The Chicago Police Department has been a staple of the Windy City since its inception in the 19th century. This long-running show follows the lives of the officers of the CPD as they navigate the tumultuous streets of Chicago, balancing justice and morality in their pursuit of the truth. In the tenth season of the show, titled “Long Lost”, viewers are taken on a journey of discovery and closure as Atwater, one of the main characters, confronts his past. Through a series of events, he is reunited with his father, Lew, and learns the truth about why he left when Atwater was only 12 years old. This episode delves into the complexities of family dynamics, morality, and the law, as Atwater and the CPD investigate a case and try to find justice for those involved. With the introduction of Lew, viewers are taken on a roller coaster of emotions as Atwater and his father finally have a heart-to-heart and Atwater confronts the truth of his father’s past. As the story progresses, viewers will get to see Atwater’s character develop and mature as he attempts to come to terms with his father’s past and make peace with the situation. With the upcoming episode, viewers can expect to see more of Atwater’s character development, as well as the continuation of the investigation as the CPD attempts to bring justice to those involved. Tune in to The Chicago Police Department on Wednesdays at 10:00 PM ET on NBC to see how this story unfolds and how Atwater’s character develops in the upcoming season.
Spoilers ahead for episode 11 of The Chicago Police Department. The tenth season is titled “Long Lost”.
After Chicago Police returned last week with an episode in which Torres crossed the main line, “Long Lost” explores Atwater’s past in a way that a cop drama has never done before. The episode introduces Atwater’s father, Lew, and delves into the reasons why a good officer never talks about him. Atwater finally got some of the answers he’d been waiting two decades for, and some well-deserved closure. However, I’m just not sure that closure really ended this story, even in a series that tends to be more procedural than serialized.
Atwater unexpectedly crossed paths with their father again after he was spotted at the scene of the shooting, just weeks after his parole from prison. It turns out there’s a reason he never talked about his father with his colleagues, but he explained the situation to Voight as soon as it became clear they’d have to bring Liu into the investigation, saying:
He was here until I was 12. He was a very good father and then he made some mistakes that I will never understand. He was inside and I haven’t spoken to or seen him since.
Liu recognized her son when they were reunited, but that was all they talked about on the same wavelength in their first scene together. Lew was hesitant to help the CPD in any way that might jeopardize his parole (or get him killed by some very bad people who were protecting him in prison). Father and son didn’t have a heart-to-heart, although Lew finally asked about Jordan and Vanessa, and Atwater remained fairly calm.
When Intelligence discovering they need Lew for more than identification, Atwater goes after his father, leading to a tense conversation between the two men. After his father accused him of being angry, Atwater said he should have let go of his anger long ago and made peace so he could take care of his siblings. He decided to remember the time when Liu was a good father and explained to Ruzek:
My dad was there and he was good. Then suddenly he was gone. He fell into every stereotype of a Black father could be, and it didn’t make any sense. But I can’t do the same. Hell, I don’t have the luxury of being angry. I don’t carry it with me. I am fine.
again, Atwater he was quite reserved and did not give the impression that his father’s presence affected him emotionally… until the very end, when LaRose Hawkins gave a fantastic performance of his character, finally broken. He couldn’t be angry and he had to make up, but he just couldn’t accept the fact that his father never told him the truth about what happened all those years ago that turned him from a good father to a criminal who spent two years. decades behind bars.
As Lew started to leave, Atwater stopped him and said he wanted to talk before they parted ways. He admitted that although he tried to ignore it for a long time, he had to find out what happened. Lew tried to brush him off and insist that he wasn’t a good person, and his son shot back and reminded him that he raised Jordan and Vanessa on his own.
Atwater he didn’t understand why Liu felt he owed something to someone but not him. The officer said he wanted the truth, and that’s what his father finally gave him. He said:
The truth is, we didn’t do anything good. We never were. We needed money and I found the wrong way to get it. You know, I was just on duty, but when the police came, I took him away. I got a rap. I didn’t talk, I didn’t name names, that’s why I went to jail.
Atwater almost cried when he yelled at Lou to ask him why he never put his son on the list of names of people who could visit him in prison; his father could only say that no one wanted his child to see them like this and he wanted his son to remember the good times.
After an emotional exchange, Liu went to leave and that seemed to be the end of the episode and possibly the plot… but Atwater had a proposition for his father. He offered Liu an empty apartment in his building, even though they agreed he didn’t deserve it.
So while Atwater gets closure in the form of the truth he’s wanted for twenty years, there’s a lot left unresolved with his father, and now Lew will be around, even off-screen. Can this story continue the next time PD runs an Atwater-themed episode?
Only time will tell on that front and I’m still waiting for the day when Atwater will become a detective, especially after what LaRose Hawkins said about the possibility of bringing his character up in the fall. In the meantime, fans can just look forward to the new episodes of Chicago Cop. on Wednesdays at 10:00 PM ET on NBC in the 2023 telecast, or catch the Season 10 broadcasts with a Peacock Premium subscription.
The new The next one the episode seems to shift the focus back to Upton and Sean O’Neal, which is especially interesting in light of what showrunner Let’s Segan said about actor Jefferson White.
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