The third episode of Chicago P.D. Season 11 in the 2024 TV schedule ended on a very happy twist, with Ruzek proposing to Burgess in what Marina Squerciati described as a "perfect" moment. Most of the episode wasn't quite so straightfoward, however, as what seemed to a hate crime turned out to be a cop committing murder to try and cover up a sexual assault on a migrant woman. It was the kind of case that usually belongs to Olivia Benson over on Law & Order: SVU. The dirty cop had a simple request of Burgess when she arrived to arrest him, and the actress spoke with CinemaBlend about the choice her character made.
Officer Danny Alvarez joined the Intelligence Unit for the case of the week, seemingly because he was dedicated to tracking down the shooter who committed a hate crime right outside his precinct. Burgess connected the dots to realize that not only did Alvarez arrange for the shooting to kill the woman he'd raped (and who was pregnant), but he shot and killed somebody else who could have exposed him.
He realized that the jig was up when Burgess arrived, and he asked to say goodbye to his family and then take the easy way out: shooting himself. Instead, she took him into custody in a move that would make Olivia Benson proud on SVU. When I spoke with Marina Squerciati about the episode and that Burzek scene that originally scared her, I also asked if she thought any part of Burgess considered letting Alvarez take the easy way out. The actress responded:
What I like about the show, maybe not Burgess, but I will say I would like to think maybe in that, there is a blue wall. There is a code of silence within the cops, there is good and bad within every cop, with protecting their brothers and protecting the streets. So I like that there was some doubt that we're not just all good and the criminals are not always all bad, but it's always complicated.
That blue wall has caused problems for the Chicago P.D. characters before, particularly Atwater. LaRoyce Hawkins' character made the brave decision in the Season 7 finale to expose a racist cop for who he was, which was the morally right thing to do but made Atwater the target of that cop's friends within CPD. At the same time, the members of the Intelligence Unit have each other's backs through thick and thin, and – as Marina Squerciati pointed out – not all of One Chicago's criminals are as despicable as Alvarez was.
Fortunately, the blue wall in One Chicago's CPD didn't extend to Burgess letting Alvarez take the easy way out. Instead, she got as much justice for his victims as was possible by taking him into custody. It wasn't exactly a happy ending to the case given that there was so much blood on his hands already, but great to see Burgess cut him no breaks. If only Olivia Benson could have seen it!
Olivia Benson is of course the lead character of Law & Order: SVU, with Mariska Hargitay currently in her 25th season as star of NBC's hit drama. As fans know well, SVU covers sexually-based offenses that "are considered especially heinous," to quote the opening narration.
Marina Squerciati actually played Burgess on SVU back in 2015, as part of the SVU/Chicago P.D. crossover that officially established One Chicago and the Law & Order shows existing in the same TV universe. (You can revisit the crossover streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.) That connection between shows ultimately helped create a nine-show shared Wolf Entertainment TV universe also including the FBIs over on CBS.
Tune in to NBC on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET for new episodes of Chicago P.D. Season 11, and Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Law & Order: SVU Season 25. All seasons of both shows are also available streaming on Peacock.
