A major multi-episode arc focuses on black officer Kevin Atwater enduring racial harassment and hazing from white cops, culminating in threats of lawsuits and physical attacks tied to his whistleblowing on a racist colleague, framing the 'blue wall' as a barrier to justice. New recurring character Deputy Superintendent Samantha Miller, a black female reformer, constantly second-guesses and pressures the team to abandon 'warrior cop' tactics for procedural purity, injecting identity politics and critiques of traditional policing into nearly every episode.

Episodes like 'Fighting Ghosts,' 'White Knuckle,' and 'Protect and Serve' feature viral videos of cop-on-black brutality, reform mandates clashing with Voight's methods, and explicit discussions of racial bias, turning character development into lectures on equity. Showrunner Rick Eid and actors like Jason Beghe openly stated the season's activist intent to promote 'dramatic change,' 'reflection,' and be 'useful' amid real-world protests, prioritizing contemporary social justice over organic storytelling.

Added diverse casting, such as black officers Cooper and Miller, serves these themes rather than plot needs. Audience reactions include complaints of the season feeling boring, predictable, and altered to fit obsessions with police reform, diluting the high-stakes action that defined earlier seasons into moralizing drama that alienates core viewers.