Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 13 Review: Street Jesus
Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 13, “Street Jesus,” is off to a great start for Atwater fans who have been wondering when it’ll finally be his turn to have a relationship. With one single comment, this woman proves she has come to know the core of who Kevin is.
Before he goes on with his day, she reminds him he can’t always be all things to all people, and that is exactly what he tries to do as the Intelligence Unit works on a case that involves his friend Hype. At first, he tries to lie to protect his friend, making sure he is always protecting the people he loves.
In the end, after his friend is killed, it is obvious that the guilt has taken over Kevin. While Kim reassures him this death isn’t on him, Atwater is the kind of person to take this personally and blame himself for not saving Hype.
“Street Jesus” gives Atwater the chance to prove again that he is great at doing undercover work when it means diving into the world he grew up in. He knows how to make himself one of the people they are investigating, understanding how to relate to them.
Kevin can do this kind of work because he grew up in a neighborhood like the one they’re investigating. The contrast with his unit comes when Adam talks to Alonzo’s mother just as a cop and not as a person. He wrongly assumes that the kid is involved in a gang, and Kevin is immediately against it.
Atwater can see people beyond his police lens, which usually helps. However, this time, it backfires because his friend is indirectly involved in the case.
While he sees Hype as the man trying to build a community center with him, Ruzek (and later Voight when he finds out the truth) sees him as the only reliable evidence that they have to catch a killer. Because Kevin is trying to be everything to all people, he wants to protect his friend.
It also makes sense that he shares the details with Ruzek. Beyond the differences in how they police, Ruzek is one of Kevin’s closest friends in the unit. When he needs help to try and keep his friend safe, he turns to someone he can trust.
However, Ruzek is the one who encourages him to tell Voight the truth. Even though it doesn’t go the way Atwater wanted, it proves he should have told Voight from the beginning.
With everything the Intelligence Unit has gone through, one would imagine that by now, they would have learned to give Voight the facts and let him handle the rest. Ruzek says it clearly, Kevin should have learned from what happened to Torres and Kim when lying about Dante’s relationship with Gloria.
Ruzek also knows from personal experience that Voight will have your back and make sure things are presented in your favor. And that is exactly what Voight offers Atwater after his friend is killed.
Instead of telling the truth about Hype being wired to catch Luther, they will lie and say they had been watching Luther and caught him the moment he shot Hype. That is what Atwater wanted in the beginning and why he fought so hard to keep his friend out of it.
The truth is that for things to have gone the way Atwater wanted in the first place, Voight should have been the first person he turned to when he saw Hype’s bracelet in the security footage. As Voight tells him in the end, “You tell me the truth so I can lie for you.”
Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 13, “Street Jesus,” isn’t the best episode of the season, but it is another layer in Kevin’s character. It digs deep into who he is and why he stands so strongly in his convictions.
The introduction of a possible girlfriend is exciting, and hopefully, the show will continue to explore this as the season goes on. While we love Burgess and Ruzek, it makes no sense that they are the only relationship left standing. These characters need a bit more loving in their lives.
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What did you think of this episode of Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature who works in PR. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.