Chicago P.D. Season 14, Episode 2 ‘Don’t Blink‘ is our goodbye to Kevin Atwater, and it is the kind of goodbye that we wish every character leaving a long-running procedural got. It’s emotional, it’s perfectly acted, and it honors the character we’ve followed for more than a decade. A good farewell episode gives the character leaving agency, and this one does that while reinforcing that Kevin will always be a part of Intelligence.
None of these things make the reality that Kevin is leaving easier to stomach. He’s a character we’ve grown to not just love, but depend on. He’s always the steady one, and he’s been there for Adam, for Kim, for Dante, and for us so many times. They’re going to miss him, and we are going to miss him.
However, considering the alternatives, Kevin actually gets to go out in a really good way and on his terms. He isn’t dying, suffering a career-ending injury or God, forbid, leaving for mysterious reason in a weird way that has never been fully explained and that leaves his storyline open-ended. Instead, he gets as happy an “ending” as he possibly can, and gets to go live his life, a good life, outside of Intelligence.
Before that, there’s a case that, like many on this show, is pretty unremarkable. If anything the case is just a vehicle for Kevin to understand that what he really wants is to be able to be there for his son in a way his job in Intelligence won’t allow him to. It feels like a copout for the show, but it’s a decision I’ve seen many women make in real life and on TV. And when women make it, then it just makes sense. So, why wouldn’t I accept Kevin making it too?
It’s also not even a really out of character decision for Kevin. He’s always been the guy who puts family first. In fact, we could argue he’s sacrificed way too much for family already. And he’s never really seen it as a sacrifice, but as the thing he had to do. The right thing to do, and the only thing he could do. You step up, you take care of your siblings. That’s the kind of man he is.
But now he’s a dad. And now he’s a dad who goes out there every day and puts his life on the line. Now he’s a dad who could, by his own choices, end up leaving his kid as alone as he felt. And if there’s anything Kevin wants to avoid, it’s that. Even if the circumstances would be different. Even if no one would blame him if he just wanted to continue doing his job. Having a kid can rearrange your priorities. And even though, like Kim said, things will probably get easy, Kevin just isn’t willing to take that chance.
Perhaps the thing that brings it all together is the ending. Sometimes on this show things don’t work out the way we want them to. In fact, I’d even say most times on this show things don’t work out the way we want them to. We’re used to seeing that with the cases, and we so often get that with the real lives of these characters too. Look at Voight and his son. Look at Imani and her sister. And look at Hailey and Jay.
Kevin Atwater is walking out of District 21 on his own, with his head held high and a family (another one) waiting for him. Not everything went well on this, his last case. In fact, a lot went wrong. He could have died. He couldn’t help everyone he wanted to help. That last part he’ll carry. He always does. But he gets to go out and try again tomorrow, and do so in a way that minimizes the risk of him not coming home. That’s a good ending for the character, even if not a perfect one.
Are you excited for Chicago P.D. Season 14, Episode 2 ‘Don’t Blink’? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
We hate to see him go so I hope it was his choice!