CHICAGO P.D.: LaRoyce Hawkins Previews the Arrival of Atwater’s New Potential Love Interest

October 3, 2024 by Marisa Roffman

CHICAGO P.D. — “The After” Episode 12003 — Pictured: LaRoyce Hawkins as Officer Kevin Atwater — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Wednesday, October 2 episode of CHICAGO P.D.]

When CHICAGO P.D. (officially) lost new Intelligence team member Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena), Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins)—who was at the hospital checking on another shooting victim—was the one who had to break the news of her death to his colleagues on the Wednesday, October 2 episode, “Blood Bleeds Blue.”

It was just the latest burden put on the officer, who is also juggling a complex relationship with his family, plus building ownership, on top of his day-to-day work stresses.

“Atwater has so much on his mind as he’s heading into the episode airing [on Wednesday, October 9, ‘The After’], and I think we can go ahead and throw Telly[‘s death] into the pot,” Hawkins tells Give Me My Remote. “She was somebody who was really growing on us, with the absence of Upton. We needed somebody to help us with the slack, to maintain or manage the pace that Sarge has us on. Case by case by case…we have open folders on stuff we haven’t finished yet. We can’t catch a break. I think she did a great job of helping us out and being a part of a team. As soon as she was starting to get it, and gel, and understand what Intelligence is built like, it was all over.”

“She was obviously close with Ruzek, but she was a part of the team, she was growing on all of us,” he continues. “Victoria did a great job with Telly. It was brief, but with that brief moment, she was able to tell a great story with us. And so we’ll see a little piece of that at the very top of the next episode with Atwater—that she is a part of the myriad of things that’s on his mind.”

Atwater attempts to distract himself in “The After,” by going to a bar, where he meets Val (Natalee Linez).

“His initial meeting with her, he’s distracted, extremely distracted,” Hawkins previews. “There’s so much going on in the Atwater world, personally—his dad, his brother, the tenants in the building. He’s just trying to hold everything together. I can relate. I think we all can.”

“That’s hopefully what I did my best to try and portray—I want to make it understandable for the people,” he continues. “So whether you felt like Atwater was making the right decision or the wrong decision, it was understandable more than anything. And you’ll see him try to navigate the line and juggle a lot of plates and make sure that nothing breaks.”

Naturally, before the duo can get to know each other too well, a work comes calling for the officer and Atwater is tasked with getting to the bottom of a robbery. The only problem? The witness is struggling to recall what she actually saw.

“You know how you have that trainer that knows what’s best for you and your body?” Hawkins points out. “The best trainers get the best results, not because they pacify or take it easy on you. And what I did my best to explore [in] this episode was that position of a trainer [that] doesn’t mess with the witness and doesn’t let her off too easy. He truly pushes her in the way that he knows will help her in the long run.”

“Not just help the case—obviously, yeah, we want to solve the case—but more than anything, I think we want to save a life and help,” he continues. “Improve the quality of life for a witness that wants to help, and just needs that extra push. I think historically we’ve seen [Atwater] be extremely soft, especially witnesses of a certain kind. I wanted to explore something different. I wanted to find moments where I made the witness work, made the witness work hard, probably pushed them to the limit.”

And Atwater’s (potential) personal life and work life collide when Val, who is a psychiatrist, gets called in. “What’s interesting about Val is she finds herself in [the case], wanting to do the same thing, but I think we have different approaches,” Hawkins previews. “She’s a psychiatrist. Her approach obviously with certain patients is extremely light. It is her job to find the window of breath and levity when it comes to certain cases to maintain homeostasis for the witness. Just keep their bodies balanced.”

“And me, on the other hand, if Sarge is the example, you push people to the limit,” he continues, speaking in character. “You push people to the limit to get what you want. And that can save a life as well. So, those different approaches, I think they might collide. It’s hard to say who was right. But they do their best toward the end.”

But will this be an actual, lasting, love match for Atwater? “She kind of shamelessly flirts with him initially, but he’s so distracted by everything on his mind—you see his phone going off all episode, in the middle of moments, as he tries to keep everything balanced,” Hawkins previews. “She’s there for most of that. As a psychiatrist, she knows how to diagnose whatever that means. And I think her patience and understanding towards Atwater’s situation is ultimately what he appreciates.”

CHICAGO P.D., Wednesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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CHICAGO P.D.: LaRoyce Hawkins Previews the Arrival of Atwater’s New Potential Love Interest

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