Chicago P.D. is quickly approaching the fall finale of Season 9, and fall finales can be game-changing (and sometimes extremely bloody) when it comes to this show. This time, the danger is more to Voight and Upton’s careers and freedom than anybody’s actual life, but the feds are onto their big secret about Roy, and Halstead’s choice may be the factor that decides their fates. That said, if the FBI isn’t pinning all of their hopes to crack the case onto Halstead making a certain decision, Burgess is the next logical choice as somebody who could force Voight and/or Upton’s hands. But would she?
The storyline of Roy’s murder has revolved almost entirely around Voight and Upton from the very beginning of Season 9, with Halstead being dragged into the mess after figuring it out later on. All of this is despite the fact that Burgess’ kidnapping is what started the hunt for Roy in the first place, and P.D. hasn’t touched much on her lingering trauma and desire for justice beyond an episode early on, some flashbacks in other episodes, and a couple of recent mentions. Let's get to speculating about why she could be finally key to what happens next for Voight and Upton!
How Burgess Could Find Out
Even though Burgess hasn’t been an active part of this storyline throughout Season 9, Chicago P.D. has dropped enough breadcrumbs that she could conceivably have a big part to play if she finds out that Roy is dead, several of her coworkers knew about it, and two of them are responsible for his death and the coverup. She’s a talented investigator herself and was clearly willing to help out the FBI in the most recent episode; she could hypothetically see enough clues to connect the dots herself.
Another option would be for Agent North or one of the other feds to actually tell Burgess, if they’re not getting what they want out of Halstead after giving him the choice between turning on Voight or a prison sentence for both him and the woman he loves. That choice wouldn’t necessarily be easy on Burgess either, but her finding out could certainly light a fire under everybody else and make the case move very quickly. She has more of a personal stake in the case than the others, and not the same motivation as Halstead to keep the secret. She’s not planning on marrying Upton! (Although I wouldn’t say no to more Burgess/Upton scenes.)
A third option would be for one of her fellow cops to spill the truth to her. Upton at least has felt guilty for keeping the secret from Burgess, if we go by the flashbacks to when she lied to Kim in the hospital during some of the Upton-centric parts of Season 9. Voight has sympathy for Burgess and could theoretically tell her, especially if he gets wind of the feds' offer to Halstead and starts behaving recklessly. And who knows? Maybe Halstead would tell her in the hopes that she’d help, or out of a desire to try anything else over flipping on Voight or Upton.
In the grand scheme of things, I’d say that Burgess 100% deserves to at least know that Roy is dead, even if she doesn’t find out the exact circumstances of his death. But her simply finding out wouldn’t necessarily make her key to what happens next for Voight and Upton. For that possible eventuality, we have to consider how she could react if she finds out.
What Burgess Finding Out Could Mean For Intelligence
I think Burgess’ reaction to the news would largely depend on how she found out, and whether Roy being dead would be enough for her to think justice has been deserved. She has been able to keep her cool under stressful situations plenty of times before, so the way that she could be caught most off guard would likely be if Agent North dropped the bombshell on her with the goal of following how she reacted. I can also imagine a scenario of North telling Burgess that the feds found Roy’s body with mentioning Voight or Upton, and seeing what she could figure out next.
I’m guessing that Burgess wouldn’t be able to connect the dots between the missing Roy and her fellow cops without finding out about the body, simply because North wasn’t sharing all the evidence that the FBI had until he revealed it to Halstead. Since it’s probably safe to say that Halstead won’t risk announcing that to the entire unit, she could be in the dark unless somebody spills the truth to her or sets her up to figure it out. Then again, I won’t rule out the possibility of somebody in Intelligence telling her if they’re running out of options and need a Hail Mary to try and figure out a way to avoid prison time.
If Burgess finds out and has a strong reaction, that could be the deciding factor in whatever happens next. If she’s upset, then Upton could feel guilty enough to confess, and maybe Burgess’ reaction could even be enough to make Voight feel guilty enough to take the fall. Alternately, if she’s satisfied that Roy is dead, then perhaps she would help with the cover up to keep Voight, Upton, and now Halstead out of prison.
Or if she would want justice fully served, she could do everything in her power to make sure that the killers pay for their crimes. And as much as fans (and characters) can debate back and forth over whether or not Upton and/or Voight did the right thing, in the eyes of the law on Chicago P.D., they’re both guilty of some serious crimes. Burgess and Atwater are the two Intelligence cops who can generally be counted on the most to stick to the straight and narrow, since Halstead has been known to swerve.
None of this is to say that Burgess even will find out about Upton and Voight’s roles in Roy’s death, or even that Roy is dead. It's all speculation at this point, and even if she does find out, there’s no guarantee that her reaction will be key to whatever happens next. But Burgess 100% deserves to know Roy’s fate after what he did to her. As much as I’ve been Team Upton over Team Voight all along, I think I’m Team Burgess Getting Closure above all. The poor woman has been through enough!
Find out what happens next with Burgess and the rest of Intelligence with the midseason finale of Chicago P.D. on Wednesday, December 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following the fall finales of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. That’s still some weeks off, so if you’re in the mood to try out something else, check out Wolf Entertainment’s new fiction podcast Dark Woods, starring Chicago Fire alum Monica Raymund.
