Atwater’s community fundraising event ends with gunshots in Chicago PD season 12, episode 13. It ends up being a search for the shooter.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago PD season 12, episode 13.
When there’s a shooting in his neighborhood, Atwater will do what he can to get to the bottom of it. The shooting victim turned out to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It led to Atwater wanting to figure things out even more, and the only clue was some pink cocaine to follow.
Atwater goes undercover to get answers in Chicago PD season 12, episode 13
After Voight sends Intelligence out looking for the connection to the pink cocaine, Atwater takes the undercover mission. He’s the one who can fit in, and he has a way in to figure out who the drug dealer is. There’s a benefit to helping the community and knowing the right people.
When he learns of a drug dealer named Wendell, he goes into a bar to find out more. CeCe helps him get in with Wendell, and then it’s all up to Atwater.
It can’t be that easy, though, can it? That night when Atwater is supposed to be picking up the drugs, he finds out that Wendell has been shot in the head. Considering there were two shooters earlier in the episode, that’s not too surprising, is it?
Figuring out the identity of the shooter
Burgess is the one who finds the car that belonged to the shooter. At least, it’s easy to assume that it’s the shooter. Someone blows through a red light.
There isn’t anything to ID the driver, but the passenger had a gold bracelet on. Atwater immediately recognizes the bracelet, so he goes to Hype to get some answers. Hype was the passenger, but he doesn’t want to talk. It’s clear he’s scared, but eventually, he shares the little bit of information that he knows.
I believe that he doesn’t know anything else. He at least gives a name, Luther Ward. Atwater is able to pretend that he went to one of his informants to get the details, but Ruzek isn’t buying it. Atwater has no choice but to share it all with Ruzek, and Atwater is not willing to accept that Hype may have been the shooter.
Ruzek agrees to do this Atwater’s way and hide Hype from Voight. This is never a good thing. Ruzek brings up Burgess and Torres, but they both still go ahead with it. Sometimes, they are as thick as thieves.
Atwater does go see someone from his neighborhood to get him to help get to the bottom of Wendell’s murder. It doesn’t quite go to plan, with Luther initially agreeing to get money to pay reparations to Wendell only to call in reinforcements to take Atwater and his guy out. With it all going wrong, Ruzek makes it clear that Atwater needs to go to Voight.
There's only one thing to do in Chicago PD
Atwater is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and so is Hype. They need to do what’s right to keep Hype out of handcuffs, but that’s not easy when it could mean Hype’s life is on the line in the middle of gang warfare.
Luther isn’t a dumb man. When Hype turns up at Luther’s son’s 10th birthday party wearing a wire and starts talking of the recent shootings, Luther immediately gets his back up. It’s hard to watch as Hype is shot. Sure, this gives everyone else what they need to arrest Luther (although not the answers about Wendell and the shooting in the street that day), but it’s something.
But poor Hype! He did what he needed to do and what Atwater asked him to do only to end up killed in the street. Atwater is going to have to live with his guilt in the involvement of all of this. Maybe it could have been different had Atwater not tried to keep him out of it in the first place. I do like how Voight decides to keep Hype’s name out of the situation to make sure Hype’s legacy isn’t tainted.
Voight also ends the episode with a great line. He doesn't want Atwater or any of the team to lie to him. "You tell me the truth, so I can lie for you." Voight will always have his team's back.
I love getting Atwater-centric episodes, but I wish the show would do something more than gang warfare and drugs with him. It’s a similar storyline every single time, but there are so many other types of crimes in Chicago. This episode did give Atwater a chance to learn that he can’t always protect people. I’ve been asking for something more for Atwater for years, and I’m not the only one. When will the Chicago PD writers start listening?
Chicago PD airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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