Chicago PD season 6 midseason report card: What worked, what didn’t?
As Chicago PD takes its midseason break, it’s time to ask: what parts of Chicago PD season 6 worked, what didn’t, and what’s coming next?
The new season of Chicago PD has reached its halfway point, which means it’s time for only one thing: our annual midseason report card!
The sixth season has seen the Intelligence Unit pick up the pieces after the controversial death of Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas), and they haven’t done that well. There was a literal fight among team members, a drunken fling for two more, and one of them has a drug problem. In general, this has not been their best season.
So what should fans make of all this? There have been highs, lows and questions throughout the first half of the season, and this report card is where we discuss them all.
We’re going to walk you through the parts of the first half that worked best and the ones that did not quite work out. Then last but not least, we’ll give you our opinions on what could happen next based on what we’ve seen in the first nine episodes. Starting with:
What worked
Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) got another spotlight episode, and he’s also had some good scenes in other episodes. He still hasn’t gotten as much screen time as LaRoyce Hawkins ought to have, but Chicago PD has given him some chances to shine—and he has been brilliant with every single one of them.
In her second full season on the show, Tracy Spiridakos continues to be excellent. More backstory has been given to her character Hailey Upton, and Spiridakos is poised, tough and an overall great actress. She and Jesse Lee Soffer have developed better chemistry as Upton and Jay Halstead’s partnership continues to grow in the face of challenges for each of them individually.
It was important for Chicago PD to give fans a chance to mourn Olinsky, since one was actually cut out of last season’s finale. The memorial service it presented in the season premiere was perfect, giving the audience what it deserved to have and had been waiting for.
And while the show itself has had its weak points, in a general sense, props have to be given to all of the actors. They’ve been solid this season, delivering good performances even when some plot choices have been surprising or suspect. That means there’s plenty of potential there when some of the kinks get worked out.