Chicago PD has a strong roster of characters at the moment. Despite losing two major centerpieces in the form of Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), the IU has kept its chemistry and versatility intact by spreading screen time between its various members. Well, for the most part.
You may have noticed that Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) was absent during the April 2 PD episode "Transference." Sound familiar? Well, that's because the character was also missing during the episode before it, "Seen and Unseen." Two consecutive weeks, and two consecutive episodes without the officer initially pegged to replace Halstead. What's going on?
Dante Torres has missed 2 episodes
To be clear, missing an episode of a One Chicago show in 2025 is not concerning. In fact, it's become the norm. NBC has seemingly tried to keep costs a bit lower for the franchise by having actors miss a storyline/episode in which their presence is not essential. We've seen it done with Torres in the past. Two episodes in a row is different, however. So is the way the characters addressed his absence.
When a character is missing for a single episode, there's usually a throwaway line or a comment made to clarify what they are doing and when they'll be back. In the case of Torres, however, the IU is just as perplexed as we are. Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Kiana Cook (Toya Turner) have a brief chat about Torres' whereabouts in "Transference," and they both seem suspicious as to why he's gone.
Burgess says that Torres decided to take a couple days off, but doesn't know why. Both characters exchange a glance, acknowledging the odd nature of Torres' time away, before moving on with the case at hand. We've no doubt that Torres will be coming back in season 12, but this is the latest in a series of writing decisions that lead us to question the character's longevity with the show.
Torres has been consistently underutilized
Torres is the only character who misses multiple episodes at a time. He was literally away during the Chicago PD season 10 finale, the very same season in which he debuted. Then there's the fact that Torres was the least involved IU member when it came to the One Chicago crossover. He didn't really appear until the final hour of the three part event, and when he did, he did some research and then failed to factor into the plot afterwards.
It seems as though PD is unsure of what to do with the character, and given that we've had almost three seasons with him, it has us wondering whether he's being set up for a dramatic exit. Do you want Torres to stick around?