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The Chicago P.D. season 12 premiere was released on NBC on September 25, 2024. The finale of season 11 saw Detective Hailey Upton exit Intelligence. The premiere of the new season shows, among other things, the effect of Upton’s departure on Voight and company.
Titled Ten Ninety-Nine, the synopsis of episode 1 of Chicago P.D. season 12 reads:
“A month after Voight's close brush with death, Intelligence is overwhelmed with cases as they catch a high-stakes drug bust.”
The latest episode of the show introduces several new characters. Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena) is one such character who has recently joined Intelligence. Disciplined, and efficient Martel shows that she has the potential to go far.
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However, the ending of episode 1 comes with a surprise. While caught in a shootout, Martel and Officer Adam Ruzek are forced to hit back. Martel loses her life in the line of duty as a bullet hits her in the head.
Read More: Chicago P.D. season 12: Full cast list explored
Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 1 ending: Martel’s promising career comes to a tragic end
As the episode opens, it is implied that Martel has been a part of Voight’s team for a month. As Voight keeps taking more and more cases, Martel’s organizational skills come in handy. She is an efficient officer who can take care of both paperwork and fieldwork with parallel ease.
The Chicago P.D. season 12 premiere also shows the backstory of Martel. Through several of her interactions with Ruzek, it is revealed that she has had a traumatic career as she had to see her partner die in the line of duty. When the tragic incident happened, she thought she would never be able to return to work.
Also, Martel and Ruzek have known each other since their academy days. Thus, they quickly become friends when Martel joins Intelligence. The duo is seen going after a high-stake drug case, where Martel even manages to save Ruzek’s life.
Thus, the characterization of Martel in episode 1 endears her to the viewers, which is why the ending of the episode comes as a shock. When Martel and Ruzek are enjoying a bit of respite in the car, they are attacked by several gunmen. As they exit the car and shoot back, a bullet hits her in her head.
When Ruzek gets the chance to take a look at Martel, she is already lying on the ground, lifeless. He watches on helplessly.
What happened to Voight?
When the episode opens, Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) is engrossed in work. It soon becomes clear that he has been working obsessively ever since his close brush with death. He takes up whatever cases come his way, even though others suggest that some of them rightly belong to different departments.
As the episode progresses, it increasingly becomes evident that Voight’s choice to drown himself at work is his defense mechanism to cope with his near-death experience a month ago, and then the loss of Upton from the department. The exit of Upton affected him particularly since he had almost a father-daughter relationship with her.
ASA Nina Chapman confronts Voight regarding his decision to wear himself out by overworking. Voight confides in Chapman that after his close-death experience, he now sees his life as a gift given to him solely for the purpose of his work. As a result, he keeps working, not even going home or taking breaks.
Read More: Why is Hailey Upton replaced in Chicago P.D. Season 12? Explained
Why is Burgess absent in the premiere?
Chicago P.D. season 12 episode 1 does not feature Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati). However, the reason for her absence is provided quite early on in the episode.
Ruzek gets a call from Burgess and tells Kevin Atwater that she was enjoying her conference, though she was worried about a case. So, Burgess is away attending a conference, and might not be seen in the Intelligence Unit for a while.
The next episode of Chicago P.D. season 12 will be released on October 2, 2024, on NBC.
