S06.E13: Night in Chicago

[zoey1996]

Quote

Atwater goes undercover to bring down the longtime head of a criminal enterprise and becomes entangled in a situation that tests his allegiances as well as his conscience.

If someone else has started a topic for this episode, I couldn't find it.

Atwater was put in the middle of a dilemma: out himself as undercover and completely blow the investigation, or keep undercover and risk his and his perp's lives.  I didn't get why he basically lied for the patrol cop, and then went to beat him up.  I understand the frustration and anger, as much as I am able, though.

[spunky]

This episode was a heavy one, for a few reasons.    Ike Smith (the writer), Eriq La Salle as the director and LaRoyce did an excellent job.  This episode reflected what happens in real life when it comes to some interactions between law enforcement and the Black community. There were also other subliminal messages within the episode, such as the date on which it was aired and Kevin wearing a hooded sweatshirt.   Kevin was between a rock and a hard place. He works with a unit which seemed to be ignorant to his internal struggle, with the exception of Adam. Adam made a great point when he said that he could never understand what Kevin just experienced. Voight seemed a little dismissive of Kevin's emotional turmoil, which is surprising since he heard the interaction. Speaking of Voight, I can't believe he just sat there, while the rest of his team begged him to intervene. I understand why Kevin said it was a good shoot, even though that cop was clearly racist i.e. calling Black men "boys" among other things, Darryl did lunge for his gun.  I have to say bad ass Kevin is just as sexy as calm level headed Kevin. Hopefully his mini Voight moment does not come back to bite him.  

[spunky]

3 hours ago, zoey1996 said:

If someone else has started a topic for this episode, I couldn't find it.

Atwater was put in the middle of a dilemma: out himself as undercover and completely blow the investigation, or keep undercover and risk his and his perp's lives.  I didn't get why he basically lied for the patrol cop, and then went to beat him up.  I understand the frustration and anger, as much as I am able, though.

I think he said it was good shoot because, the video showed Daryl lunging forward, and there was no audio which would back him if he stated that the cop escalated things.  So he did what he needed to do to keep his job, and then got his revenge later. Notice that cop without his gun , like most bullies couldn't fight back when someone bigger and stronger stood up to him. 

[UNOSEZ]

I think the show dropped the ball a bit... Tho I appreciated ad talking to Kevin and being a friend... The episode could been real powerful if some of the heavy lifting was done by some of the rest of the team... Its like they had no reaction maybe having Upton or burgess discussing it.. Or Adam and Jay could reached more ppl.. Instead Kevin had to just shoulder it alone and got very little support.. Burgess said like 3 words to him.. It was just odd

[TigerLynx]

I appreciated Atwater getting so much screen time. 

Voight is a jackass.  I know - Duh!

My thought at the end was:

- Corrupt cops dealing with more corrupt cops 

- Corrupt politicians dealing with more corrupt politicians

- Drug dealers - one dead, another arrested, and the others just keep doing business

And - Ruzek actually said something halfway intelligent.  How the hell did that happen?

Edited February 12, 2019 by TigerLynx

[langford peel]

What a great and really unique episode for this series.

The police are racist killers and the drug dealing muderous gang banger is the innocent victim!

Who coulda seen that one coming?

Dick Wolf is full of surprises!

[doLLish]

This episode highlighted something that has bothered me for a while but I couldn’t put my finger on it. 

Kevin is totally alone. No girlfriend. No family. No friends or co-workers that can relate to him on a deeper level that understand what he goes through. When everyone else has issues, they have very deep scenes with their co-workers/lovers/family consoling them and commiserating with them. They might even end up at their apartment drinking. Who does Kevin drink with? Last season or prior I would have said Burgess, but even that has cooled. Burgess used to babysit his brother and sister and was supposedly constantly in his home but we barely see Burgess these days period, let alone as a friend to anyone.

He’s also the only one constantly having to bear the burden of his community and betray people that relate to him. No one else has to deal with that. This character and this actor deserve better. He needs a girlfriend in the same way that Boden from Chicago Fire needed Donna. You don’t see her often but when Boden is going through it, she’s who he leans on. You want to use Atwater to carry out undesirable, heavy storylines? Fine. Flesh him out. Make him more than "the black guy in Intelligence."

The episode, while very powerful and well acted by LaRoyce Hawkins, left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Edited February 12, 2019 by doLLish

[Guildford]

I really wish Atwater was more than just 'black v blue' that is all his episodes are ever about. There has to be more to him than that. I understand that this is a big issue for him, but can they not give him something else. Every single time he's in the spotlight it's the same old story. 

As always he does an outstanding job I'd just like to see more imaginative stories for him.

On 2/12/2019 at 10:54 AM, doLLish said:

This episode highlighted something that has bothered me for a while but I couldn’t put my finger on it. 

Kevin is totally alone. No girlfriend. No family. No friends or co-workers that can relate to him on a deeper level that understand what he goes through. When everyone else has issues, they have very deep scenes with their co-workers/lovers/family consoling them and commiserating with them. They might even end up at their apartment drinking. Who does Kevin drink with? Last season or prior I would have said Burgess, but even that has cooled. Burgess used to babysit his brother and sister and was supposedly constantly in his home but we barely see Burgess these days period, let alone as a friend to anyone.

This is also a sad reality of the Rick Eid world of PD.....no one is friends with anyone. He can't write well rounded stories.

The only time he's shown personal stuff is when he is trying to shove his 'love triangle' down people's throats.....Ruzek gets jammed up, where were his friends? They pretend not to notice he was in trouble and the writers just let Upton act like she cares about him for a nanosecond, Halstead has a rough day, let's get Upton to gaze longingly into his eyes....Upton has a bad day....let's get Halstead to prop her up and have Ruzek turn up to prop her up too....I sense a pattern. 

So sorry Atwater, unless you start sleeping with or wanting to sleep with Upton you don't get to have friends or any emotional support.

Edited February 13, 2019 by Guildford
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[langford peel]

12 hours ago, Guildford said:

I really wish Atwater was more than just 'black v blue' that is all his episodes are ever about. There has to be more to him than that. I understand that this is a big issue for him, but can they not give him something else. Every single time he's in the spotlight it's the same old story

It is easy to understand. Atwater is only here to service the purpose of this series. Which is to attack the police in general and the Chicago Police Department in particular.

Every episode and every plot is in service of a narrative that the police are courrpt and racist and the true criminals in any interaction with the public. 

The only two half way decent people have already been trashed this season. Antonio who is supposed to be a decent cop with morals proceeded to murder someone while high on drugs. Trudy who often stood out as the voice of reason works hand and hand with Hank to help the coverup.

Of course the higher ups are uniformly corrupt criminals.

Isn’t there a decent law abiding policeman in Chicago?

Not on a Dick Wolf show.

Edited February 12, 2019 by langford peel

[Kel Varnsen]

I am kind of torn on this one. On the one hand I liked that they explored a real issue of racism in a police department and that they actually gave the actor who plays Atwater something to do. On the other hand fuck off show. Can you really say that those cops are bad guys when it was what like 5 episodes ago where Antonio also murdered a suspect and that one was totally swept under the rug.

Besides that it's good to see that Burgess is still an idiot. I mean seriously lady maybe mention that you understand Spanish before someone actually gets shot.

[WinJet0819]

On 2/11/2019 at 8:54 PM, doLLish said:

This episode highlighted something that has bothered me for a while but I couldn’t put my finger on it. 

Kevin is totally alone. No girlfriend. No family. No friends or co-workers that can relate to him on a deeper level that understand what he goes through. When everyone else has issues, they have very deep scenes with their co-workers/lovers/family consoling them and commiserating with them. They might even end up at their apartment drinking. Who does Kevin drink with? Last season or prior I would have said Burgess, but even that has cooled. Burgess used to babysit his brother and sister and was supposedly constantly in his home but we barely see Burgess these days period, let alone as a friend to anyone.

He’s also the only one constantly having to bear the burden of his community and betray people that relate to him. No one else has to deal with that. This character and this actor deserve better. He needs a girlfriend in the same way that Boden from Chicago Fire needed Donna. You don’t see her often but when Boden is going through it, she’s who he leans on. You want to use Atwater to carry out undesirable, heavy storylines? Fine. Flesh him out. Make him more than "the black guy in Intelligence."

The episode, while very powerful and well acted by LaRoyce Hawkins, left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I couldn't agree more with how Atwater is used on this show. He's basically just filler for most of the episodes. If he's not filler, he's the token black undercover guy. And the ones where he does get a story, he's always put in a tough position, getting pulled both ways by cops and the black community. The one time he actually had a chance at maybe finding love, with a woman who had turned her life around, they take it away. He has to retreat to being a cop, and using leverage over her to try to get a conviction. That's just brutal. You are totally right about him being alone. He deserves better. If anything, I hope he takes his detective exam, before Burgess or Ruzek, and gets some more responsibility. He deserves that much, because the Atwater character is the most realistic one on the show right now.

[WinJet0819]

8 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

I am kind of torn on this one. On the one hand I liked that they explored a real issue of racism in a police department and that they actually gave the actor who plays Atwater something to do. On the other hand fuck off show. Can you really say that those cops are bad guys when it was what like 5 episodes ago where Antonio also murdered a suspect and that one was totally swept under the rug.

Besides that it's good to see that Burgess is still an idiot. I mean seriously lady maybe mention that you understand Spanish before someone actually gets shot.

My prediction was off. I thought it would take 5-6 episodes before Antonio's oxy addiction and his murder of an unarmed suspect was completely forgotten. It took just 2.

Edited February 13, 2019 by WinJet0819

[spunky]

5 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

I couldn't agree more with how Atwater is used on this show. He's basically just filler for most of the episodes. If he's not filler, he's the token black undercover guy. And the ones where he does get a story, he's always put in a tough position, getting pulled both ways by cops and the black community. The one time he actually had a chance at maybe finding love, with a woman who had turned her life around, they take it away. He has to retreat to being a cop, and using leverage over her to try to get a conviction. That's just brutal. You are totally right about him being alone. He deserves better. If anything, I hope he takes his detective exam, before Burgess or Ruzek, and gets some more responsibility. He deserves that much, because the Atwater character is the most realistic one on the show right now.

I agree completely. Atwater is just the token Black on the show.  When they first introduced him, they wrote him as the sole provider for his two siblings with no explanation. After the writers wrote the character into a corner with no way out, they shipped his siblings off to Texas and stated that his father was in prison, but never explained where his mother was. He and Trudy are close, again no back story on that either. Kim is supposedly his best friend but never once checked up on him. He still remains the only member of Voight's team with some common sense, other than that the writers keep dropping the ball with him.  

[langford peel]

Where are the good cops in Chicago?

Isn’t there one cop who is not racist, corrupt or Anne Heche?

I mean who in their right mind would want to be any of those three things?

[TigerLynx]

This is one of the reasons I miss Al, why I like Atwater, and why I wish they hadn't done to Antonio what they did.

Al gave some context as to why cops like Voight had been allowed to run amuck in the past, and why they still try to get away with it today.  Antonio and Atwater try to do the right thing, and follow the rules.  Atwater also provided a look into what the communities who don't trust the cops at all think, and why the present day higher ups try to pretend they are doing things differently, while still doing the exact same thing they always have.

The Intelligence Unit going undercover is just ridiculous.  Everyone knows who they are because these idiots routinely break the rules, and end up in the media because of it.

[Gothish520]

On 2/13/2019 at 4:53 AM, WinJet0819 said:

I couldn't agree more with how Atwater is used on this show. He's basically just filler for most of the episodes. If he's not filler, he's the token black undercover guy. And the ones where he does get a story, he's always put in a tough position, getting pulled both ways by cops and the black community. The one time he actually had a chance at maybe finding love, with a woman who had turned her life around, they take it away. He has to retreat to being a cop, and using leverage over her to try to get a conviction. That's just brutal. You are totally right about him being alone. He deserves better. If anything, I hope he takes his detective exam, before Burgess or Ruzek, and gets some more responsibility. He deserves that much, because the Atwater character is the most realistic one on the show right now.

I don't see that Atwater narrative at all. He's not alone - Ruzek was very eloquent in letting him know that he has his back, always. Yes he is lacking in female companionship, and yes, no else in the unit can really understand what he deals with as a black man, but that does not mean that he is alone and no one cares.

LaRoyce Hawkins commands the screen when he's featured, and Atwater has had some good airtime this season. Kim seems to be the character that has faded into the background lately, but they've all taken their turns at being backup players throughout the series. Before her, Dawson was filler for a while until he got his addiction storyline.  Many characters means that they can't all be featured on a regular basis. Atwater was filler for a long bit but I think he's having his time this season, and I for one recognize and appreciate it.

[WinJet0819]

On 2/14/2019 at 1:47 PM, Gothish520 said:

I don't see that Atwater narrative at all. He's not alone - Ruzek was very eloquent in letting him know that he has his back, always. Yes he is lacking in female companionship, and yes, no else in the unit can really understand what he deals with as a black man, but that does not mean that he is alone and no one cares.

LaRoyce Hawkins commands the screen when he's featured, and Atwater has had some good airtime this season. Kim seems to be the character that has faded into the background lately, but they've all taken their turns at being backup players throughout the series. Before her, Dawson was filler for a while until he got his addiction storyline.  Many characters means that they can't all be featured on a regular basis. Atwater was filler for a long bit but I think he's having his time this season, and I for one recognize and appreciate it.

Antonio was anything but filler before his addiction storyline. He is the one that Voight put in charge when he was forced to stand down at the beginning of the year. He and Ruzek were constantly butting heads, and fists, over the proper way to do things.

Atwater has been filler for most of this season. He's had 2 episodes this season in which he was featured prominently. And he had Burgess' back during the "Ride Along" episode and was the token undercover in "Trigger" . But other than that, he's just in the background. He'll provide info on cases in the briefing and be out on the raids, but he's underused.

Jay has dealt with his father's death and almost getting himself killed. He didn't want to believe another veteran could be a terrorist. He was accused of murdering a suspect he had history with. Hailey has dealt with the guy who killed her old partner. She's admitted to being abused. She has had the stupid inner-unit relationship with Adam. Adam went against Antonio's rules. He had to deal with his father on a case. Now, he's taking the hit for Antonio killing the unarmed suspect.

Yes, many characters does mean they can't all be used on a regular basis, but it can still be balanced. And as it is now, it's not balanced when it comes to utilizing the Atwater character. The times the character has been prominently featured, he's been the best character by far. It's too far and in between right now. 

[SnarkySheep]

On 2/11/2019 at 9:54 PM, doLLish said:

Kevin is totally alone. No girlfriend. No family. No friends or co-workers that can relate to him on a deeper level that understand what he goes through. When everyone else has issues, they have very deep scenes with their co-workers/lovers/family consoling them and commiserating with them. They might even end up at their apartment drinking. Who does Kevin drink with? Last season or prior I would have said Burgess, but even that has cooled. Burgess used to babysit his brother and sister and was supposedly constantly in his home but we barely see Burgess these days period, let alone as a friend to anyone.

ITA. They should at the very least have kept his siblings on the show; we hardly ever saw them anyways. They could have had the drama of his brother being in danger as a storyline, but simply resolved it differently. My idea was that they could've had the Atwaters move into that apartment of Herrmann's - that way the kids would be away from their old neighborhood, still on the show AND there would be potential for crossover with Fire characters.