Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Chicago P.D. Season 12, called "Blood Bleeds Blue."
Ruzek never has an easy ride whenever Patrick John Flueger gets the spotlight on Chicago P.D., and that was certainly the case for "Blood Bleeds Blue" in the 2024 TV schedule. Following the shocking Season 12 premiere ending with Ruzek only able to watch after Detective Martel was shot in the head, the second episode revealed how he handled her death when he quite literally had blood on his hands for most of the hour despite not being at fault.
Actor Patrick John Flueger spoke with CinemaBlend about the episode, including what might have been different if Burgess was there and what fans likely didn't know helped amp up the emotion.
Would Ruzek Had Processed Better With Burgess?
While Marina Squerciati is definitely still part of Chicago P.D.'s cast, she was absent from the first two episodes of Season 12 due to Burgess being at the NAWLEE – National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives – conference. (The out-of-universe reason may be due to budget.) Ruzek was getting along just fine on the job with Martel on board, but that changed when she was shot and he spent pretty much the entire next episode on edge.
When I spoke with star Patrick John Flueger about the premiere twist and how he wants Ruzek's story to end, I also asked if Ruzek would have handled the aftermath of Martel's death differently if Burgess had been present, and he shared:
He might have. His ego might have made him try and stay stronger through it, just because his fiancé is watching him and boys do that kind of thing. 'I got to be a man!' But no, we're just so off to the races the moment that it happens, the whole episode's in real time. I don't think he's got time to to stop and think or stop and feel as much as one would like.
Ruzek spent most of the episode partnered by pure happenstance with Officer Kiana Cook (new series regular Toya Turner), who was just in the area when Martel was shot. Cook dropped enough details about her past for Ruzek to clock that there was a story behind why she was working patrol, but he also had more pressing issues on his mind.
How Chicago P.D. 'Leveled Up' With Episode 2
There's a reason why "Blood Bleeds Blue" not only flowed pretty seamlessly from the end of the premiere, but also tapped into Ruzek's emotions as well as it did. And there's absolutely no reason why fans would have picked up on it from just watching the episode.
I asked Patrick John Flueger if he'd filmed right from the end of the Season 12 premiere (currently available streaming with a Peacock subscription) to the start of Episode 2, and he confirmed:
We shot that scene where she gets shot, and then the continuation of it was all shot on one day.
It of course makes sense to film both halves of the scene on the same day, but Chicago P.D. is usually a pretty procedural show that switches between directors, which included bringing former star Jesse Lee Soffer on board to direct in Seasons 10 and 11. Flueger explained that there were indeed two different directors from the Season 12 premiere to the episode that picked up immediately after, saying:
It was Chad Saxton, our directing producer, who directed Episode 1, and then Victor Macias directed [Episode 2], so it just continued on and both of these guys are hyper talented. Vic's an emotional director. He feels it. He goes home and he has trouble sleeping. He's our A camera operator... and we get a lot of different directors, so when I'm done with the scene, or they're moving on, I'll be like, 'Vic, hey, check in with this guy.' Because he knows me better than any of these directors ever possibly could.
What better way to start a season with a two-parter directed by Chad Saxton – an executive producer who also directed the milestone 200th episode of Chicago P.D. – and then Victor Macias, who knows the cast so well? This was certainly a pair of episodes that needed to nail the emotions of what Ruzek was going through, which was a job for them as well as Flueger. The actor continued:
He's emotional when he's operating the camera. It's wild. I couldn't have asked for a better twosome, going from Chad to him. And Chad, everybody thinks Chad's a robot, but he's not. He's got the biggest heart, and they both got cinematic eyeballs. I feel like these first couple episodes are really cinematic. They look cool, they look great, and I just feel like we've leveled up.
It's hard to argue against Chicago P.D. premiering in a more "cinematic" way than usual, since the two-part nature made the story's runtime closer to a feature film than a usual procedural episode. As for what comes next, the focus is shifting over the Atwater. Check out the promo for the upcoming episode:
Keep tuning in to Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m.. ET for new episodes with Ruzek and Co. As alway, the cop drama follows Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET, all on NBC. If you want to revisit earlier episodes of any or all of the three series, you can find them streaming on Peacock.
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