Warning: spoilers ahead for the third episode of Chicago P.D. Season 12, called "Off Switch.
" Following Chicago P.D. putting Ruzek through the wringer with the murder of his friend and fellow cop in the 2024 TV schedule , the One Chicago cop drama shifted the focus over to Atwater .
Despite getting the episode off to a flirty start after meeting Val in a bar, Atwater was pulled into a robbery-gone-wrong case in which the witness was so traumatized that the Intelligence Unit needed to recruit some help. By the end of the hour, Atwater made a kind gesture..
. and officially embraced the time-honored tradition of the unit when it comes to starting a romance with a coworker..
. sort of. It may sound like I jest, but it's well known among fans that Atwater has rarely had more than a fling or a brief romantic arc, and a show as procedural as Chicago P.
D. can really only put much focus on a pairing if both people are involved in the job somehow. Is it healthy for the characters to generally date within their pool of coworkers? Maybe not in real life, but this is the fun of One Chicago we're talking about.
Just look at his longtime coworkers! Ruzek, Burgess , Upton , and Halstead all had multiple relationships within the unit, for all that nobody has really acknowledged the Upzek era since Season 6. ( For good reason , if you ask me.) Val already seems like an interesting romantic partner for Atwater, not least because she got him to look away from his phone by the end and deliver a pr.