Could Olinsky Have Saved Chief Reid in ‘Chicago P.D.’ Season 12? Showrunner Weighs In

Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) was among the original set of officers that populated the Intelligence Unit in the Dick Wolf police procedural drama, Chicago P.D. Old-school, just like Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), the pair seemed to understand one another deeply, and together they knew just how much of the law to bend to obtain justice. Season 12 of the series saw Voight square up against the cunning Deputy Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy), who sought with all his might to bring down Voight and his team. Just like with several others who came before, he loses and Voight wins, doing so by sanctioning the shooting that claims his life. While there were failed attempts to dissuade Voight from making his plans, series showrunner Gwen Sigan believes that Voight’s old pal, Olinsky, would have gotten through to him, preventing the death of the deputy chief.

Killing a deputy chief of police, or better still, orchestrating his death is sure to have some consequences in the upcoming Chicago P.D. Season 13. The season-long war between Voight and Reid saw the sergeant gain an ally in ASA Nina Chapman (Sara Bues), who ultimately confessed to having feelings for the often stoic officer. However, despite their clear connection, Chapman was unable to stop Voight from going nuclear on Reid, and Sigan, in an interview with TV Insider, gave her thoughts on her belief that Olinsky is probably the only character who could have talked Voight down from his decision. Sigan’s comments read:

“I think, yeah, I think he could have. I think definitely probably the only person that could have. Maybe Upton. But no, I think only Olinsky probably could have.”

Up until his tragic death in the Season 5 finale, Olinsky was the one member of Intelligence that was able to rationalize with his friend in a way other characters have been unable to on the show. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) was able to reach across and connect with Voight occasionally, but the master will always be Alvin. Given their history, Olinsky would likely be able to talk Voight down, as he had done so in earlier seasons. However, given the stakes of the situation, an intense IA investigation, Intelligence getting disbanded, and Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) being fired, Olinsky is more likely to back Voight and sanction Reid’s death than he is to dissuade him.

We Could Have a Different Intelligence Unit in ‘Chicago P.D.’ Season 13

Reid will no longer be a factor when Chicago P.D. Season 13 returns this fall. However, the embers of his campaign against Intelligence remain with the Internal Affairs investigation still very much open. Looking ahead to the new season, showrunner Sigan, in a different conversation, teased that Intelligence will likely operate differently.

“I think a lot of them are [going to be looking at the job differently]. I definitely think Burgess [will approach the job differently.] For her, she had a lot to do with all of this, but she was really just trying to have someone’s back. She was just trying to have her teammate’s back, and so to see the consequences of it, I think it will have an effect on how she moves forward.”

Tune in to NBC this fall for the new season of Chicago P.D. and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.