Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
[Spoiler] Just Shot Ruzek in a Shocking Season 10 Finale — But is He OK? What We Know
What we know about Ruzek's fate after a tragic encounter on Chicago P.D.
Throughout Chicago P.D. Season 10 we've seen Ruzek's (Patrick John Flueger) dive deeper into his undercover assignment with Richard and Samantha Beck. And over the course of the investigation it's discovered that Richard was not only a major organized crime and narcotics boss, but a self-proclaimed domestic terrorist and violent white supremacist.
In the finale, "A Better Place" (Season 10, Episode 22), we see it all come to a head as the Intelligence Unit works to stop Richard's mysterious "plan" which results in shocking and near-fatal consequences for Ruzek. Read on for what we know about his fate.
What happened to Ruzek in Chicago P.D.'s Season 10 finale?
The cop ends up shot by the person you'd least expect, but we have to start by at the top of "A Better Place" so it all makes sense.
Samantha is frantic and attempting to leave town after finding out her father moved his plan to that day. Desperate for her to tell him the details of what Richard said would result in "multiple targets" and "many casualties," Ruzek is forced to reveal his identity and arrest her.
While she's in custody, Samantha refuses to cooperate with the Intelligence Unit out of fear her father will kill her and take her son, Callum, and successfully convert him to the unnamed "cause." Ruzek then promises he'll protect Callum and Samantha relents in exchange for immunity and protection. She then reveals the names of all her father's associates and the locations of his properties.
This information leads to a major raid. The Intelligence Unit arrests many of the Beck's associates and finds a huge stash of cash, drugs, firearms, and explosives. But most importantly Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) finds blueprints which reveal Richard's plan: He was going to blow up multiple Chicago elementary schools largely attended by children of color. Unfortunately, Beck was able to escape, and he's still at large.
Simultaneously Ruzek takes Samantha and Callum home so they can pack and leave town for a safe house — but under the guise of a camping trip for Callum's sake. However, Ruzek discovers Callum hanging up the phone with Richard. Callum aims a gun at Ruzek, distrusting him after his conversation with his grandfather.
"He says to call him if mom ever tried to make me leave," Callum says about Richard. "He says I can't go camping, not without him... He said that you're trying to trick us. My grandpa is trying to save the world and he says that you're trying to stop him...You know he's doing it for us. He's getting rid of all the bad people, and you're going to stop him."
Ruzek tries his best to calm Callum down, but in a shocking moment, the boy ends up shooting him in the chest. Still fighting to protect her son, Samantha takes Ruzek's phone from his pocket and leaves him to bleed out.
Did Ruzek die in the Season 10 finale?
The short answer? We sadly don't know, and here's why.
It turns out that Samantha left Ruzek's phone on the stairs and he barely managed to drag his body to the phone and call Burgess (Marina Squerciati). She rushes to his side as Voight (Jason Beghe) shows up with paramedics. Ruzek is taken to Med in an ambulance where he makes Burgess promise she'll save Callum. Once at the hospital he's immediately brought into emergency surgery, and that's the last time we see him for the rest of the finale.
Justice is eventually served when Burgess and Voight manage to track down Samantha and Callum. But before Samantha can be arrested, Richard shows up and uses Callum as a human shield to avoid being shot or arrested. But unlucky for him, Atwater is there too and fires a fatal shot, killing Richard instantly.
While Richard's terrible attack was intercepted and he's now dead, Ruzek's fate is unknown — and he's in pretty bad shape. So it looks like we'll have to wait until Season 11 to see whether or not he survives.
"He's with this young woman that I think he cares for and can see needs help, and she has a young son that I think he cares for," Flueger told NBC Insider when talking about Ruzek's feelings about the case. "He has been told nothing but lies his entire life other than what he hears from his mom, who only has so much power to tell him the truth. That duality is not fun [for Ruzek], especially when he wants to go home, when he’s got a daughter, and he’s got [Kim Burgess] that he’s rekindled his romance with."
He continued, "It's like partying in Vegas when you’re in your 20s. It sounds awesome, [but] you just kind of grow out of these certain things, and you realize what’s important. I think he’s exhausted, and I think it’s starting to wear on him that what he’s undercover for, it’s not for one individual. It’s for this possible mass attack. So I think it is weighing on him as things go forward."
