After Chicago P.D.'s Long-Awaited Burzek Development In Latest Episode, There's Still Unfinished Business

Spoilers ahead for Episode 17 of Chicago P.D. Season 10, called “Out of the Depths.”

After the return of Jesse Lee Soffer for his directorial debut (and Soffer sharing his thoughts on being asked if he’ll come back as Jay Halstead), Chicago P.D. shifted the focus over to Marina Squerciati’s Kim Burgess in “Out of the Depths.” While the case of the week was pretty dark, the episode ended on about as high of a note as P.D. ever delivers with a long-awaited Burzek breakthrough and hookup! In the aftermath of “Out of the Depths,” there are still some unanswered questions and unfinished business to be addressed.

“Out of the Depths” picked up on Burgess’ plot from the 200th episode that saw her realize that she needs to work on herself to recover from the trauma of being shot, which had begun to seriously affect her on the job. The episode revealed that she's attending regular therapy sessions, even though she was initially hesitant to bring Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) along. By the end of the hour, she finally admitted that she’d never stopped wanting to be with him, but had been too scared.

And with Makayla rather conveniently at a sleepover, the Burzek romantic reunion that has been a long time coming finally happened! It was a cathartic development for the duo, not least because both of them have had a difficult season. Still, I found myself surprised by the time the credits started to roll, because I still had questions about the episode that I’d hoped would be addressed. So, whether or not you’re still basking in the Burzek development, let’s look at what P.D. will hopefully flesh out before the end of Season 10!

Was The DNA Evidence Unethical?

The Intelligence Unit was on the case of a string of robberies and assaults, and not having a ton of luck before a balaclava left behind by one of the criminals turned up some DNA evidence implicating a woman named Ruby. Unfortunately, the DNA match didn’t come up because Ruby had prior convictions that resulted in her sample being in the system, but because of a rape kit four years prior after she reported an assault.

Burgess and Ruzek were initially shocked that their colleague could use DNA from a victim’s rape kit to identify a potential perpetrator, and Burgess insisted to Voight (Jason Beghe) that it would be unethical to use the DNA even if it wasn’t illegal. Voight – in perhaps the most self-aware statement that he’s ever made – said that they weren’t “moral authorities” and it would be unethical of them not to use the evidence.

While Ruzek looked uncomfortable with the situation and Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) looked unconvinced that Voight was right, Burgess pointed out that it would set a terrible precedent to use a victim’s DNA against them, and would violate the victim’s rights. Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) backed Burgess up, saying that she’d never come forward and report a rape if she knew her DNA could be used in this way. She argued that because Ruby came forward as a victim, the rape kit DNA should only be used for that case.

Ultimately, Voight decided that they would use the DNA evidence, and the most they could do was not include it in the official paperwork. Burgess and Upton felt strongly enough about it that I was sure the episode would swing back and revisit the issue... or at least let the two women of the Intelligence Unit have a conversation about the use of a victim’s DNA in a way that would have infuriated Captain Olivia Benson over on Law & Order: SVU.

I would say that P.D. not touching on this issue again before the end of the episode counts as unfinished business, and I for one would like to see the characters discuss it again. Burgess and Upton are outnumbered by the men in the unit and felt strongly about how a woman’s rape kit was being used against her; that deserves to be revisited… ideally with Platt (Amy Morton) getting to weigh in at well.