Chicago P.D. has produced some of the One Chicago franchise’s most shocking moments, as evident most recently in the wild Season 12 finale. Season 12 itself kicked off with such a devastating and shocking moment in its first episode with the tragic loss of Officer Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena), who literally was only introduced at the beginning of the same episode. Yet for me, there’s one that stands above the rest as the most gut-wrenching moment the series has ever produced: the death of Nadia Decotis (Stella Maeve).
Nadia had an auspicious debut in the Chicago P.D. family during the fourth overall episode of the series, Season 1’s “Now Is Always Temporary,” as a sex worker and drug addict who pulls one over on Adam Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) by kicking him in the groin and fleeing the scene. She is apprehended by Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush), where she gives the team a lead that eventually brings an end to a counterfeiting shop. Erin later frees her from her cell and drops Nadia off in the middle of the street between a rehab and a corner, telling her to “make the decision herself.” She leaves Nadia with her card, telling her to call if she wants to better her life before driving away.
It’s the beginning of a tight friendship between the two, with Erin, recognizing herself in Nadia, helping Nadia turn her life around. Erin becomes a foster mother of sorts to Nadia, and they even become roommates. Over that time, Nadia becomes more and more engaging, with a joy for life that is simply infectious. By Season 2, Nadia had taken on the role of the Intelligence Unit’s Administrative Assistant, answering calls and running errands. Further proof of Erin’s positive impact on Nadia’s life became evident when Nadia went to school to study Criminology, with the aim of becoming a Chicago police officer and, eventually, landing a spot on the Intelligence Unit alongside her friend and mentor. Everyone, even Trudy (Amy Morton), was rooting for her.
Nadia’s arc was inspirational, and, on a show that is the darkest of the One Chicago franchise, that positivity was something that offset its darker elements. Looking back, perhaps it should have been painfully obvious to me that it was too good to last, and it would just be a matter of time before Nadia was off the show. But with Chicago P.D. only in its second season, there wasn’t really a precedent set at that time that would have foretold the tragedy about to befall the fan-favorite.
Nadia Decotis Meets a Horribly Tragic End in ‘Chicago P.D.’
At the end of the Season 2 episode “The Number of Rats,” Nadia is kidnapped by serial killer Gregory Yates (Dallas Roberts), a man being investigated by the Intelligence Unit for a string of murders (specifically to hurt Lindsay, with Yates knowing how close they are). Things pick up in a rare crossover episode with NBC kin Law & Order: SVU, titled “Daydream Believer.” Nadia did everything she could to convince Yates to spare her life and to let her go, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the team frantically tries to find her, tracking Yates to New York where they continue looking, aided by Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Only the cavalry was too late, with a tip leading them to a beach where they found Nadia’s body. Not only was Nadia dead, but she went through hell before she did. Yates raped and tortured Nadia repeatedly, until he finally, at last, murdered her — ending a life that was absolutely filled with promise and a renewed innocence.
Lindsay was there when they found the body, and it is truly the most heartbreaking moment you will ever see. It sent her spiraling downward, and it would take months for her to resume some sort of normalcy again. To add insult to injury, there wasn’t enough evidence to convince Yates, but Assistant D.A. Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) had Yates arrested regardless, and a court case began. Yates chose to represent himself, and the monster proved quite adept at defending himself, making the prosecution’s case difficult.
But when cross-examining the medical examiner, Yates revealed himself to be the sick bastard I knew him to be, practically salivating at hearing what Nadia went through in her final moments, reliving it in his mind and taking perverse pleasure in every detail. It didn’t go unnoticed, and the jury had no misgivings about convicting Yates for the rape and murder of Nadia. It was justice, yes, and Nadia’s death did stop a serial killer from taking the life of another, but it was of little comfort to Lindsay, to the team, and to me. Yates would eventually escape from prison, heading to New York to get his revenge on Lindsay, only for Lindsay to shoot him down in self-defense.
The tears from Nadia’s loss had barely dried on my cheeks when the Chicago P.D. creative team got them started up again. Voight had cleared the way for a memorial stone for Nadia outside the precinct, and as the team stood around it, Lindsay read a letter from the deputy chief. Nadia had been posthumously recruited as a CPD police officer, and as such she was added to the CPD memorial, her name now alongside other officers who gave their lives in service. It was a beautiful touch, a respectful and healing act that honored Nadia’s life and her brief but memorable time on the show, and no less tear-triggering. Yet for me, it will never take away that powerful, earth-shaking moment of devastation at finding out Nadia had died, and the horrors she endured getting there. Chicago P.D., and the One Chicago franchise as a whole, may never find a moment that hits me like that again.
