Spoilers ahead for Episode 6 of NBC's Chicago P.D. Season 12, called "Pawns."
Chicago P.D. delivered a twist that was a long time coming in the fall 2024 TV schedule with "Pawns," which finally elevated one of the longtime officers to detective status. Kim Burgess aced the written and interview portions of the exam, before things got complicated during the ridealong with Detective Suarez. By the end of the hour, she did get the promotion to detective, but she got a favor she wasn't looking for in the process. Marina Squerciati spoke with CinemaBlend about what went down and reassured me about what happens next for Burzek.
Before she even had to deal with the politics of promotion, Burgess struggled to separate running a crime scene like a detective and doing the work usually assigned to officers. She paid the price, when racing off to chase down a suspect resulted in losing track of key evidence. (You can rewatch the episode streaming with a Peacock subscription.) Suarez pointed out that being a detective means not having to go on the chases as much anymore. When I spoke with Marina Squerciati, she weighed in on Burgess having to try and shed those instincts:
It's funny because I was like, 'So now that I'm a detective, do I not have to run anymore?' [laughs] Because that's what they say in the episode. I was like, 'I'd love not to run.' It's hard to run on camera because you have to do it like 80 times. I think it's a rite of passage for both Burgess and Marina. I've been inhabiting this role in a certain way, and I still think I sort of revert back to not [being] a detective sometimes. I think as an actor, I need to remind myself to look at everything through this lens a little bit more.
It's no surprise that the actress might need to remind herself about playing a detective now, as she had been portraying an CPD officer for twelve seasons and well over 200 episodes. So, for all these years as an officer and Atwater originally seeming next in line to make detective, is it about time for Burgess to finally be promoted? Squerciati weighed in:
I think Burgess has felt that she's always ready, and she just finally got the time and the moment and the space. She's a great cop. She's learned a lot. Everyone's better at their job every year that they're in it, so it's not like she hasn't gotten better, but I think she's going to make a great detective.
Unfortunately, her well-earned promotion came with some strings attached, despite her best efforts to keep everything 100% above board. She was willing to turn down a favor from Suarez and even leave Intelligence to work at Area Central, and stuck to her guns even when Ruzek tried to talk her out of it. The possibly sketchy Deputy Chief Reid stepped in and insisted that she get to return to her longtime unit, leading Voight to ominously tell Burgess that "Nothing's ever free."
So, is the promotion to detective in the Intelligence Unit tainted for Burgess since it was arguably the result of a favor that she didn't even want? I asked Marina Squerciati that very question, and she responded:
It's gonna leave a bad taste in her mouth. I think she tries not to think about it, but it's still definitely there.
Despite showrunner Gwen Sigan's assurance that Burgess and Ruzek's relationship will be solid in Season 12, I couldn't help but recall that most of Chicago P.D.'s romances within the Intelligence Unit have been between cops of the same rank. Roman and Burgess were both officers, Halstead and Upton were both detectives, and Burgess and Ruzek were both officers for the entire run of the series up until "Pawns." (Technically Upzek was between Detective Upton and Officer Ruzek, but the less said about the short Upzek era of Season 6 is for the better.)
So, just as Chicago P.D. is exploring the storyline of an Intelligence officer making detective for the first time, would Season 12 be the first time the show truly explores the CPD complications of two cops of unequal rank being romantically involved? I was concerned about that as a problem for Burzek, but Marina Squerciati allayed those fears when I asked, saying:
To have the man be resentful of the woman's power – first of all, it's not Adam. I don't think that he would resent that at all. I think he would be really proud of her and think we're better than that as a couple and as a unit. So no, I think he's really happy for her.
Whatever Chicago P.D. has in store for Burzek as Season 12 continues, it evidently won't involve any conflict between them about a detective being engaged to an officer, which gives me a sigh of relief. Burgess is on the verge of dealing with relationship complications within the Intelligence Unit soon, though, if the promo is any indication; the relationship just won't be her own. Take a look at what's ahead for Torres:
Becoming a detective hasn't just wiped Burgess' slate clean, and it should be interesting to see what the dynamic is like between her and Torres with Gloria coming back into the picture. Tune in to NBC on Wednesday, November 13 at 10 p.m. ET for this next episode of Chicago P.D., following Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET.
