We have been critical of Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) in the past. Well, we've been critical of the way Chicago PD writers have used Torres. The character and the actor who plays him has a lot of potential, but it feels like the writers are still unsure of how to implement him in the show.
Torres will finally become a crucial player during the final leg of season 12, but it won't be for the reasons one might expect. The officer has been striving to prove himself a worthy member of the IU, and has tried his hardest to move past his professional mistakes. Well, that is not going to happen. Instead, Torres will become more important because of his mistakes.
Torres will be targeted by Chief Deputy Reid
Shawn Hatosy, the actor who plays resident PD villain Chief Deputy Reid, confirmed that Torres will become a very useful pawn in upcoming episodes. Reid knows that Torres was romantically involved with ex-informant and drug queen pin Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez), despite the IU's best efforts to cover it up.
"[Reid] is so damn smart, because he sort of understands where the holes are," the actor explained to Us Weekly, before singling out Torres as a weak link. Reid knows the way Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) thinks, since they are so alike, and will use Torres in a manner that drives the PD protagonist up a wall.
"Reid has a scene with a vulnerable Torres, and he asks him to do something, which he then does," Hatosy teased. "And that just sort of sends Voight sideways." The Torres move makes perfect sense, since the young officer is less "wise" to Reid's games, and has done a much worse job of covering up the skeletons in his closet.
The character's mistakes will be exploited
Torres makes the most sense as a pawn in the Reid vs. Voight conflict. The other members of the IU are too experienced to flip on Voight, and while we don't doubt Torres' loyalty, we can easily imagine a situation in which Reid freaks him out enough that he tries to save his own neck by playing along.
Torres' tenure on Chicago PD has been characterized by mistakes and regretful actions. We were hoping he'd get a chance to iron out his swing, so to speak, and show improvement as the season wore on. Unfortunately, it sounds like the character could be on the cusp of making his biggest mistake to date.
"This isn’t your team. This is my team," Hatosy said, when asked to explain Reid's perspective. "The fans love that, right? They love it when people mess with Voight." We can only that Torres and Voight manage to outsmart the Chief Deputy.