Chicago PD had an excellent showing in the One Chicago crossover. Characters like Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) got plenty chance to shine. We even got some a subplot involving Trudy Platt (Amy Morton).
The three-part event did an excellent job of incorporating the police drama into a larger framework. One character, however, seemed out of place. Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar), the officer who arguably spearheaded PD's fall finale, was barely a factor in the crossover event.
Torres had nothing to do during the crossover
He appeared, which is more than can be said for some of the other PD characters, but he barely had anything to do. Torres didn't show up until roughly an hour into the special, and when he did, he was relegated to doing research and relaying information to Voight.
Torres has been around longer than Kiana Cook (Toya Turner), who was introduced much earlier and managed to get more screen time opposite Chicago Fire and Med characters. We didn't think Torres would lead the charge for the IU or anything, but his usage rate confirms a long held belief that we've had, which is that PD writers don't know what to do with him.
Torres was introduced as an action guy, a gung-ho specialist in the field who benefited from having a knowledge of the Chicago streets. He had a little bit of his mentor, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), in him, even if he was still a little green.
The character hasn't been given much depth
Since his introduction, though, Torres has struggled to get his footing. He had a compelling arc with the informant Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez), but both of her appearances revolved around Torres' bad decisions. One of the character's other notable storylines saw him torture a suspect for information.
Now going to extreme measures is nothing new in the world of Chicago PD. Voight used to be a pro when it came to cutting corners. The thing is, Torres hasn't really been given the time to showcase other aspects of his personality or his propensity for police work. He gets the spotlight when he's doing something bad, and then gets pushed to the margins the rest of the time.
This gives us a very limited perspective on the character. The aforementioned Cook has been around for less time, but the writers have already done a better job of fleshing her out and showcasing her depth. We'd like to see the same attention paid to Torres moving forward.