Chicago P.D.’s Marina Squerciati Talks Burgess’ Rocky Road to Detective and How It Impacts #Burzek
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 6. Proceed at your own risk!
Chicago P.D. has finally upped one of its officers to detective — but the promotion came with some complications.
More from TVLine
During Wednesday’s episode, Burgess was given a case as an acting detective as part of the test process, with Deputy Chief Reid assigning Detective Suarez (guest star Elizabeth Rodriguez) as her supervisor during the ride-along. When their suspect started to get away, Burgess wanted to stick together to find him, but Suarez ordered her to split up. As a result, Burgess was forced to fend off an attack all by herself. And yet, Burgess covered for Suarez’s bad call.
Suarez said she was going to assign Burgess back to Intelligence as a detective because she’s too nice to go anywhere else. When pressed by Burgess, Suarez admitted that she thinks the officer is a good cop, but she has the instincts of a patrol officer with a sergeant who protects her. If she were being honest, she’d send her to area central for six months to learn how to play the game and to make her a better detective. Burgess was all set to accept the assignment, despite Ruzek’s protests, when she learned that Reid had assigned her back to Intelligence as a detective. Voight didn’t know why Reid would do that, but one thing was clear: nothing’s ever free.
Below, star Marina Squerciati talks about why Burgess deserves the promotion, how the new title might impact her relationship with fiancé Ruzek and why Burgess is “waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
TVLINE | First of all, I want to say it’s nice to talk to you for an episode about Burgess that’s not super traumatic, as usual.
Yes, I don’t, like, get shot or kidnapped or my child gets kidnapped. [Laughs] I know, I know. It’s pretty great.
TVLINE | Fans have been asking for a while when Burgess or Ruzek or Atwater would make detective. How did you feel when you found out Burgess was going to be the one up for that promotion?
I felt great. I like to call us the OG, all three of us. We’ve been there forever. We all deserve it. It’s nice that one of us gets it. It’s about time.
TVLINE | What do you think makes her the right candidate for this position?
I think the fact that she hasn’t lost her heart [despite] all the crazy things she’s been through, and she’s still able to empathize. Even with the woman in this episode who is lying to her and subverting justice, she still sees a mom, sees a woman who loves her husband, and is able to still do that, and I think that’s got to be hard after so many years on the job.
TVLINE | How much is Burgess taking what Detective Suarez says about her to heart? How much is she letting that affect her as she moves forward as a detective?
I think that she was really taken by surprise. Like, what she considered her strengths, somebody sees as a weakness, and that’s always going to throw you…. It’s what, ultimately, Suarez thinks is going to be her downfall. I think that was a real eye-opener. And also, saying that Voight protects her from the dirt, from the scum, I think that’s really what hit her the most. Like, that she’s able to be the cop she is and still have, maybe, the heart that Suarez doesn’t have because of Voight.
TVLINE | Now that she is a detective within intelligence, how does that change things for her at work and in her relationships as the episodes progress?
So far, it hasn’t really come to bear. It’s like when you get a promotion…you don’t want to be, like, bossy all of a sudden. So it’s treating it with kid gloves, but also inhabiting your power, I guess. Like, trying to be respectful of people and not seem like, “Well, now I’m here, and everyone’s listening to me,” but also know that, like, “OK, I’m a detective. I deserve this. I earned it.”
TVLINE | Does it feel different playing her as a detective? Are there things that you’ve done in your performance to add little touches here and there now that she’s in that position?
For sure. I’ve done little things. I don’t know if the audience will notice, but there’s definitely little tonal changes, even dialogue, sort of, like, less questions, more statements. Little things like that that, as an actor, just fulfill me.
TVLINE | She is now in a position of more authority than some of her fellow colleagues in Intelligence, and I’m specifically curious if that is causing any issues for her and Ruzek’s relationship this season.
No, Paddy [John Flueger] was, like, joking. He’s like, “I kind of like how you boss me around.” No, not at all. Or sometimes, I’ll even check in with them. I’ll be like, “Is that OK? Did that feel right, respectful, but also in control?” I’ll check in with Paddy and LaRoyce [Hawkins]. So it’s a balance, but I think she loves it, but is also respectful.
TVLINE | I was actually kind of surprised when she said that no one else was interested in the spot. Ruzek and Atwater weren’t interested in this potential detective spot?
Well, it’s really hard. Like, you’re just studying all the time, and there’s just so much to do, and just there’s a time and a place, and maybe Atwater has his building and has this new relationship, and maybe he’s just not in a position right now to just tuck in and study all the time. Even with Adam, both of us can’t do it at the same time.
TVLINE | Voight says nothing is free when Reid assigns her to intelligence. How much is that hanging over Burgess’ head? And what can you share about what Reid might be aiming at here, what his objective is?
I honestly don’t know, and I wish I did. I was like, “What the hell is happening?!” I think that the win is tainted. It feels like something is wrong, and I don’t know what it is, and I think that’s scary. I think she puts her head down and does her job, but she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop.
TVLINE | Does she have any regrets about covering for Detective Suarez?
[Pauses] I don’t think so. I think that’s who she is. I think she realizes that she got played, and there was no way out of what happened, and I think that that’s what’s scary: It’s that she didn’t want to play politics, but politics played with her anyway.
TVLINE | In terms of her and Voight’s relationship this season, now that she’s a detective, do you see a shift in their dynamic?
You know, it’s funny, I was asked that. I think people, as well as I, really like the Burgess-Voight dynamic. It hasn’t really come to bear yet, but I do hope that they get closer, and not in the way that… She’s not looking for a father figure. She has her home, she has her kid. But I think that she could be a good place for Voight to lean on, a healthy place.
P.D. fans, what did you think of the episode? Hit the comments!
Best of TVLine
Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
