Things have not been easy for Adam Ruzek lately on Chicago P.D. After stepping up to take the fall for Antonio (who'd killed a man while on duty and high on painkillers) in Season 6, Ruzek was arrested. It was clear that Ruzek wasn't going to last long if he had to spend any significant time in prison, so Voight did what he does best and made a deal with the new interim superintendent to get all the charges against Ruzek dropped. Now, Ruzek has made it clear to his boss that he owes him, and it appears he might go to some great lengths to prove it.
When I had the chance to speak with actor Patrick John Flueger, who plays Ruzek, at One Chicago Day recently, I asked just how far Ruzek will be willing to go to show Voight that the deal he made for him was worth it. And, it sounds like there will be nothing that Voight could ask of Ruzek which would make the younger detective pause:
I just think he doesn’t question him, like Halstead. I don’t think you’ll ever see Ruzek question Voight ever again. It’s just like, 'What do you need me to do?'
Uh, oh. Considering that Voight's methods can sometimes range from a bit sketchy to downright morally wrong / illegal, this is probably not going to be good for Ruzek in the long run. Everyone in Intelligence knows that Voight is a do-anything-to-protect-Chicago kind of cop, but, as Flueger said, there have always been times when other team members (like Halstead) have stood up to him and attempted to get him to do things the right way. But, with Ruzek actually telling Voight that he owes him "everything," it sounds like he means to do any and everything his boss tells him to do.
While it makes a lot of sense for Ruzek to decide to quell any questions he might have about how Voight does things in the future now that he's gotten his badge back, I also asked Patrick John Flueger if he thought some of this dedication has to do with losing Olinsky at the end of Season 5, and Ruzek feeling like he needed to step into his old partner's shoes as Voight's willing co-signer / clean-up-man. Here's what Flueger had to say...
Absolutely. For me, in that season where Denny Woods kind of had [Ruzek in a tough spot] and he was trying to play both sides and protect his work family, and [Voight and Olinsky] let him know they knew what was going on, Olinsky said to him, ‘You’re like a son to me,’ I just don’t think…they never got to make up. I think he thought there was time to gain his trust back, and he died before that happened. I think that really fucked Ruzek up. He’ll never be on the wrong side again.
In Season 5, Ruzek was blackmailed into acting as a mole by Denny Woods, who was looking to bring down Voight. Obviously, this was a big no-no for someone in Intelligence, and while the situation basically turned out alright by season's end, Ruzek didn't have an opportunity to make things up to his former partner (and the man who'd pulled him out of the academy to join the unit), because Olinsky was killed while in prison for a murder that Voight actually committed.
As you can see, sometimes standing by Voight does not end well for members of Intelligence, but with Ruzek determined to prove to Voight that getting him out of prison was worth it, as he also tries to make up his betrayal to Olinsky, it seems like he's going to be Team Voight no matter what might become of him.
We can all see what Ruzek does to stay loyal to Voight when Chicago P.D. continues on NBC, Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST. To see more of what's coming to the small screen this season, check out our 2019 fall TV premiere guide!
