Chicago P.D. newlyweds Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) are going through changes.
After their Season 12 nuptials, “Burzek” has been soaking up quality time with their adopted daughter, Makayla “Mak” Burgess (Ramona Edith Williams), who first entered their lives in Season 8 of P.D. and has stolen their hearts every day since. Since Season 10, Makayla and Burgess have lived in Ruzek’s childhood home in Canaryville, and as Makayla grows older, Burgess began contemplating their daughter’s happiness in their neighborhood.
Canaryville on Chicago P.D.
This week’s episode — Season 13, Episode 3’s “Canaryville” — is named after Burgess and Ruzek’s neighborhood. It is, in fact, a real historic South Side community in Chicago, known for its strong Irish American and law enforcement population.
They currently live in Ruzek’s childhood home, which he surprised Burgess with in Season 9. Now, after calling Canaryville home for so long, the couple contemplated what would be best for their daughter. P.D.‘s October 15 episode kicked off with a haunting voiceover that set the stage for a compelling conversation between Burgess and Ruzek.
“Canaryville is Chicago, but it’s kind of not at the same time, you know?” Sasha King (the episode’s victim) said as Burgess watched Makayla get ready for school. “My whole life’s been here, nowhere else but this neighborhood that felt like a small town growing up… Everything seems bigger when you’re a kid, but then I grew up, and now this place feels so small, so familiar. People love familiar things because it reminds them of their past, makes them feel comfortable. But what if that comfort is lying to you? Or what if you’re lying to yourself?”
Burgess and Ruzek discussed Makayla transferring schools
While enjoying a morning at home, Ruzek complained about the aged plumbing in the house while bringing in the mail. Ruzek asked Burgess why Fairfied Park Academy had mailed them, confused how a “fancy private school” got their address. Ruzek was then surprised to learn that Burgess had reached out to the admissions office.
While Burgess raved about Fairfield’s excellent college placement rate and diverse student body, Ruzek pointed out the school’s suburban location, an hour away from Canaryville. Makayla had friends in Canaryville, so if nothing was broken, what were they trying to fix?
It was a deeply personal, challenging case for the couple, so Ruzek was keen to check in on his wife after their harrowing shift. Sensing that something was on Burgess’s mind, Ruzek asked Burgess if the house was bothering her. Did she still like living in Ruzek’s childhood home?
“I love it,” Burgess told him. “I love what it means to you.”
“Look, I know it could feel like you’re stuck in time there,” Ruzek shrugged. “It’s kind of falling apart.”
“It’s not about the house,” Burgess confessed, finally opening up. “We’re raising a kid that doesn’t look like us. We can’t give Mak your childhood. I mean, look, we can’t give her mine either. Neither exists for her, you know that, right?”
“Sure, sure,” Ruzek said, growing fretful. “Wait, I mean, she’s good, right? She’s happy, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” Burgess assured him before elaborating. “I’m scared that she’s disconnected from herself in ways that I don’t even think she realizes. Ways we might not even realize. Our roots, our house, our neighborhood, they’re not going to be hers in the same way. She needs something outside of us. She needs something that’s her own.”
Burgess softly concluded, “Maybe outside of Canaryville.”
Ruzek chewed on Burgess’ sentiment as they drove home, and he visited Makayla’s bedroom to say goodnight, spotting a copy of Octavia Botler’s acclaimed sci-fi novel Kindred on her nightstand. As Ruzek joined Burgess in bed, Sasha’s final cassette tape echoed his own thoughts.
“I’m scared to let go. To leave this place, my home, my mom. She needs me, but I think I really need this, too. Because maybe I can be whoever the hell I want to be. I can just be me. I don’t know what it will all be like, but I’m excited for what comes next.”
While there’s no clear answer yet of whether or not the duo will leave Chicago, find out what’s in store for Burzek and Makayla next by watching Season 14 of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
