Heading into the penultimate episode of Chicago PD season 13, we fully expected that we might not see the full Intelligence Unit together.
Our first instinct was that episode 20 might be without Ruzek due to the storyline explored in episode 19. The episode ended with a heartbreaking moment as Ruzek said goodbye to his dad, Bob, and watched his father take his final breath. Following the passing of his dad, we fully expected that the show might sideline Ruzek in the penultimate episode of the season and explain that he was taking some personal time following his loss.
However, photos from the episode revealed that Ruzek would not miss the episode, which led us to believe that the full ensemble would be present for the penultimate hour of the season. Sadly, though, that was not the case.
While Ruzek did appear in the episode and helped work the case alongside the rest of the Intelligence Unit, Burgess was randomly missing from the episode. Marina Squerciati failed to appear in the episode, and what made matters even worse was that the show didn’t even bother acknowledging her absence.
There was no conversation at any point in the episode to explain why Burgess was not present and working the case along with the rest of the team. She just simply wasn’t there, and no one blinked an eye or mentioned her name once.
Now, we know that series regulars must miss a few episodes every season and that the writers do their best to try to address cast absences when they can. We’ve come to expect that there are going to be times when the show sidelines a character and doesn’t give us an explanation, as this has happened many times in the past as well. What made us so frustrated about Burgess’ absence in the episode was that her absence was not only unexpected but also undercut the significance of the events that played out in the previous episode.
The fact that Burgess was MIA, yet Ruzek, who had literally just lost his father in the prior episode, was present and accounted for, just felt off. We know there was some form of time jump as established in the opening of the episode in which the show pieced together a montage of Imani and Voight working her sister’s case. It you’re going to use the time jump excuse to explain why Ruzek hasn’t taken any time off and then not even acknowledge that he just lost his father, the show could have at least then provide fans with a reason why Burgess was not present.
We know that Burgess and Ruzek were in the process of selling their house and moving so that Makayla could attend a better school. A simple conversation could have been used to not only address the death of Ruzek’s father but also explain that Burgess was off duty taking care of something related to the move or with Makayla. Had they played the cards right and had this conversation occur between Ruzek and Atwater, it could have even been used to give an update on Atwater’s storyline with Tasha which has once again slipped through the cracks after Atwater’s last spotlight episode.
In the end, it’s not that Burgess missed the episode as that’s something viewers have come to expect. It’s that Chicago PD didn’t even try to acknowledge her absence or try to work in a single line of dialogue could have tied together Ruzek’s grief, Burgess’ absence, and even Atwater’s lingering storyline. With just one episode left in the season, we can only hope the show does a better job of reconnecting these threads in the final episode of the season. However, with Imani taking center stage again in the episode, we don't have high hopes.
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