Tonight on NBC their drama Chicago PD returns with an all-new Wednesday, April 2, 2025, season 12 episode 17 called, “Transference” and we have your Chicago PD recap below.
In tonight’s Chicago PD season, 12 episode 17 called, “Transference,” as per the NBC synopsis, “The search for the suspect in a shooting uncovers a surprising personal connection to Atwater and Val, raising questions about their relationship status.”
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Detective Kevin Atwater was having dinner with his girlfriend when he heard gunshots. He was at her place. He didn’t know the area. He called it in because that’s what he was supposed to do and he took out his off-duty weapon. He checked the area. He saw a man with a bag in the alleyway. He tried to him keep at the scene, but there was a victim nearby. The victim needed Atwater more. The suspect got away and Atwater stayed with the victim. He asked the man if he knew his shooter. He said he didn’t. He also described the man that Atwater saw for himself. The victim eventually succumbed to his wounds. Just not before Val saw him.
Valeria Soto wasn’t used to death or violence. She was a therapist. She also didn’t want people knowing about her relationship with Atwater. It might cause problems with both of their jobs. Val and Atwater downplayed their relationship when backup arrived. Atwater didn’t even think she was connected to what happened. The cops initially believed her that her neighbor was a victim of an armed robbery. They continue to believe so until they got facial recognition on their suspect. His name is Nick Payton.
Val knew him. He was once her patient. He also showed up at her office late one night. Her brother filed charges against him and Gabe dropped the charges because Val explained it was a misunderstanding. She said Nick wasn’t violent. She truly believed he wasn’t capable of violence. She also thought there must be a reasonable explanation for why he was so near to her house that night. Atwater told Val he saw Nick. Nick was a suspect in Keating’s murder. He needed to talk to him to find out why he was in that alleyway.
Atwater got Nick’s address. He went there. The landlord let him in and that’s when he found the photos. Nick wasn’t as harmless as Val thought. He was actually stalking her. He’s been stalking her since she was his therapist. He developed feeling for her. She dismissed it as transference. It’s when a patient comes to have romantic feelings for their therapist because the therapist was usually the kindest person to help with their mental health. It;s what happened with Nick and Val. She saw that he got attached and she transferred him to a different doctor.
Atwater stopped by Val’s office. He told her that Nick was dangerous. They suspected him in her neighbor’s death and it might because the neighbor was feuding with Val. He was feuding with everyone in the neighborhood. He was a bit of a jerk. Only Nick went out of his way to be a troll whenever the guy mentioned something negative about Val online. He might have killed Keating just so he would stop saying bad things about Val. Atwater told Val about it and she still didn’t think Nick was a danger.
Val refused to break doctor/patient confidentiality. She made Atwater make his case without her. He and his unit eventually tracked down Nick. Nick told them he wasn’t the killer. He said he was there that night to keep a close eye on Val. He wanted to protect her. Nick also mentioned that there was another man at the scene. The guy had a limp. The cops didn’t believe his story until another armed robbery occurred. While Nick was in prison. Nick suddenly became their chief witness after that second robbery. They asked him to look through a file to see if he recognized the man from that night.
Nick refused to assist until his two conditions were met. First, he wanted Atwater to apologize to him. Nick said he would never pose a threat to Val. Nick’s second condition was to talk to Val. He wanted to explain that he was there that night to protect her. His mom died and he latched onto Val to deal with that loss. He wasn’t posing a danger now, but Atwater was worried that one day he’ll escalate when he sees there’s no future with Val. Which Val again chose to ignore. Nick identified Robert Boyd from a look book. He said he was there that night.
Boyd turned on his robbery crew. He testified against them for immunity. He then joined the Armored Strong Security company that gave him insights into homes with safes. With Nick’s help, they can make a case against Boyd. Atwater though wanted Val to press charges for stalking. She disagreed with his assessment. She also said that their relationship was getting complicated and she didn’t sign up for that. It was unclear if she meant that was the end. It’s what she did later that clarified things for Atwater.
Atwater and his unit went looking for Boyd. They found his fence. They found his items he was trying to sell. They also saw that he knew that man that identified him. He later headed to Nick’s place. The cops found out about his plans and they tried warning Nick. He wasn’t answering calls. Atwater called Val and Val was apparently with Nick. She’s still trying to be his therapist. She was ready to fight about it with Atwater when he told her that the suspect was heading towards them. And that’s when the phone went out.
Nick and Val barricaded themselves in one of the rooms. The cops arrived and easily put Boyd down. What came next was sad. Nick didn’t want to let Val go. He wanted to keep her and he had a full breakdown when Atwater got Val to safety. It turns out Val blames herself for Nick. She had just lost her own mom when he became her patient. She got attached too. And she knows she needs to work on it.
And the one thing she’s sure about was that she didn’t want to end things with Atwater.
THE END
