‘Chicago P.D.’ EP Reveals Ruzek & Upton Will Get ‘Stronger,’ Fallout Of Fall Finale Shocker & More

The ‘Chicago P.D.’ fall finale ended with one heck of a cliffhanger. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with EP Rick Eids about what’s ahead for Rupton, the aftermath of that shocking death, and more!

Chicago P.D. just left us all with our jaws on the floor. In the final moments of the Dec. 5 season 6 fall finale, Antonio’s daughter was kidnapped, and he ended up killing her kidnapping by pushing him out of a building to his death. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with showrunner Rick Eid, who teased how this twist will impact Antonio, Ruzek, Voight and more.

Plus, Rick gave us the lowdown on the Chicago P.D. romance, especially Ruzek and Upton. Only Voight knows about their relationship, but that will end soon. While Ruzek and Upton will grow “stronger,” the “Halstead leg” of the situation will make things very interesting. Check out our Q&A below!

This situation puts Ruzek and Voight in a compromising position with Antonio, could this situation potentially shakeup Intelligence?
Rick Eid: I don’t think it’ll be the last we hear of this situation, that’s for sure. The episode we come back with in the new year, our tenth episode, will pick up where nine left off and we will deal with what happened and the optics of what happened and who claims responsibility for what happened and all those fun, interesting issues.

Could this compromise Voight’s partnership with Brennan?
Rick Eid: It can compromise all kinds of things. Underneath it all is a strong sense of loyalty and friendship and protection. It’s the opposite of acting selfishly. We’ve got these people acting selflessly. It presents interesting dilemmas for everyone.

How Antonio is going to be dealing with Eva’s kidnapping?
Rick Eid: This one was on him. He “earned” that kidnapping, and he’ll be struggling with it. He’ll be struggling with the aftermath of what happened in episode 9, the death of the man who abducted his daughter. The consequences of that will weigh on him as well.

Could this send him on a dark path?
Rick Eid: I’m hoping that’s not the case. I think this was a guy who hurt his shoulder, a guy who was trying to treat his shoulder so he could stay on the job, and hopefully it’s a window into a real problem of how people get addicted to these painkillers. When they hurt their shoulder or break their leg, they don’t go into it thinking, ‘Great, I get to get addicted to opioids.’ I think it just sort of happens, and that’s what we’re imagining. I think this situation was the wakeup call he needs and needed, so I think he’ll do his best to move forward and return to the Antonio we know. The thing of it is that he’s always been the guy in the right, and he’s always been representing righteousness and possibly even judging people, so it was nice to put him in a position where he was judged in the least righteous position you could ever be in.

Ruzek and Upton had a steamy scene at the beginning of the episode. Will their relationship continue to grow stronger?
Rick Eid: Stronger and more complicated and more nuanced. I think their relationship is really interesting. I’m really excited about it. Other people are excited about it as well. Don’t long for yesterday with Burgess and Ruzek. The world moves forward. I think an interesting part of it that you’ll see in episode 10 is the Halstead leg to this. That’s an interesting component to it all as well. We’re pretty excited about that dynamic in the show.

Do you think Ruzek or Upton is more serious about it than the other? 
Rick Eid: He’s excited about it. Upton’s excited about it, but she has her reservations. I think they’re different people, and she’s happy to have a meaningful, casual relationship, and I think he wants a meaningful, meaningful relationship. So that causes a little bit of the tension.

Will Halstead and Burgess find out?
Rick Eid: Yes.

What can you tease about that fallout?
Rick Eid: Someone will find out about their relationship in episode 10. Down the road, not to long after that, someone else/everynoe else will find out about their relationship. Suffice to say the two people probably most invested in this relationship will find out pretty soon.

In regards to Halstead and Upton, have you guys thought about going there?
Rick Eid: Oh, yeah. Hopefully there’s many more seasons, and there’s lot of road here to invest in, but I think Upton and Halstead have a very important relationship. I think they both really like each other and have a very strong friendship. I think there’s a certain intimacy between those two that maybe Ruzek and Upton don’t share. I think it was episode 6 when Upton had a particularly emotional episode and a guy kills himself after an interrogation. Halstead was there. She was confiding in Halstead, not Ruzek. That wasn’t accidental. There’s an interesting triangle going on here. Where it goes, I’m not sure, but it’s interesting and I can feel the tension when those three are in scenes together.

What about Burgess and Ruzek?
Rick Eid: They’re friends. They both have a lot of affection for each other. They’re good friends. The romantic thing right now is on the back burner. It doesn’t mean the flame won’t be turned up again someday, but right not it’s not happening.

What’s ahead for Atwater?
Rick Eid: He’s got some interesting stuff happening. Episode 13 is going to be a very powerful Atwater episode. It all also features the return of Wendell Pierce, playing the character of Ray Price. He comes back for an arc. That whole situation will kick off in a pretty powerful way, and Atwater will be in the middle of it.