Chicago P.D. returned with its first new episode in a while on Wednesday night.
Early in the episode, it was made very clear that the substory would be the fractured relationship between Ruzek and Burgess.
When Makayla was kidnapped, Burgess wanted to take the investigation slow, while Ruzek was ready to break down doors and force confessions. It led to them making several unkind remarks to each other.
Even after Makayla was rescued and brought home, there seemed to be a new wedge between Ruzek and Burgess. And in the first few moments of the new episode, the writers made sure viewers knew that their communication was off.
Chicago P.D. recap for Season 9, Episode 17
Ruzek arrived home late for a family dinner, coming in right after Burgess had put Makayla to bed. The new parents argued a bit, and Ruzek then went out to get a bite to eat.
While out, Ruzek played some cards with friends at the local bar, but he was then visited by a teacher from his past. Ruzek’s former teacher (played by Paul Tavianini) had a daughter who was missing, and he needed help finding her. Ruzek agreed to help out and went into the office to start the search for Olivia (played by Rylee Marshall).
With the help of Trudy, Ruzek was able to track down where Olivia’s vehicle was last seen, and he went to a college campus to look for her. When he got into the building, Ruzek saw two people overdosing on drugs. One died, Ruzek saved the other one, and Olivia turned up.
Outside, a detective let Ruzek know that they were following Olivia because they thought she was delivering drugs for someone. She was, and Ruzek got her to agree to flip on the supplier in exchange for her freedom.
Ruzek goes undercover to save Olivia
The plan was for Olivia to introduce Ruzek to her drug supplier and for them to conduct a buy. This was how Intelligence would get the drug supplier off the streets and for Olivia to earn her freedom.
There were a few tense moments where Ruzek started trying to earn the trust of Donald Wade (Olivia’s supplier, played by Nathan Wallace). Wade eventually set things up for Ruzek to meet with him for a deal but did everything he could to ensure Ruzek didn’t have backup (in case he was a cop).
Ruzek was worried he would spook Wade into not dealing, so he rushed into the buy before the rest of Intelligence was set up to help him. And as they searched for Ruzek, Wade forced Ruzek to take fentanyl-infused drugs to prove he wasn’t a cop. Ruzek did it but started having an adverse reaction.
Olivia tried to help Ruzek by running to his truck to get Narcan, but Wade caught her. She tackled him when he drew a gun, and she got shot. Just then, Intelligence arrived, subdued Wade, and got help for Olivia (she lived). Burgess then ran into the building and gave Ruzek Narcan to help him survive.
As the case took place during the episode, Burgess realized how much she still cared for Ruzek and wanted to fix things. He was on the same page, but they both realized that Makayla’s new schedule was good for her. This meant that Ruzek would still be on the outside of things, and he went home to his own apartment.
It appears that Ruzek and Burgess want to construct a family with Makayla, but they have to work through some scheduling issues to get everything going in the right direction.
For any Chicago P.D. fans who didn’t realize it, April 6 was One Chicago Day. Lots of fun new content for the three shows was provided as the celebration took place.
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.