The Chicago P.D. Duo Fans Are Starting To Turn Against
The NBC police procedural "Chicago P.D." has followed the Windy City's patrol and Intelligence divisions for nine seasons and will return for a 10th this fall. Jason Beghe stars as Intelligence Unit Chief Hank Voight, Patrick John Flueger as Officer Adam Ruzek, Jesse Lee Soffer as Detective Jay Halstead, and Marina Squerciati as Officer Kim Burgess. Jon Seda appeared as Senior Detective Antonio Dawson for the first six seasons and Sophia Bush as Detective Erin Lindsay for the first four.
The second of four entries in Dick Wolf's "One Chicago" franchise, "Chicago P.D." intertwines standard cop show crime-and-punishment storylines with a rotating array of romantic relationships. Several of the main characters have been involved in multiple pairings throughout the show's run, including Burgess, Ruzek, Halstead, and Lindsay's replacement, Detective Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos). The romantic plotlines are as much a part of the show as the characters' pursuit of justice, but one couple's relationship has recently become more of a sore spot than a reason to watch for many "Chicago P.D." fans.
Burgess and Ruzek's relationship has worn the patience of viewers thin
For most of the show's nine seasons, Officers Burgess and Ruzek — known to fans as "Burzek" — have engaged in a repetitive and often maddening will-they-won't-they, and viewers have had about enough. After last night's episode, "Adrift," fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with the endless winding road to nowhere the couple has been on for nine seasons.
User @Olicity4life is "so done with ... Adam constantly getting his heart broken." User @ellie62285157 agrees, saying that "you can tell they love each other, they just are scared to act on it." More than one user blamed the writing staff, with @Soribel83 calling out "Kim's disregard for Adam's feelings, it's out of character and noone [sic] likes it! #ChicagoPd writers, do better!!" User @ebe28 thinks that "it doesn't seem the writers care or are even invested anymore for a relationship to happen."
Some fans are digging deeper into Burgess and Ruzek's inability to find harmony together, with @lizziethat saying, "it's possible to think #Burzek has gotten inconsistent writing, that Adam is really trying and deserves a chance, and that Kim is just acting out of fear and trauma she hasn't processed."
People are still watching and enjoying the show — "Chicago P.D." earns consistently favorable IMDb reviews – but viewers are clearly at the end of their collective rope with the ongoing Burzek fauxmance, and writers will have to break the characters out of their frustrating patterns to change that.