Patrick John Flueger Unpacks Tonight's Shocking Death on 'Chicago P.D.'

The season opener of Chicago P.D. ended with a shocker when new team member Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena) was shot in the head when Ruzek’s (Patrick John Flueger) back was turned and when he looked around, he saw her lifeless body.

The two had been driving back to the station after wrapping up a bust when they heard shots fired. They stopped to investigate and ended up in the middle of a domestic violence situation with tragic results.

The follow-up episode, "Blue Bloods Bleed," picked up moments later with Ruzek trying to pull Martel to safety and getting assistance from patrol officer Kiana Cook (Toya Turner).

“We always call out, right? You good? You good Martel? Martel? And then there's no response,” Flueger tells Parade. “We've never had that happen before on the show that I can remember. Ruzek’s lost people along the way, but not like this, not right in front of his face to this degree. I think Ruzek operates under an assumed invincibility for both him and his loved ones, his friends and his colleagues. He got shot by that kid and I don't think that that affected him the same way that this will.”

Possibly because Ruzek and Martel were friends. They attended the Academy together, so he's known her for a long time, which takes her death to a level of disbelief that he's probably never experienced before.

Then Ruzek and Cook entered the home and found the mother bleeding out and the father having kidnapped his 2-year-old son Bobby. That kicked off an adrenalized manhunt across the city that involved not just the Intelligence Unit but all of the Chicago police force because one of their own had fallen.

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Ruzek sent Martel’s lifeless body to Chicago Med with two uniforms, but he really knew there was no hope, so he turned his focus to rescuing Bobby. The need to save the toddler became this overwhelming driving force.

“Absolutely,” Flueger comments on Ruzek’s motivation. “He’s a pretty angry guy on some level. Not like grrr, roar, angry, but he has this level of grit to him from growing up in Canaryville that comes out. He’s just pissed off. Also, it all happened so quick. It wasn’t like a case we were working. It was a case they stumbled upon, so all of them are playing catchup the entire time. It’s not something we were prepared for. As it unfolds for the audience, it unfolds for us.”

During our Zoom chat, Flueger talked more about Martel’s death because he literally had her blood on his hands, the upcoming Ruzek-Burgess (Marina Squerciati) wedding, and how Voight (Jason Beghe) has changed this season.

Ruzek literally has Martel’s blood on his hands, but he doesn’t realize it for a while. Talk about that moment when he looks down and sees his hands. It’s like everything stopped for him. It was very poignant.

When we filmed that scene, he was like a little boy in that moment because they're all just kids running around with guns and doing their best to solve these crimes. They’re trying their best to handle these incredibly extreme and complicated situations. That’s what was in my head. You go back to being 5 years old wanting somebody to take care of you.

Luckily, Toya played that scene so well, too. So simple. Luckily, he's got her there to snap him out of it, to talk sense into him, and to not give in to the emotions that he's feeling, to be strong for him, so he can pick back up and get back in the fight.

You're the first cast member that Toya’s doing scenes with that we're seeing. How would you describe her character, Kiana Cook? She's totally badass in that scene where she jumped on the car.

Toya has settled in so simply like she belongs here. It's like she doesn't even have to try that hard to belong here. She’s a really good actor, a great person, a hard worker. She came in, she knows what she's doing, she's actually from Chicago. She grew up with a bunch of brothers. Her dad's a cop, so it's like it's in her blood a little bit.

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I'm so excited for people to see her. She comes back in Episode 5 and joins the unit. It’s a big episode for her and Ben Aguilar. I’ve heard they crush it. Who's the mayor of crush town? The two of them. I hear they’re fantastic and I've seen some of the images. The whole episode is filmed in the rain and it's our directing producer Chad Saxton, who's an incredibly talented director, and I hear it's a fantastic episode. The way that our showrunner Gwen Sigan and the writers’ room have written her, they introduced the hell out of her and she has stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park every single time as far as I'm concerned.

In happier news, Gwen told me that Ruzek and Burgess are getting married this season, but what she didn't know is what kind of wedding they’d want. What do you think?

I don't want to speak for Marina but I think for Ruzek, he's just ready to do it. What is this, their third engagement? So, I think more than anything, she's already his wife in his mind and his heart, and Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams) is already his daughter in his mind and in his heart. I think he'd as soon go to the to the courthouse and get the papers. For her, I don’t know but for him, he's like, “Let's just get it done.”

Do you see a change in Voight this season?

Don’t you? Jason is always really, really good but there is something about what he's bringing to the table right now in my mind… Episode 4, I believe it is him and Chapman (Sara Bues) work a case together and it's one of the most charming hours of TV I've ever seen. Jason, himself, and I think in turn Voight, you're seeing his heart come through a lot more. I'm not saying this well. Yes, I think that he's different and I think it's wonderful. It's really watchable and he's still a bad mamma jamma. I think all of the loss that we've seen over the years, the loss and the love and the games, it's finally coming out.

Chicago P.D. airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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