From the moment it was announced that LaRoyce Hawkins would be leaving Chicago PD, the biggest question on the minds of the fans was how the show would write his character, Kevin Atwater, out.
For a good portion of season 13, it looked like perhaps the writers were planning to write Atwater out by having him move to Miami. However, as season 13 neared its conclusion, it was Tasha who decided to make a move by leaving Miami to return to Chicago.
One prominent theory throughout the summer hiatus was that perhaps Tasha would change her mind and the show would then have Atwater leave Chicago to move to Miami to be with her and his child. However, that theory was quickly dismissed in the season 14 premiere when we learned that Tasha was indeed still in Chicago and due to give birth at any moment. With this piece of news, fans were left with more questions over how the writers would craft an exit storyline for Atwater, but the promo for Hawkins’ final appearance on the show offered up a subtle, yet major, clue for how Chicago PD might be preparing to write his character Kevin Atwater out.
It looks like Atwater is going to walk away from the CPD
In the promo for LaRoyce Hawkins’ final episode of Chicago PD, fans get the chance to see that his son has arrived, and becoming a father has quickly changed how Atwater sees the world. There isn’t much spoiled in the promo for the episode, but there is a quick moment that happens between clips of Atwater holding his son and working a case alongside his Intelligence Unit colleagues that could hold the key to his exit.
During a brief moment in the middle of the trailer, we see Atwater standing at his locker at the precinct looking in the mirror as he pulls his shirt away from his chest, a concerned look painted on his face as he looks down at the area. We don’t see what exactly Atwater is seeing, but it seems safe to assume that perhaps he was injured on a call and is looking at a wound.
Although it’s clear by his appearance in the scene that this injury was not severe, it might end up being the catalyst that leads him to make a very difficult decision: walking away from the CPD.
“For the past 14 years, the 21st district has been my home,” we hear Atwater say at one point in the trailer, a line that we have a strong feeling will come via a final address he gives his Intelligence colleagues after wrapping his final shift with the CPD. This is followed by Voight telling him, “You deserve that, so does your son,” as the trailer closes out.
Pieced together with the clip of Atwater in the locker room, it looks like Atwater is going to have some sort of close call while on the job, and it’ll make him realize he no longer wants to work a job that puts his life on the line every day. Sure, he’s always known there were risks to this job, but now that he has a son, his view on life has likely changed. We know how important it is to Atwater to be in his son’s life, and we imagine that a close call on the job would be all it takes to give him clarity about his priorities and the nudge to make a change.
We’re not sure what that change might entail, but Atwater walking away from the CPD to put his family first would be very on brand for Atwater and make for a perfect sendoff for a beloved character.
Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC and is available to stream the following day on Peacock.
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