Spoilers ahead for Episode 16 of Chicago P.D. Season 12, called "Seen and Unseen" and available streaming now with a Peacock subscription.
The focus of Chicago P.D. shifted over to Burgess in "Seen and Unseen" in the 2025 TV schedule, as she struggled with all of her duties as a newly-minted detective on top of a difficult murder case, planning a wedding, and parenting Makayla with Ruzek. If that wasn't enough, the case itself relied on her memory after the shooting occurred in a diner that she frequented, so Burgess was heaping extra pressure on her own shoulders.
Fortunately, the stress wasn't enough to upset the smooth sailing of the good ship Burzek for too long, and she came to a very sweet realization about priorities before the final credits rolled.
Burgess And Ruzek Are Planning Their Wedding
Despite wedding planning not getting a ton of screen time in Season 12, Chicago P.D. clearly isn't marrying Burgess and Ruzek off via an elopement like Upstead's wedding a few seasons earlier, and "Seen and Unseen" was the first big look into their plans for the nuptials. The duo have a wedding planner who presumably is very busy off-screen while Kim and Adam are solving crimes each week. The hurdle that crossed over into their work lives in "Seen and Unseen" was the guest list, with Adam putting together his half (at about 80 people) while Kim couldn't prioritize hers.
And it just seemed like more and more problems kept jumping up for them as the episode continued. On top of the wedding planning, the roof was leaking, Ruzek's dad was ailing, Burgess was overworked, and Makayla was struggling with schoolwork. The couple was bickering more than we usually see of them, and I was a little worried that "Seen and Unseen" would end on tension.
Then, Burgess hit her breaking point after a call with Deputy Chief Reid, who continues to cause problems for Intelligence, requiring more paperwork from her. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't looking good for her to have a happy ending at home in the final minutes of the episode. Sometimes, it's good to be wrong!
Burgess Realized What Matters Most
As she sat down to her computer for more hours of paperwork, Burgess flashed back over her encounters with Ruzek from the episode to realize that she was neglecting their relationship and not acknowledging all the work he was doing while she focused on her report.
In a neat trick, Chicago P.D. played through the same scenes from earlier in the episode, but with slightly different angles to show Burgess realizing what she'd missed the first time around. So, she went home and surprised her fiancé with news that she'd booked them a weekend at the 5-star Langham hotel in downtown Chicago, dropping a lovely little speech on him:
What I mean is we're planning this wedding and we're getting married, and I just got promoted and I made detective. I don't want my memories of this period of my life to be of stress. Our life... It's okay. A lot's fine. It's life. We're good. You and I, we're really good, but I don't wanna miss things, because I feel like I'm missing things.
It may have taken them twelve seasons to get here, but I nominate Burzek as the One Chicago couple with the best communication! Ruzek obviously responded well to her speech, and the credits rolled with them happily getting an early start on what Ruzek dubbed their "saucy weekend." The wedding is happening, the happily-ever-after is still on the books, and my suspicion that their big ceremony won't happen as planned doesn't necessarily mean disaster if I'm right.
Why I Think The BIG Wedding Might Not Happen
Happily, my doubts about Burgess and Ruzek tying the knot with a big ceremony aren't about anybody getting cold feet or a fight splitting them up or Voight causing relationship problems a la Upstead. (No, I don't still have a grudge about Voight messing with Upton and Halstead's relationship. I'm definitely, totally, completely 100% over that. Not protesting too much at all, right?) When I say that the "big wedding might not happen," I quite literally mean that they might not be able to have their BIG wedding.
The finished guest list apparently hit 120, with Ruzek telling Burgess that the planner broke the news that "there's no way we're fitting 120 in the backyard," so they're "gonna have to make some brutal cuts." Plus, it wouldn't be a wedding in the One Chicago world if something didn't go awry. The most recent weddings on Chicago Fire were Stellaride and Brettsey, with the former getting married on a boat after losing their venue and the latter getting married in a fish store after waiting too long for a venue.
Chicago Med's Ethan and April did get a lovely church wedding, but that may have at least partly been due to Brian Tee leaving the series and just getting a happy sendoff with Yaya DaCosta's return. The Manstead wedding fell apart before anybody could even approach the aisle, though! And as for Upstead on Chicago P.D... well, the only hope for a happy ending for them is an off-screen reunion after their divorce.
All of this is to say that I expect something to go very much not according to plan for the Burzek nuptials, including them not getting that big 100+ person wedding they'd wanted.
Why I Think A Wedding Will Happen
I do think that the knot will be tied before the credits roll on Season 12, though. Marina Squerciati shared that she was "stupidly excited" trying on wedding dresses for the show, and a recent set of photos on her Instagram page include a wedding invitation listing the ceremony as "May 25, 2025 AT 3 O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON." The actress was also still sharing pics of wedding gowns as recently as a few weeks ago:
While her big episode aired live on March 26, Squerciati shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that she was "still on set with Paddy filming the finale." Does that mean she and Patrick John Flueger were filming a happy ending to the finale right at that moment while "Seen and Unseen" was playing on NBC? Okay, maybe not, but I'm feeling good about a Burzek wedding happening in some form or other. Even if something does derail their best-laid plans, surely the characters wouldn't want to delay since Ruzek's dad isn't doing well.
Plus, if we assume that all necessary knots will be tied, we can have fun speculating about who makes the cut on the guest list. Disco Bob will hopefully be on hand, and I've been speculating that Adam's sister might appear as well. It'd be nice if Burgess could have some family on hand, and of course there are plenty of One Chicago characters who might make fan wish lists as wedding guests.
Of course, the cast filming finale scenes doesn't mean that NBC is anywhere near out of Season 12 episodes, and the next one looks like it'll be a rough one for Atwater in his own relationship. Check out the preview:
Catch new episodes of Chicago P.D. Season 12 on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, following Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. The wait is still on for NBC to announce renewals for the 2025-2026 TV schedule, but hopefully good news about the future of One Chicago will be announced sooner rather than later.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
