Chicago P.D. Moments That Angered Fans
Joining producer Dick Wolf's extended "One Chicago" family of shows in 2014, "Chicago P.D." immediately clicked with fans drawn to its no-holds-barred depiction of law enforcement action, intrigue, and often sketchy police behavior in the Windy City. Along with sister shows "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago Med," the series quickly established itself as yet another example of Wolf's uncanny creative instincts for delivering mass-appeal TV driven by characters both heroic and flawed in equal measure. In short order, audiences formed powerful bonds with intel unit head Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), detectives Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati), and the rest of the I.U. squad.
With a large and devoted fanbase eagerly tuning in every Wednesday night on NBC, the series' popularity shows no signs of letting up, as indicated by its healthy Average Audience Score of 89% on RottenTomatoes.com. That said, any franchise with the longevity of "Chicago P.D." will occasionally generate storylines or character arcs that spark viewer objections in one way or another. In this regard, here are a handful of moments that left some "Chicago P.D." fans angry, and in some cases, straight-up furious.
Warning: Major spoilers for all seasons of "Chicago P.D." ahead.
Sophia Bush's surprise exit left fans fuming
Like any multi-season network series populated by a large, diverse collection of characters, "Chicago P.D." has had its share of cast turnover. The fact is, actors can leave a show for creative differences over how their individual narrative is progressing or simply to pursue other career opportunities. But when Sophia Bush's detective Erin Lindsey was written off the show in Season 4 with what seemed like undue haste, fans were shocked — and mad.
Posting on the Reddit thread "Sophia Bush Departing 'Chicago P.D.' After Four Seasons," u/chickenwinged complained, "Whaaaat.. she was basically the main character and her and Hank's relationship are a huge part of the series. I'm shocked." For Redditor u/theghostwhorocks Bush's exit seriously damaged the series. "WOW... I'm definitely surprised," they wrote, adding, "... she's such an integral character on the show...losing her is a huge blow." Adding to the general fan disappointment on the Reddit thread tellingly titled "Who else will stop watching now that Sophia Bush is gone?" u/jdpm1991 felt Bush's absence was basically more than they could tolerate, saying, "I watched it for Erin and her development on the show ... and now I find out Sophia is leaving and won't be in S5. I'm out!!"
Jay's demand that Voight share power made some fans furious
For the entirety of its lengthy run on NBC, "Chicago P.D." has clearly had one detective in charge of overseeing cases and directing departmental affairs at the intel unit's 21st District headquarters. From the series premiere back in 2014, Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) has ruled his squad with an iron fist and a highly flexible set of ethics. So when detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) finally rebels against Voight's go-it-alone management methods in the Season 9 episode "A Way Out," fans were both surprised, angry and a bit incredulous at Jay's ultimatum to Hank about working as equals.
Reacting to this development, Reddit posters vented on a thread with a title that said it all: "I might be done with Chicago pd soon...tonight's episode was disappointing." Irate about Jay's demeanor during his faceoff with Voight, Redditor u/Lyssa1988 said, "At the end with that cocky look on his [Jay's] face is infuriating. His attitude is so holier than thou and it's old. I miss the old episodes where hank was respected by his whole team." User u/restingfoxface also felt things had taken a turn for the worse with Voight being put down, posting, "I am patiently waiting for Voight to right this ship because the power dynamic is completely out of wack [sic]... Jay is scolding him like a child." And for Redditor u/poweredbymigraine, the moment seemed positively terminal: "I'm sure this is an unpopular opinion... but I am done with the show."
Olinsky's death was just too heartbreaking
As the Season 5 finale episode "Homecoming" opened, viewers were confronted with the harrowing situation of detective Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) in the hospital with multiple stab wounds. Assaulted by another inmate while he was unjustly confined to prison, Olinsky had been a recurring and highly popular character on the show from the very beginning. Understandably, fans were anxiously on edge waiting to learn if this mainstay character would survive or not. When it's finally revealed that the detective has succumbed to his injuries, it was a shock that many "Chicago P.D." fans were not prepared for.
Taking to r/ChicagoPD on Reddit to air their unhappiness, viewers posted their feelings in a discussion simply titled "finale season 5: Chicago PD." Redditor u/IndividualSchedule led things off, writing, "...are you kidding me??? no no noooo.... I cannot believe it. I am so sad and mad... I will miss him so much." For two other Redditors, the news of Olinsky's death was apparently too overwhelming to accept as reality, with MissPlum66 saying, "I will always believe he's in witness protection for some reason. The way the doc told Hank just oh sorry he didn't make it. Do not believe." User u/Tolly942 also found comfort in this idea, writing, "Yes I'm gonna hold onto this and believe it too." Another Reddit poster said they actually reacted physically to the detective's passing, writing, "Oh god... Alvin's death broke me too... I was yelling and crying during the whole scene." User u/feistyboy72's less-than-pleased response to the loss of their fave character? "That was some bulls**t."
Vanessa Rojas's unexplained exit didn't sit well
Veteran viewers of a well-entrenched series like "Chicago P.D." likely understand that even the most popular characters can leave the show for one reason or another. But when NO reason is given, it can definitely harsh a fan's opinion of the series. This would seem to be the case with the departure of rookie Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez). In fact, rather than the fact that she left, it seems fans were most upset about how she was written off the series without some logical, story-based clarification.
In a Reddit discussion addressing the controversy, u/Awkward Beyond 6488 posted, "...my biggest issue is when they [abruptly] leave without giving us any closure and/or finishing of their story arc." User u/eremite00 agreed, saying, "That's the thing, isn't it?...the women characters seem to get unceremoniously dumped..." Redditor u/tacoorpizza summed up fan discontent with how the Rojas exit was handled, writing, "It's really annoying that they couldn't just put in one line of dialogue from Hank mentioning she transferred to a different unit. As good as this show can be in some aspects, it completely sucks in others."
Fans hated how Jules Willhite was killed off
A scene that took place in the series' very first episode had some fans more than a little upset with how unrealistically some "Chicago P.D." characters behaved on the job. In the premiere "Stepping Stone" installment, detectives Jules Willhite (Melissa Sagemiller) and Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) are hunting the vicious, armed killer Pulpo. Rushing into a building in pursuit of their quarry, Willhite ends up positioning herself directly in front of the criminal's door. Seconds later, she's shot through the door and killed. The fact is, having Willhite clearly placed in harm's way had some fans protesting that it simply looked like bad policing.
Posting on a Reddit r/Chicago PD discussion titled "Standing in front of doors why?" user u/agizzayygaston cited his police cred when objecting to the scene, writing, "I'm a cop... the first episode LITERALLY THE FIRST the blonde cop gets shot standing in front of the door after knocking... I understand it's a tv show but damn." Redditor MAJOR KONG blamed the scriptwriters, saying, "Because writers? I have always thought that for such a prestigious unit the team members sure conduct themselves in an unprofessional manner." User u/KimGrennan agreed, wondering if the scene was staged this way purely for shock effect, saying, "Exactly my thoughts... Maybe they just do it when a disaster needs to happen for some drama."
Regardless of why this scene was presented as it was, detective Willhite's apparent death-by-rookie-error ranks as one of the "Chicago P.D." moments that most angered fans.