I Will Never Forgive 'Chicago P.D.' for How it Handled Burzek's Wedding in the Season 12 Finale

For a moment that had been built up forever, with hundreds imagining how it would play out, the wedding scene (if you can call it that) was disappointing, to say the very least. Basically, if you took an ill-timed potty break, you missed it. And I, for one, will never forgive Chicago P.D. for how the Burzek wedding went down.

'Chicago P.D.'s Burzek Wedding Was a Long Time Coming

Three engagements, lots of ups, plenty of downs, and even starting a family. Kim Burgess and Adam Ruzek have been all over the map in the seasons prior to the Season 12 finale. In Chicago P.D.'s first season, Burgess and Ruzek first meet in "Conventions," the sixth episode, and from the start there's an undeniable connection. After a few episodes of some playful flirting, they end up at Molly's, and after a few drinks, they finally kiss in the tenth episode. Problem: Ruzek's engaged. Problem solved: Fiancée is out by episode 15, and Burzek is unleashed.

They shared their relationship with the Intelligence Unit, and spent the second season in love, with Ruzek popping the question (that's one) in the Season 2 finale. Only Season 3 would bring Burgess to realize that Ruzek wasn't ready to settle down yet, and in Episode 12, she calls off the wedding, saying, "You don't want to be on the hook. I am letting you off." They remained friends, and even though they dated other people, they invariably ended up back together, often as the proverbial "friends with benefits." One of those, ahem, "benefits" was a baby, which Burgess discovered she had in Season 7, Episode 8, and another proposal (that's two) in Episode 11. Only a violent confrontation with a child sex trafficking suspect led to a miscarriage, with Ruzek doing what he could to comfort her.

Burgess found purpose with Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams), a young girl orphaned after her parents were killed. She soon adopted her, and made Ruzek the child's official custodian. They weren't dating, but they were co-parenting, and it brought out the best in them. Then, in Season 10, that Burzek spark was back with a passionate kiss. Then, in Season 11's "Safe Harbor," Ruzek assured her he was prepared to fight for their relationship for the rest of his life. He pulls out a diamond ring ("Third time's a charm, huh?" Burgess jokes) and the road to "Vows" is set.

'Chicago P.D.'s Season 12 Finale Completely Messed Up Burzek's Wedding

And so, 12 seasons of simmering romance, with fans completely invested in Burzek from the start, for a lousy 3-minute afterthought in the Season 12 finale. What the serious hell? Fans are absolutely livid about it, but showrunner Gwen Sigan has an explanation of their rationale for downplaying the highly anticipated event:

"In so many ways, this is really a Voight episode, and so to also want to marry it with this wedding was tricky, and we wanted the right tone. We wanted to juxtapose the best we could this really emotional ending in Chapman and Voight and this cost, and then also have this happiness and the promise of more to come and the reason why Voight took the actions he took, to see all of that happiness and at the same time, you’re seeing this heartbreak."

Oh, okay. That makes perfect sense. Why would I get so bent out of shape with a perfectly plausible explanation about how a Voight-centered episode shouldn't be derailed by a years-long buildup to an epic event? The whole Reid angle could have been wrapped up in the first three-quarters of the episode — even at the half-point — and still allowed some proper time for the wedding, tonal change be damned. Or, have the wedding take place an episode or two prior to the finale so that it would have its own spotlight. The Reid narrative was engaging enough on its own to hold interest for the entire finale, so it would have been laughably easy to give it more time, instead of basically shoehorning in the long-awaited nuptials.

They didn't even bother to film the vows, something which Squerciati herself says made her upset, adding, "Yeah. I mean, I too have been waiting for this moment. I walked myself down the aisle and I didn't do vows [in real life] because I can't, that's just letting everybody know how I feel about something. Not my vibe. But I just wish there was a little more of a party. But that's not the PD vibe." At least it looked like a nice wedding. The dress was lovely, the smiles were big (and rare, as Squerciati also mentions in the previously cited Entertainment Weekly that they're "never allowed to smile" on the show), and the pews were full. Just kidding. In fact, that's the other thing that angers me about the whole damn thing: no Chicago P.D. alum. No Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush), no Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), no Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), although the last two would have been pretty awkward. I will forgive Chicago P.D. for many of its sins (they still don't have Amy Morton's Trudy on enough), but the Burzek debacle will not be one of those forgiven anytime soon.