Chicago P.D. is on the verge of reaching a major milestone that few primetime shows are lucky enough to hit, with the 200th episode airing on February 22. Called “Trapped,” the dangerous case of the week will take Burgess and Ruzek onto a busy L subway train, all while dealing with some emotional triggers. Stars Marina Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger spoke with CinemaBlend about the upcoming 200th episode, what will make it stand out from the previous 199, and the current state of Burzek.
Marina Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger have of course been part of Chicago P.D. going back to the first season, and the ten seasons so far have put Burgess and Ruzek through the wringer and then back again more than once. When I spoke to the actors who have been bringing Burzek to life on the small screen since 2014, I asked what sets “Trapped” apart from the normal cases of the week that fans are used to. Squerciati previewed what’s on the way, saying:
They elevated every situation in terms of set pieces and budget and drama, and what a way to ring in the 200th! It's stuff we've never done before, and we've done a lot in the 199. Between being on the train tracks and building a pool for a well, it's great. I guess sometimes I'm like, 'They've run out of ideas, right?' Gwen is just a magician and just keeps pulling rabbits out of her hat. It's amazing.
The actress shouted out showrunner Gwen Sigan for being a “magician” in crafting new stories, and Sigan certainly has the experience! She began her career with Wolf Entertainment as a writer’s assistant back in 2014, and has since risen to the role of showrunner of One Chicago’s second longest-running hit show. While fans will have to wait until the 200th episode on February 22 to find out exactly what’s in store, it’s apparently proof that the P.D. has not yet run out of ideas!
One of the longest-running arcs by this point has been the relationship between Burgess and Ruzek, which has hit some very high highs and very low lows over the first 199 episodes. All signs point toward Episode 200 as a big one for both characters, when the case of a brutal shooting leads to a dark situation with a family, with Burgess triggered into memories of her shooting, for which she still hasn’t received closure.
In light of what seems to be a lot of Burzek in the milestone episode, I asked the stars what kind of team their characters will be, and Patrick John Flueger shared:
One thing I really like about this season is… I think since about Season 1, Burgess and Ruzek have experienced a tremendous amount of back and forth drama. [laughs] You're going around in circles, which I don't think is unrealistic. I think people do that kind of stuff in real life all of the time. It usually takes place in high school... [laughs] I just appreciate that this year, the bumps in the road that we have are not relationship bumps in the road, or us like, 'Oh, we just don't understand each other anymore.' After ten years, my god, if you still don't understand each other, someone needs to step in and call a spade a spade.
Despite seasons of miscommunication, bad timing, and even the occasional ugly confrontation like with Makayla’s kidnapping back in Season 9, hope is far from lost. By this point in Season 10, they seem to be a solid coparenting and cohabitating unit to Makayla, and the same problems that formerly came between them are no longer there. That’s not to say that their life together is problem-free (or clearly defined), but they’ve grown, as Flueger continued:
Instead, it's these outside forces. It's these things that sneak into an otherwise solid friendship, solid relationship, that creates the bumps in the road, and how two people approach it differently, or how they approach it in the same way and how maybe they're blinded by their love for one another in the best way to handle a situation. I am glad that we've kind of turned the corner and now we're dealing with those types of adversity rather than the adversity always being between the two of them and their confusion. I think that they've settled into being really okay with the fact that they're not a defined thing at this point. They'll figure that out when it's maybe a little bit of a quieter time to do so.
Whether or not they ever reach a quiet enough time to define their relationship remains to be seen; if it does happen, hopefully it won’t involve waiting another 200 episodes! After all, just look at Law & Order: SVU at 500 episodes and counting with no resolution between Benson and Stabler. In all seriousness, fans can now look forward to what should be a standout episode of Chicago P.D. that’s “elevated” from the norm, based on what Marina Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger had to say. The promo certainly is hyping the milestone:
Of course, the norm for P.D. has already changed a lot in Season 10. Like when Chicago Fire hit its 200th with Season 10 back in 2021, the big episode comes in the same season that said goodbye to a longtime series regular. Jesse Lee Soffer no longer portrays Jay Halstead on Chicago P.D. (although he returned behind-the-scenes to direct an upcoming episode). The rest of the series regulars did return full-time for Season 10, and it should be interesting to see how Intelligence functions in the milestone.
Watch the 200th episode of Chicago P.D. on Wednesday, February 22 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, and/or streaming the next day with a Peacock Premium subscription. The three shows of One Chicago have not yet been renewed for the 2023-2024 TV season, but hopefully some good news will be announced in the not-too-distant future.
