Chicago PD season 13 has been a polarizing season among audiences. The season has developed a problem of sidelining many of its original characters in favor of giving bigger storylines to its newer characters. Among the original characters who have failed to get much time in the spotlight this season is LaRoyce Hawkins’ Officer Kevin Atwater.
While Atwater has appeared in most of the season’s episodes, he hasn’t really had much to do in many of the episodes outside the season’s two Atwater-focused episodes. Those two particular episodes have been standouts of the season, giving one of the show’s few remaining original characters a chance to truly shine.
The first of Atwater’s two big episodes came in season 13, episode 5, “Miami,” which introduced audiences to Tasha Fox, Atwater’s former friend from his academy days. The pair were thrust back together after a bombing in downtown Chicago, and their time working the case together brought up some old feelings, leading to the rekindling of an old flame. The only problem was that Tasha was leaving Chicago, having accepted a job in Miami.
Before Tasha left town, she and Atwater enjoyed a romantic night together, and that night ended up leading to an unexpected reveal in Chicago PD season 13, episode 11, “On the Way.”
“On the Way” saw Atwater going undercover to bring down a carjacking ring. The episode gave fans the chance to see Atwater take the lead once again in an episode that was one of the season’s best yet. Not only did the episode feature an entertaining case, but it also ended with the season’s biggest plot twist so far.
After Atwater had reached out to Tasha early in the episode, she decided to reach out and surprised him with a visit as the episode came to a close. However, this wasn’t a casual, “Hey, how have you been? Let's enjoy some sexy time,” type visit. Tasha came to town to inform Atwater that she was pregnant, a bombshell that left both Atwater and the viewers excited but also speechless.
We’re thrilled that Atwater is about to become a father and we know he’s going to be an amazing dad, because he’s already proven this by looking after his younger siblings. It’s going to be so fun getting to see Atwater embark on this journey of becoming a first-time parent, and we’re so happy that after seasons of failed love connections, Chicago PD seems to finally be giving Atwater a true chance at happiness with Tasha.
There’s just one problem. We’re also terrified about what this storyline could mean for his future on Chicago PD and that it might bring the end to Hawkins’ time on the show.
Tasha only recently uprooted her life in Chicago to move to Miami, and we can’t imagine she’s going to want to give up this new life in Miami to come running back to Chicago. While Atwater made it clear to Tasha before she originally left town for Miami that the Windy City is his home, knowing that he has a child on the way might change that stance.
We cannot imagine a world in which Atwater is not involved in his child’s life and would not want to be present for all of the firsts that come along. This means there is a real chance he could choose to leave Chicago and move to Miami to be with Tasha. In fact, this storyline feels like the perfect exit storyline for the character by providing a reason for him to leave town. It’s almost reminiscent of the storyline we saw with Upton in which it became evident little by little over the course of her final season on the show that she needed a change of pace. After hinting at a possible exit all season, Upton ultimately left Chicago to start fresh and pursue a new career venture in the finale.
Our hope is that we’re letting our fear get the best of us and that Atwater is not going anywhere, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the show might have just introduced an exit storyline for Hawkins right under our noses.