Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 2 Review: Torres Finds a Trap Door in His Descent into Darkness

Shy of Voight and maybe Hailey, has there been another Chicago PD character quite as tortured as Dante Torres?

He hasn’t been part of the Intelligence Unit for too long, and he’s already showing the signs of someone who the job has taken so much from, and it’s deeply alarming.

Seriously, after the dark hour that was Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 2, it’s like they broke our stray black cat!

Dante Torres is not okay, but Benjamin Levy Aguilar is always remarkable. One of the true joys of watching the character’s trajectory on this show is getting to see Aguilar’s range as he evolves as an actor alongside this complex character.

If we can count on anything else during a Torres-centric, it’s that he’s going to put on one hell of a performance. He commits to it so deeply in every way, every nuance, and that’s what makes it so enjoyable about watching him front and center.

The hour was also a memorable one as it marked Chicago PD veteran Jesse Lee Soffer’s return to the series this season, only behind the camera again.

He does some great work behind the camera as well, and it’s genuinely nice that he gets to continue expanding his resume in that regard on this series.

After an action-packed opener, we had one of those character deep dives that affected you deep in your gut.

Torres is an interesting character because he gets a combination of the standard arcs that others get, but with his own twist.

For example, when it comes to something immediately impacting his community and hood, and the resistance to police involvement, or even those who seek him out specifically, it always aligns with many of Atwater’s arcs.

It makes sense for them both, as Men of Color who come from communities that have notoriously had bad experiences with law enforcement. They both share a drive to be trustworthy among their peers while also facing the challenges of being judged for their jobs.

We saw Torres face that when he caught hell from a few locals repeatedly because of a series of abductions and violent shakedowns within the Pilsen community, and they were not getting any assistance from law enforcement.

Burgess noted that it’s likely because that district is understaffed, and it was one of those situations where it felt as if some of what’s also mentioned in Chicago Fire is seeping in here as well.

But when people are in need and victimized by people, they don’t care about how short-staffed the cops are or anything else; they just want help, and they’re not getting it.

Brenda knew to go to Torres when she needed him, but it didn’t pan out well when she kept rejecting his help at every turn, fearing the worst.

And sadly, the worst happened when they found Ivan dead. My heart sank, not just for Brenda, but because it doesn’t feel ike Torres can take any more hits as a character.

Seriously? How much more can he take? Torres is still deeply affected by the events that occurred last season.

It’s hard to pinpoint the timeline exactly, but there are so many things at play that are building up for him, and they’ve gone unaddressed for so damn long.

He lost Gloria, someone whom he loved, despite the convoluted nature of their relationship. And going undercover at Marion unlocked some memories and traumas that he had never actually addressed again, but it’s clear he hasn’t been able to bury them any longer.

He’s also still battling insomnia and is utterly incapable of praying. It’s his loss of faith that’s particularly heartbreaking because it meant so much to him.

His faith anchored him and kept him at peace, providing a necessary balance that he needed; without it, he wouldn’t have been able to function properly.

But worse, he can’t seem to fill that void with anything else. As someone who was a fan of the Torres/Kiana dynamic, losing her hasn’t been the best for him either, I’d say.

She had a grounding quality to her that seemed to keep his head straighter than it was, and she saw through him, pulling him aside to talk things through in a way that others didn’t really do.

The closest he has to that is Kevin now, a breath of fresh air and saving grace by the end of the hour, because I spent the entirety of it trying to figure out why everyone could clearly see Torres is unwell, but no one was saying or doing anything about it!

They’ve known what it’s like when their own are battling demons, and the silence has always done more harm than good!

It’s nothing to ignore, and yet, it feels like another instance where it’s not until something horrible happens that may affect the job or endanger Torres or someone else that will prompt a more hands-on, direct approach.

And that’s why I have such conflicted feelings about this Dark Torres arc. It’s not something that’s unlike things we haven’t seen before.

It’s just that Torres is descending quite rapidly compared to those who came before him. In some ways, it makes him more effective at the job — his interrogation of the driver was particularly chilling and Voight-like.

It was particularly a dagger to hear him so bluntly tell this man that God wasn’t there to save him — it felt like he wasn’t just talking to the perpetrator. No, it was a reflection of how he also feels about God — there’s a void where something meaningful used to be.

Torres’ 1000-yard stare was so unsettling, and it’s just so clear that he’s broken in ways that there’s no way of fixing just yet.

But it was his moment on the rooftop that was the most alarming of all, if Atwater wasn’t there, who’s to say if Torres would’ve been able to keep himself from shooting that guy!

What’s upsetting is that we know that when Torres is like this, and he sinks into these dark places, he can become a liability, and that’s the exact same thing he resents being in the first place.

He’s still beating himself up about how his actions got everyone in trouble. It’s clear he struggles with his worth in that regard, and I don’t know what else they can do to get him through it.

Even Atwater talking to him didn’t do much. There’s a difference between hearing someone’s advice and actually heeding it.

Right now, Torres is just a walking open wound, which makes his gnarly injury a perfect metaphor for everything that he embodies right now.

He refused to get it treated properly, just as he’s resistant to getting any proper help for his head and heart, either.

Right now, he wants the pain and to suffer. He thinks he deserves it. Torres may feel as if he’s fallen out of God’s favor and has lost his faith, but the irony is that he still holds all the guilt and the blame of a good Catholic regardless.

I love a good crisis of faith arc because when done well, it can be quite compelling, especially for an intriguing character, and they’re such rare arcs.

However, I’m still undecided about the ongoing issue with Torres, where he descends into the abyss, falling into a deep hole from which there is no way out.

It runs the risk of feeling repetitive over time. I’m not against a long-game storyline; I just still have so much uncertainty about this specific one for Torres.

The darkness and self-harm remind me of Hailey in one of her dark spots. And now, Torres turning to this alluring woman, the tattoo artist who seems to understand his pain, is something else that feels similar to a previous arc, not to mention another case of Torres falling into bed with the wrong person.

In the absence of faith, we have this new person in his life who enables his darkness, matching it with her own, and introducing him to finding pleasure in pain.

Shallowly, their makeout session was filthy but hot, if we exclude all the digging into open wounds and such.

But as a genuine Torres fan, all I want for my guy right now is for him to go lie down on a therapist’s couch and get his head on straight, not bury the other one in a new problem that will lead him down an even darker path.

Like, is there a reason why no one in the Chicago PD universe ever considers therapy? I’m just wondering!

Kudos to the series for adding the helpline at the end of the hour. Please, look after your mental health, people. It really is rough out here.

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