Chicago PD fans saw police officer Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) take her detective exam on Wednesday November 6's season 12th episode – and after an action-packed dramatic practical test, she passed.
But by the final scene, Kim has learned just how much she had been shielded from the politics of PD by Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and Marina tells HELLO! how this opens up new avenues of story for Kim and Voight.
© NBC"I don't think that she realized the extent Voight shields them from all of that, [allowing them to] sometimes do the right thing but sometimes be renegades, and I think that it opens her eyes to something she didn't previously see," Marina says.
This revelation will also change the way Kim views her boss, and Marina hopes it will allow for more exploration of the relationship between Kim and Voight.
© NBC"Jason and I have been asking that since day one," she laughs.
"I think the relationship is so interesting – tender in a way, lovely but respectful. I'm so interested in exploring it and every year I ask for us to have more scenes together. Hope springs eternal.
"But I don't want to inhabit the place that Tracy [Spiridakos as Hailey Upton] or Jesse [Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead] inhabited. They were like the secret trio and that's not the space I want to inhabit. I want Kim to be a powerful woman with a moral compass and be someone that we can rely on, but she is also fulfilled by her home life and doesn't need as much of the job to inhabit that hole."
© NBCDuring the episode, Kim, who Marina says is ready to be "more of a leader," is forced to watch as Detective Suarez, who is trailing her during the exam, forces a young mom to hand over her baby in an attempt to get her to share details on her husband who is wanted by the Intelligence team.
Kim has always had a strong moral compass, and Marina says she actually believes that Kim is more willing to play the game now she has become a mother: "Before [Makayla] she would burn the bridge down and have been like, 'Absolutely not, I won't do this,' and it's not that she wants to play the game now but I think that she realizes that she has to a little, so she's keeping her mouth shut while also trying to figure out a way to save this and help the mom."
© Taylor HillThe final scene sees Kim shocked to discover she will be remaining with Intelligence, despite being ready, and expecting, to be transferred to a new team, and it leaves her questioning the motives of newcomer Deputy Chief Charlie Reid.
"When I first read the script, I thought maybe they were having a relationship!" Marina laughs. "[I thought], maybe Kim is actually evil and this has been a long con. But I really have no idea at the moment."
Reid is played by One Chicago newcomer Shawn Hatosy, and Marina calls him "such an interesting actor".
"I have no idea if he's playing it good or bad; even when I'm in a scene with him, I'm like, 'Does he know?" Because he's so amorphous and ambiguous," she says.
