Chicago PD’The last Atwater story was one of the best, but the episode ignored the plight of one of the series’ strongest characters. Atwater was part of Chicago PDThe cast of the series’ beginning, so he deserves strong stories. Once or twice a season, the long-running police procedural offers an Atwater-centric episode, often dealing with his conflicted loyalties as a black police officer who is seen as a traitor by some members of his community and deals with racism on the job. .
Now that Hailey Upton has left Chicago PD. Season 12 went in a different direction, Emphasize the ensemble aspect of the team as well as explore the psychological toll violent crimes take on the officers investigating them. Thus, episode 3 demonstrated that Atwater was under pressure in many aspects of his life and that the pressure was getting to him. It was part of a strong story for him, but the episode sidelined Ruzek rather than deal with the aftermath of Ruzek’s seeing Martel get fatally shot in front of him.
Chicago PD season 12, episode 3 introduces Atwater to a therapist
A woman he met in a bar works as a forensic therapist for the department
Val is introduced as Atwater’s new love interest. However, there was a twist: Atwater learned that Val was a forensic psychotherapist who worked for the police department when she was called to consult on a case The next morning. This development caused unrest between Wall and Atwater, who did not tell anyone that he had already met Wall. Additionally, the two clashed on the job when Val recommended sending the only witness to a brutal robbery/murder home to rest when Atwater wanted to continue pushing for answers.
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Val is romantically interested in Atwater and cannot be his therapist. However, she noticed a tense situation with Atwater and one of the tenants in the building he manages; Later, when he came to her home to apologize for an earlier outburst, Val correctly identified some of​​​​his issues, especially spending too much time on his phone exposing fires. Val’s support was clearly more than that of a therapist treating a patient, as she kissed Atwater afterwardBut her suggestions probably planted seeds in Atwater’s head that he might follow up with a more objective therapist.
Atwater Meeting Val Is a Reminder of How Chicago PD Ignored Ruzek’s Trauma
Martel’s death is not mentioned in this episode
Atwater is unquestionably overwhelmed and at risk of burnout. Val noticed pressure coming at him from all sides when Miss Roberta and a victim’s mother both cornered him about their issues at the same time, and Atwater seemed to dissociate temporarily during the scene before snapping back to full attention and handling both situations. however, This powerful story completely distracted Ruzek, who recently also went through a traumatic experience.
Although the episode’s focus on Atwater was appropriate, it wouldn’t have taken anything away from him for Ruzek’s trauma to be remembered.
Ruzek saw his partner get shot in the head in front of him and held her as she died, getting her blood all over his hands, but in this story his whole role was to help search for criminals That shot all of Diane’s staff, while the episode’s focus on Atwater was appropriate, it wouldn’t have taken anything away from it for Ruzek’s trauma to be mentioned. Doing so would have been more realistic and respectful of Ruzak’s character.
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Now that she has returned, it was terrible for Chicago PD’s Kim Burgess not to ask Ruzek how he was coping with the tragic events he witnessed while she was out of town. In addition, Ruzek could easily weigh in on the discussion of whether Dina’s contradictory answers are due to lies or to memory problems because of her similar trauma. The fact that Ruzk’s trauma is being ignored suggests that he is headed for a fall later in the season when it finally catches up with him, But there should have been references to it in dialogue for continuity’s sake.
Chicago PD Season 12 Needs to Revisit Ruzek’s Trauma Before Marrying Burgess
Going into this marriage with unresolved trauma can lead to unhappiness later
Ruzek and Burgess are supposed to get married at the end of Chicago PD Season 12. However, Ruzek needs to address his trauma before the couple says their vows. If he fails to do so, it can cause serious problems in their relationship later. This would be a disappointing direction for their story to go in. It would also seem unnecessarily cruel if Mac, who has had so much upheaval in her young life, had to deal with Ruzek and Burgess’ divorce because Ruzek didn’t deal with losing Martel before the wedding.
Ruzek should deal with his trauma as soon as possible so that he and Burgess can finally get their happy ending after all the ups and downs their relationship has had over the years.
hope, Chicago PD Will center on Ruzak’s trauma in his next episode. It didn’t seem believable that he was sitting at his desk helping with an investigation as if nothing had happened. Instead, Ruzk should deal with his trauma as soon as possible so that he and Burgess can finally get their happy ending after all the ups and downs their relationship has had over the years.