Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Chicago P.D. Season 11, called "Retread," and light spoilers for Episode 3.
Chicago P.D. returned for Season 11 in the 2024 TV schedule with a six-month time jump over some big decisions; while the premiere wasted no time in confirming that Adam Ruzek had survived the bloody Season 10 finale cliffhanger, he hadn't yet qualified yet to come back to the job. Whether or not he'd pass the tests to retake his spot in Intelligence was the big question of "Retread," and viewers got the answer by the end of the hour with Kim Burgess by his side. She may be the one needing help soon, though!
Ruzek was taking the written portion of the test he'd need to pass to come back to active duty early in the episode, but his week went off the rails when his sketchy poker game was ripped, and he fired off some shots with his undercover weapon when he technically was still supposed to be on inactive leave. The team eventually closed the case of the week with some unofficial help from Ruzek, but not before the death of his C.I.
There was a silver lining to the scene of him and Ruzek learning that the young man had died, however, as Adam got the news that he'd passed the test. He can return to the slot in the Intelligence Unit that Voight had refused to fill with anybody else. Given that the news came just after Ruzek lost somebody, it's hard to call it a happy ending, but it at least points to a sunnier immediate future than the end of the premiere with Upton's reveal! (You can revisit the premiere streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.)
So, with Ruzek returning to work, the focus is set to shift over to Burgess for what looks like quite a draining case, and I for one am going to take heart from showrunner Gwen Sigan's comments about a "nice ride" for Burzek in Season 11. Take a look at the promo for the third episode of the season, which looks like anything but a nice ride for Marina Squerciati's character:
Based on the preview, the Intelligence Unit is going to catch a case that involves shots fired at Burgess and turns out to potentially center on a hate crime against Venezuelan nationals. Burgess appears to be trying to connect with a young woman who needs some convincing that the CPD cop can protect her. And if you're wondering why Kim is wearing her cop uniform instead of usual plain clothes, the episode description from NBC sheds some light:
Burgess works an extra shift at the 13th District and gets caught in the middle of a drive-by attack on refugees. The team works together to track down the shooter and uncover the true motive behind the attack.
Personally, I'm wondering what happens that prompts Burgess to work an extra shift in the episode, called "Safe Harbor." Here's hoping that she's in a better state of mind than Upton was when she began taking on extra shifts in Season 10 as her way of dealing with Halstead's absence! With Ruzek recovered enough to return to the job, I'm guessing the extra shift is for a pretty innocent reason... insofar as anything can be innocent on Chicago P.D., anyway!
See Burgess seemingly lead the charge in the next episode of Chicago P.D. on Wednesday, January 31 at 10 p.m. ET, following Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET, all on NBC.
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