CHICAGO P.D. Post-Mortem: Gwen Sigan Previews Burzek’s ‘Fragile’ Next Steps: ‘Things Will Come to a Head’

[Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Wednesday, March 9 episode, “Gone.”]

Intelligence went into overdrive on the Wednesday, March 9 episode of CHICAGO P.D., as they searched for Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Ruzek’s (Patrick John Flueger) missing daughter, Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams).

After initially suspecting Makayla’s biological uncle, Theo (Derek Webster)—who had just lost the case to gain custody of his niece—of taking the young girl, the team realized he was actually being asked for ransom for her safe return. (Naturally, Theo was also told to not involve the cops.)

At first, the unit tried to find Makayla themselves. They were able to suss out that the kidnappers were connected to Makayla’s imprisoned biological father and his girlfriend—who wanted to extort Theo, so they could pay off people in jail—but Intelligence couldn’t find their location in time for the ransom deadline.

Burgess and Ruzek couldn’t agree on what to do, with the tension spilling over to the ransom drop. When their suspect came to pick up the money, they still were unable to track Makayla’s location. Ruzek, getting antsy, followed their suspect, who spotted his tail and took off running; unfortunately for them, Ruzek was forced to shoot him, which took away their only lead. Burgess was devastated, worried he had just cost them any hope of finding Makayla.

The duo ultimately found Makayla, who was drugged, but largely unharmed from her ordeal. Her parents on the other hand? Despite regularly having their own lives endangered—and going through traumatic experiences while being worried about each other—the twosome will not be handling the close call with their kid quite as well.

“The adjustment’s complicated—this case brought a lot of emotion and stress up for both of them, and also highlighted a lot of difficulties already embedded in their relationship,” CHICAGO P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan said via email. “It’s going to be a rocky process in the aftermath.”

As Burgess and Ruzek were in the thick of the search for Makayla, the off-on couple were on a roller coaster of emotions, going from trying to reassure each other to being at each other’s throats. To navigate the tricky waters, the writers relied, in part, on Squerciati and Flueger’s easy real-life dynamic.

“It’s always a pleasure to write for Marina and Paddy; they have this comfortable, lived in chemistry that comes across beautifully onscreen and allows us to get real and messy,” Sigan said. “They also had great instincts on this script—where their emotion was coming from and how to best lay it out.”

“Marina’s input played a lot into the scene where she quite literally goes after Ruzek,” she continued. “Her notes were spot on and created something really raw.”

But what comes next? Ruzek, in particular, was wounded by Burgess reiterating that Makayla was her daughter. And with the adults so happy to have Makayla home and safe, they were content to just snuggle with her in bed as the episode concluded, avoiding any of the real issues.

“They’re in a fragile place in the immediate aftermath,” Sigan acknowledged. “Makayla, of course, is the priority, and both Burgess and Ruzek are trying their best; they love each other and work well as co-parents, but this situation has definitely cracked some of that foundation.”

Which means those serious conversations the former couple has put off might not be tabled for much longer. “Things will come to a head,” Sigan teased. “And they will need to hash out the emotional and logistical fall out for their family.”

CHICAGO P.D.,Wednesdays, 10/9c, NBC

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