Chicago PD Producer Defends Showing Very Little Of Burgess & Ruzek's Much-Awaited Wedding In The Season 12 Finale: "It Was A Little Too Jarring"

Published 5 days ago

Followed

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

Chicago P.D. season 12 finale provided some pulse-pounding drama, and high emotional stakes, but received criticism for sidelining its fan-favorite couple, and their Big Day. Instead, the principal focus of the episode came with the murder of Reid, and how its fallout impacted the burgeoning relationship between Voight and Chapman, leading the former to cool things off. This decision resulted in disappointment from viewers, many of whom wanted to see more of the wedding.

Per TV Insider, Sigan opened up on the episode, and the decision to keep the Burgess and Ruzek's nuptials in the background. She talked about how the episode had stakes that were higher than the wedding, and how it was really a Voight episode. She also revealed that the decision was born out of having such devastating emotional stakes between Voight and Chapman, and how it was important to have the contrast of sorrow and joy, but that including the vows would have felt like it didn't juxtapose well. Check out Sigan's comments below:

Will we see the parts of Burgess and Ruzek’s wedding we didn’t?

Gwen Sigan: Probably not, no. I mean there’s a version of this, yeah, sure, where we could jump back into the wedding, but I doubt it.

With the episode titled “Vows,” why not show the vows and were any written?

We thought a lot about writing the vows for sure. I think as we were going through the process of sort of putting all these storylines together, you have this very high-stake situation for Voight, for the full team. 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 [Sara Bues] 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. So the vows themselves are so sweet that it just felt like it wasn’t the right juxtaposition.

It felt like it was a little too jarring. So that’s kind of why we ended up going in this direction that we chose to really lean more into this conversation between Chapman and Voight.

So those vows, could we possibly see them at some point in some capacity?

Yeah, I mean, who knows. They’re definitely not shot. We definitely didn’t shoot anything. So yeah, they’re not just hanging out for us to put out there, but who knows? You never know, I suppose, where we could take the next season.

What This Means For The Chicago P.D. Season 12 Finale

It Was A Bold Move From The Show To Sideline Two Fan-Favorites

It was a bold move from Chicago P.D. to sideline two of the most popular characters on their big day, to focus on Voight's story. The decision was understandable, as Reid was one of the most dangerous villains the show's had in a long time, and it was important to show the lengths Voight would go to in order to bring him down, and keep his surrogate family safe. The juxtaposition between his emotionally heartbreaking conversation with Chapman, and the joy of the wedding did contrast well, and Sigan is right that including the vows probably wouldn't have worked as well.

Ruzek and Burgess in Chicago PD season 12 finale

Chicago PD Season 12 Finale Review: I'm Dismayed With How NBC Utterly Fails Kim Burgess & Adam Ruzek

Chicago PD season 12 perfectly mixes the best aspects of the procedural's storytelling for one of its strongest episode of the TV cycle.

Posts 19

On the other hand, viewers had been waiting for the Ruzek-Burgess wedding for years, and for the show to finally deliver it in the way it did would no doubt have felt a little disappointing to some fans. These are two of the longest-running Chicago P.D. characters, and their relationship has big stakes for many in the fandom, so it is understandable that a lot of people will have felt disappointed with the show's decision to sideline the wedding. Sigan's comments also suggest that viewers will not get to see the vows in future episodes, but this shouldn't be ruled out.

Our Take On Chicago P.D.'s Controversial Finale Decision

The Choice Was Disappointing But Understandable

Voight and Chapman in Chicago PD season 12

While it is disappointing that the show chose to sideline the wedding, it is understandable, in the context of the narrative, why that choice was made. As Sigan states, the finale was very much a Voight-centric episode, and the decision to focus on him and Chapman was necessary to show how the fallout from Reid is going to impact their relationship. Things are in a tough place for Voight and Chapman right now, and whether they can move on from this will play a key role in Chicago P.D. season 13's story.

Source: TV Insider