There was a lot of drama at the end of Chicago P.D. Season 7, and the show left off on a pretty big cliffhanger.
It’s not a cliffhanger in the sense of a character being close to death, but rather in the drama that awaits the Intelligence team.
At the center of that drama is Officer Kevin Atwater, who found himself in the crosshairs of a moral dilemma when a cop was killed.
Atwater (played by LaRoyce Hawkins) was tasked with going undercover to try to take down a gun-trafficking ring, and it led to him having to work with Tom Doyle (Mickey O’Sullivan).
This was a callback to an episode during Season 6, where Atwater was undercover with a drug dealer named Daryl and they got pulled over by the cops. It was a racial-profiling stop, leading to Daryl getting shot and killed for not complying, and Atwater having a gun pressed to his head as he was manhandled against a car. Doyle was one of the cops.
Chicago P.D. Season 7 finale breakdown
Flashforward to the Season 7 finale and Doyle is now a detective after getting promoted up the ranks. Doyle and Atwater continue working together and are driving at night when Doyle makes another racially-motivated stop.
As Atwater watches from the vehicle, Doyle goes to harass a man on the street who then ducks into a building. Atwater runs in to find out that Doyle has shot the man and that other people in the building have shot Doyle.
Doyle dies and is treated as a hero at first, with the story making him look good as it gets reported throughout the department. That doesn’t sit well with Atwater, who comes forward with the full version of the story.
The episode concludes with Atwater finally heading home, only to find out that his street is filled with cops that are related to Tony Doyle. It sets up a lot of drama as Intelligence will now have to back their man against a family of cops entrenched in Chicago.
Below is a clip of that scene which became very dramatic before the credits rolled.
Chicago P.D. Season 8 debuts
All three Chicago-based shows return to NBC this week. It’s going to be a busy week for fans of One Chicago, and that’s going to include a casting shakeup on Chicago Fire.
For Intelligence and Atwater, the season will begin with repercussions for the death of Doyle. The show is also going to work at presenting what the climate of the country looks like now and how police departments have to adjust to it.
Make sure to tune in on November 11 to see the first new episode of Chicago P.D. and catch up with the team as they carry out some exciting new investigations.
Ruzek staring at his third cup of coffee like. pic.twitter.com/vL5ddT6zpx
— Chicago P.D. (@NBCChicagoPD) September 14, 2020
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.