great, dynamic character but that’s all the show has going for her—which will hopefully change with next Wednesday’s Upton-centric episode.

But she’s not the only one whom Chicago PD season 6 has short-changed. Both Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) and Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) continue to sit on the sidelines. Platt had one scene in this week’s episode. Her character is a bit harder to write for because of her job, but if she’s going to be a main character, she ought to be treated as such.

The lack of storylines for Atwater is even more confusing, because it’s been going on for more than one season and because when LaRoyce Hawkins gets the chance (like “Captive”) he always delivers. There’s no reason not to use him more. And when Chicago PD has used him, it’s him getting kidnapped, or his brother and sister being sent away—never to be seen and hardly ever mentioned again.

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Chicago PD season 6 has been the lowest-rated One Chicago show so far this season, and that’s understandable, because it’s frustrating. The show seems to be making the choices that are more dramatic or shocking than authentic, whether it’s knocking around its characters for the emotional impact or having them make decisions that don’t always ring true.

This series has a fantastic ensemble cast, and this season has such a rich opportunity to tell new stories, whether it’s adjusting in the wake of Olinsky’s death, or tackling some of those issues that the show didn’t last season when it became focused on Denny Woods’ battle with Voight.

It can do so much more than this—but at the very least, it deserves to give its characters a break. Only a month and a half into the season, and the Intelligence Unit is looking a lot worse for wear.