CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: LaRoyce Hawkins on Atwater Finding ‘Relief and Release’

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Wednesday, October 9 episode of CHICAGO P.D.]

Sparks flew between Officer Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) and psychiatrist Val (Natalee Linez) on the Wednesday, October 9 episode of CHICAGO P.D.

In “Off Switch,” the duo met at a bar—and they shared some flirty banter, as he dealt with problems at home and work, before ultimately getting called away on a job.

Their paths collided when a witness was unable to properly process what she experienced and Val was called to consult. Unfortunately, the duo had very different approaches about what to do and things got tense.

After the case was largely resolved—with a couple of suspects in custody and the witness recovering following a secondary attack—Atwater went to Val’s house to update her on where the case stood.

“You came here to tell me that?” Val asked. “You could have called.” 

“I also owe you an apology,” Atwater admitted. “The way I talked to you earlier, it was way out of line. That wasn’t on you, that was on me.”

“I know,” Val replied. “So you came here to apologize—I was on your list of to-dos? Call it an occupational hazard, but your phone thing, it’s hard to miss. The way you’re always helping everyone around you, letting the stress build. You don’t have to add me to your list; I’m okay. I forgave you as it was happening.”

Atwater accepted that and thanked Val. But she wasn’t quite done yet. “You realize it burns people out, right?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m very aware,” Atwater answered. “It actually isn’t the first time I heard that.”

“Do you have an off switch?” she asked.

“I haven’t figured that part out—” he said before she kissed him.

Val offered her own proposition for the officer: “How about for the next hour you come inside, turn off your brain, turn off your damn phone, and have fun with me. I won’t judge you, you won’t judge me, and we’ll do something just for us, to turn it all off.”

Atwater’s phone interrupted them, but he opted to ignore his responsibilities and kissed Val instead, as the duo entered her home.

“It’s hard to say exactly where we’re going to go or how deep you might get,” Hawkins tells Give Me My Remote about the duo’s potential relationship. “But I know what me and [showrunner] Gwen [Sigan] have been trying to find for Atwater, [which] is some type of relief and release. I’ve talked to her about how important it is for us to see first responders and [people in that field] where they want help. Where they’re aware of the anxiety and the heavy loads that they have on them.”

“Atwater is so good at holding on that he has a hard time letting go,” he continues. “We’ve always talked about, ‘Where does Atwater find his relief? Where does he get his help? And does he have a release?’ And so Gwen was creative enough to try to kill two birds by giving me a romantic moment, as well as a relief moment. Hopefully, that’s what the purpose of the character [of Val] will be—to help Atwater let go, teach him those types of skills.”

But despite the step forward, what comes next is very much a mystery, even to Hawkins. 

“This is all we’ve filmed so far [of Val],” he says. “I think [where it goes] has a lot to do with how people respond. Obviously, she’s already done the work. Natalee Linez is a beautiful actress, I had a great time working with her, and I look forward to exploring more with it. But I think we have to [show] this Atwater episode…so we get a feel for how people may or may not respond.” 

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

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