Spoilers ahead for Episode 11 of Chicago P.D. Season 10, called “Long Lost.”
After Chicago P.D. returned last week with an episode that took Torres across a major line, “Long Lost” explored Atwater’s past in a way that the cop drama had never done before. The episode introduced Atwater’s father, Lew, and delved into the reasons why the good officer never talks about him. Atwater finally got some answers that he’d been waiting two decades for and some well-deserved closure. That said, I’m just not convinced that the closure really did conclude this story, even in a show that's generally more procedural than serialized.
Atwater unexpectedly crossed paths with his dad again after he was spotted on the scene of a shooting, just a couple weeks after being released from prison on parole. It turns out that there’s a reason why he never really talked about his father with his coworkers, but he did explain the situation to Voight once it became clear that they would need to involve Lew in the investigation, saying:
He was around until I was 12. He was a real good dad, and then he made some mistakes that I’ll never understand. He’s been inside and I haven’t spoke to him or seen him since.
Lew did recognize his son when they reunited, but that was about all that they were on the same page about in their first scene together. Lew was hesitant to help CPD in any way that might jeopardize his parole (or get him killed by some very bad men who’d protected him in prison). Father and son didn’t exactly have a heart-to-heart, although Lew did finally ask about Jordan and Vanessa, and Atwater remained pretty composed.
When Intelligence discovered that they needed Lew for more than just an ID, Atwater went to bring his dad in, which led to a tense exchange between the two men. After his father accused him of being angry, Atwater said that he had to give up his anger a long time ago and make peace so that he could take care of his siblings. He chose to remember when Lew was a good father, and explained further to Ruzek:
My dad was there, and he was good. Then all of a sudden, he wasn’t. Fell into every Black stereotype that a father could, and it didn’t make any sense. But I can’t do the same thing. Hell, I don’t got the luxury of being angry. I ain’t carrying that around with me. I’m good.
Once again, Atwater was pretty composed and didn’t give the impression that his dad being around was affecting him emotionally… until the very end, with LaRoyce Hawkins giving a fantastic performance of his character finally breaking. He couldn’t get angry and had to make peace, but he just couldn’t get over the fact that his dad never told him the truth about what happened all those years ago that changed him from a good father to a criminal who spent two decades behind bars.
When Lew started to walk away, Atwater stopped him and said that he wanted to have a conversation before they went their separate ways. He admitted that even though he tried for a long time not to care about it, he needed to understand what had happened. Lew tried to brush it off and insist that he wasn’t a good man, with his son firing back and reminding him that he’d raised Jordan and Vanessa by himself.
Atwater didn’t understand why Lew felt like he owed everybody else something, but not him. The officer declared that he wanted the truth, and that’s what his father finally gave him. He said:
The truth is we weren’t doing good. We never were. We needed money, and I found the wrong way to get it. You know, I was just a lookout, but when the police came, I took it. I took the rap. I didn’t talk, didn’t give names, so I went to prison.
Atwater was nearly in tears when he yelled at Lew to ask 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 nobody wants their kid to see them like that and he wanted his son to remember the good times.
After the emotional exchange, Lew went to leave, and it seemed like the end of the episode and quite possibly the storyline… but Atwater had an offer for his dad. He offered Lew the empty unit in his apartment building, even though they agreed that he didn’t deserve it.
So, while Atwater got closure in the form of the truth that he’s been wanting for twenty years, there’s plenty that hasn’t been resolved with his father, and now Lew is going to be around, even if off-screen. Could this story continue next time P.D. delivers an Atwater-centric episode?
Only time will tell on that front, and I’m still waiting for the day to come when Atwater makes detective, especially after what LaRoyce Hawkins said about the possibility of his character’s promotion back in the fall. For now, fans can just look forward to new episodes of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC in the 2023 TV schedule, or catch up on Season 10 streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
The next new episode seems to be shifting the focus back to Upton and Sean O’Neal, which is particularly interesting in light of what showrunner Gwen Sigan shared about actor Jefferson White.
