Chicago PD season 6 midseason report: Kim Burgess

What it means

The first nine episodes of Chicago PD season 6 haven’t been flattering for Burgess. They’re making her look a lot less smart than she is, and while that’s certainly not intentional, it’s a problem that needs to be fixed when the series returns in January.

“Ride Along” was a head-scratcher of an episode. There’s nothing wrong with Burgess wanting to be ambitious and being interested in where she could advance her career; in fact, that might be a welcome change of pace, since the rest of the Intelligence Unit seems content to stay where they are.

But even if she’s ambitious, even if Brennan is the highest-ranking woman in the Chicago Police Department, there’s no reason Kim shouldn’t have taken her words with a grain of salt. Burgess has no reason to trust her outside of her rank, plus she has Voight—someone she does know and trusts deeply—telling her to make the exact opposite choice.

For Burgess to side with Brennan over Voight was naive, and the Burgess we’ve seen since she joined Intelligence isn’t naive anymore. She’s a tougher, a little more cynical character. So it just felt like she took a step back in that episode.

Plus, even though it hasn’t been addressed yet, it’s hard not to feel for her as audiences watch the Ruzek and Upton romance unfold. How will Kim react? Where does that leave her? Ruzek may be over her, but we haven’t seen on-screen proof that Burgess feels the same way. She could get her heart broken, and that would make this season even more difficult for her.