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What Happened to Chicago P.D.'s New Detective Emily Martel?
Brand new to the Intelligence Unit, Martel unfortunately met a tragic end that nobody saw coming.
If you were surprised to see a new member of the Chicago P.D. gang in the Season 12 premiere, you're likely not alone.
Detective Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena) appeared on the show as if she was always there, but unfortunately, her time was cut extremely short. She met a tragic end that was particularly painful after getting to know her throughout the action-packed hour. Learn more about Martel — and her surprising death — below.
Who is Detective Emily Martel on Chicago P.D.?
It's been a month since the events of the Season 11 finale, and in the time since, Martel has joined the Intelligence Unit. It's clear that she's a natural fit on the squad and quickly found her place, particularly with Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). The two met while training together at the Academy and have remained friends ever since.
"By the time we get to really start the episode and the case and see her, she’s almost already just like a team member," showrunner Gwen Sigan tells NBC Insider. "And we thought it was fun and different, and we had never really done that. And we loved the idea that she sort of had this like dry sense of humor, and it felt like she would be somebody that got along really well with Ruzek."
However, Martel's spot in the Intelligent Unit marks her return to the force after she was on extended mental leave after she witnessed her partner being shot and killed in front of her.
"Ruzek was the one that was like, 'You’re coming with us. You’re joining our team and we’ll have your back and you’re gonna be great.' And so to her it really represented like a new start and something fresh and something different, and obviously a lot of those same themes that Voight is dealing with. Of something kind of tragic happening to you and how do you keep going and keep moving?" Sigan says.
Martel is played by actress Victoria Cartagena, who you mostly likely recognize from series such as Gotham, Servant, Batwoman, Almost Family, Manifest, and You. Sigan called Cartagena "perfect" for her small, but essential, role.
"I think she just really fit everything we were looking for, and made it her own," she says. "I fell in love with her by the end of the episode... she did a great job because, obviously, we only know her for such a small amount of time, but that’s a big undertaking as an actor. To come in and make it feel like you are just a part of this team."
What happened to Martel?
After solving a complicated drug case, the team is seemingly in the clear. At the end of the episode, Ruzek and Martel have left a scene and are driving back to the station together when shots breakout in the neighborhood they're passing through. Naturally, they pull over to assess the situation, exiting the car with guns aimed in the direction of the line of fire. The two have barely taken a few steps when Martel is suddenly shot in the head as Ruzek's back is turned. He looks over to her lifeless body, stunned.
The scene is shocking for viewers, especially after Martel was just introduced to Chicago P.D. and seamlessly became apart of the team in lieu of Upton's (Tracy Spiridakos) exit. However, the casualness and false sense of security was intentional for the series writers.
"We’re exploring death for two episodes this season, and it is sort of the catalyst for the theme of this season, which is crisis of self and identity and so much of that, you know, has to do with the fact that we all know it’s gonna end," Sigan says. "For us it was like, 'OK, well then we need to articulate that and show a death that is just so shocking and just reminds each of our characters that it can all be gone tomorrow... I think important to remind the audience and remind ourselves as writers and the cast, and the characters of this show, that they are police officers. And so every single day there is a threat."
Next week's Season 12, Episode 2, "Blood Bleeds Blue," is a Ruzek-centered hour where we'll definitely see him in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy he witnessed.
"His character has grown up so much from the beginning of the show," she tells us. "And there’s still so many facets to him that we haven’t gotten to see."
