“Chicago P.D.” needed to have high stakes from the beginning, so Sheldon Jin became the show’s first major casualty. Portrayed by Archie Kao in all 15 episodes of Season 1, the Chicago Police Department’s intelligence specialist was essential to solving crimes. But Jin found himself in danger when internal affairs enlisted him as a mole, resulting in his murder on the orders of Sgt. Edwin Stillwell (Ian Bohen) when he tried to flee.
Former showrunner Matt Olmstead thought it was important to show that no character is safe on “Chicago P.D.” early on. “It shakes everybody up,” he told TV Guide in 2014. “Definitely for the next three or four episodes until people can re-galvanize as a family, but people have some hard feelings about how it all goes down.”
After Jin’s death, the NBC police procedural continued to kill or write off important characters without much warning. The prison murder of Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) in the “Chicago P.D.” Season 5 finale finale and the departure of Antonio Dawson in Season 6 especially come to mind as some of the procedural’s most surprising exits.
Sheldon Jin was missed on Chicago P.D.
“Chicago P.D.” fans were shocked and disappointed by Jin’s sudden demise. Years later, some still regret that he was discarded so quickly — which prevented him from receiving more development. Even though Jin was destined to die to demonstrate the risks of police work, his involvement in the “Chicago P.D.” Season 1 storyline is hard to forget.
Jesse Lee Soffer, who played Jay Halstead on “Chicago P.D.” before his own unexpected departure in Season 10, also spoke to the outlet about the impact of Jin’s death and Kao’s exit from the show. “It was intense. We were very close. We knew right away we were going to miss Archie a lot,” he said. “That’s a hard blow to take, but it made the finale really intense and kind of amazing.”
With Season 14 slated to premiere later this year, “Chicago P.D.” viewers might have to bid farewell to more beloved characters as the writers look to shake things up again.
