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Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 18 Review: Foxwater Makes It Official!

Critic's Rating: 4 / 5.0
4

We’re really having a baby!

And by “we” I mean, Foxwater. Of course, that’s assuming Chicago PD doesn’t pull the old One Chicago move of having Atwater’s child going through absolute peril.

After what seemed like ages, we finally revisited Atwater and his storyline regarding his child, and the news is out, in an anti-climactic but amusing enough way.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

It was a pretty one-of-the-mill type of case. There was nothing too exciting about a sadistic, privileged, rich kid going around stabbing people just because he’s able to, and his mother covering for him because “moms and their sons.”

They even played things the way we’ve come to expect from Chicago PD, where one of Intelligence’s finest just so happens to be out, off-duty, and stumbles upon a whopper of a case.

Atwater and Fox were having a decent enough date night, picking at a piece of chocolate cake that looked to die for, and failing to properly have the conversations they needed to be having about this child they’re having and their relationship.

But then they got pulled into a house party and a pretty tragic scene.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

Kids are the worst, man. Poor Emily was lying on the floor, bleeding out, and there were a bunch of random kids just happily partying in her house like nothing was happening.

They didn’t even seem fazed that their host was dying on her bedroom floor. No one seemed to care that people were getting stabbed in the house. What gives?

But the case was definitely fairly easy to follow because, thanks to the trust age of social media, teens have a pesky habit of sharing every single facet of their lives as they go. And the lack of caution regarding this stresses me out on the regular.

Emily’s situation was heartbreaking.

I was just speaking about how there’s this unspoken but universal experience wherein when the worst has happened to someone, it’s almost a deeply biological or chemical reaction for them to call out for their mom.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

She was dying, and all she wanted was her mother. And that seemed to hit Tasha pretty hard, given her circumstances.

But then we got the obnoxious element of the hour: Ellis’ father trying to represent all the kids, get his son out of there, and generally interfere with an investigation.

Although sometimes I can’t help but laugh over how lawyers have to be depicted in cop shows — as if they’re not a vital part of the justice system and the checks and balances that help keep the law in order, so to speak.

But Alan was just generally obnoxious the entire time, which was great priming for when they pulled off that twist at the end.

Emily died because of Ellis, and then Dwayne Coleman also fell victim to sadistic Ellis when he realized what happened with Emily and didn’t want any more parts of their activities.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

Dwayne didn’t sign up for killing people. And he likely already knew the deal with Ellis in the first place — that when it came down to it, he’d be the one sitting behind bars before the rich kid ever would.

The stabbing in broad daylight was too much for me. I can’t imagine just happening across someone, and then suddenly realizing that they got shanked in the middle of a crowd, and no one is the wiser.

What made this case so straightforward was that they pretty much knew the entire time that Ellis was their guy; it was just a matter of proving it and circumventing his lawyer.

Voight and Atwater, carefully asking questions and trying to avoid triggering Alan, were amusing enough.

But one of the hour’s best technical moments was the dual interrogation. I loved the camera work and how it was shot. Swinging from one to the other with Torres and Ruzek watching was great, and the moment it clicked that it wasn’t Alan who was protecting his son but Toni.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

He had no idea his car had been used, and his freakout over the footage was tense. It was interesting to see that not only was he terrified of his son, but he didn’t trust his wife much either.

But their smartest move was to let Ellis go so they could trap him. Texting him while pretending to be his mother worked out well since he took off, attempting to get rid of the murder weapon and other evidence.

The second Atwater took off on foot, I knew Ellis would attack Kevin and that Tasha wouldn’t stay in the car. But she had his back, and the baby is fine despite that brief scare with Ellis wielding the knife, so all’s well that ends well.

It was probably in that moment with all that commotion that Ruzek figured out Tasha was pregnant. His telling Atwater, “Congratulations, Daddio,” was a cute moment.

And Burgess’ shock when Tasha told her was amusing. It’s not exactly how I would’ve envisioned this news coming out, especially Burgess finding out from someone other than Atwater.

But at least the news is semi-out, and we got to see reactions.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

It still exposed the downside to the series not tackling certain topics unless someone is having a centric. Kevin not telling everyone in his life because he doesn’t know where he stands with TaSha made a little sense.

But his not telling Burgess at all doesn’t make any sense. We also don’t know how much time has passed either. Nevertheless, after weeks of nothing, we have to take the little wins.

And after this case, it seems Tasha has finally made her choice. They’re both hopeless causes when it comes to communication and learning how to be in love and in a healthy relationship.

I’m glad they found each other. They’re a perfect match.

Tasha was terrified of not having Kevin fully, of him not feeling the same way about her, and of him committing to her only out of obligation to the baby. She didn’t want to disrupt her life for him if she didn’t know for certain where she stood, but she was also scared to commit, too.

(Lori Allen/NBC)

And Atwater didn’t know what to do with this limbo. His entire life is in Chicago, and he wanted his child to be there, too, to face his fears with Tasha, raise their child there, and form a family.

Family is so important to Kevin. It’s everything, really. So, his commitment to her — him pouring his heart out and letting her know they can work things out? You can believe him. You know he means it.

And Tasha was vulnerable in a way that was new but refreshing. Her concerns were valid. They barely know each other, but now they’re going to be raising a family together. But she found the perfect guy for that.

Overall, the case was straightforward, the personal drama had low stakes, and we had everyone but Imani working the case, but they mostly fell to the back. Just Chicago PD things!

Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics! Were you underwhelmed by the baby revelation? Are you a Foxwater shipper? Let’s discuss!

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Loneva Wolfolk

Wednesday 29th of April 2026

The Last 2 Mos. Of Chicago PD Has Been Awful! One Character Running The Whole Show For An Hour Is Boring ! We Need To See The Whole Team At Work! Is The Show Being Cancelled! It Needs To Be New Writers Needed!

Anthony P

Monday 27th of April 2026

This is one of those episodes where you can really see the penny pinching. It almost felt like it was made during the Covid Epidemic. We never see or hear from the dead girls parents or family. We never get the boyfriend in the cage or interrogation room where he spilled why and how. We don't get a resolution with his parents, the mom especially after covering up the whole thing, and yeah Imani was gone and no one said a thing. I also have trouble believing atwater would tell no one about the baby. This season has been one character focused episode after another with no arc or through life for the season. I don't hate this season by any means, but it's definitely a low point in the season in my opinion.

JM

Sunday 26th of April 2026

Another forgettable episode in a season that is also very forgettable. I am happy for Atwater. Hopefully they actually use him and his family more on the show. I feel he’s always pushed to the background.

Only 3 episodes left. Hopefully they can deliver a good ending to a somewhat disappointing season.

Ramona Robinson

Thursday 23rd of April 2026

I lovedddd this episode!! The ending scene was just too sweet. I’m happy Kevin finally got his happy ending!! I also love Tasha as a character. She really is his perfect match. Only thing I wished was we got a clear indication of how far along Tasha was. I also agree the stakes personally were pretty low. I really never felt like Tasha was going to stay in Miami. Finding out she hated it was a surprise. I’m glad though some of the tr finally knows. I knew Burgess would be the first to find out I just didn’t think Tasha would spill the beans. I may be in the minority here but I kind of understand Kevin not saying anything seeing as though Tasha is still in her first trimester. Lastly, the case itself was meh. When I read the logline I was expecting something more sinister but I was watching for an update on Foxwater anyway😭 Thanks for reviewing!

Jasmine Blu

Friday 24th of April 2026

@Ramona Robinson, It's definitely nice that Kevin finally gets something happy.

I never thought she'd stay in Miami either. But I'm curious to see how often she'll guest star now.

I was surprised that Tasha was the one to tell Kim, and i like their friendship forming. Loved them working together.

My expectations for the case were higher too. But next week looks GOOD.

Dean

Thursday 23rd of April 2026

Case was meh I was completely checked out until it was revealed Ellis and his mom were psychopaths.

I was more interested with Atwater’s secret coming out and yes I too was pissed he never told Burgess his best bud for 13 years that he was going to be a proud papa. I guess since he wasn’t sure about the situation himself he didn’t want to jinx it as so many times before.

And we saw how affected he was of the case first Emily dying crying for her mom then trying to understand why Alan would go to such lengths to protect Ellis.

Again we all remember the Voight and Casey thing from year one of Fire and just how much Voight went for Justin. So we see that good or bad parental protection is a universal thing.

Jasmine Blu

Thursday 23rd of April 2026

@Dean, yeah, it was just standard.

The baby thing is tough. Because once they went more than two episodes without addressing it, there was no satisfying way to get into that.

Kevin not telling Kim was just madness. Even if he didn't know what was going on..

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