We all know the One Chicago universe has plenty of ships, but few can stand the test of time.
Even fewer can rise from the ashes to the degree of Chicago PD‘s legacy couple, Burzek.
Yes, I said legacy. In the series’ long history, few romances can say that they’ve outlasted everyone quite like Burzek.
These two have been orbiting around one another since Chicago PD Season 1, even when Ruzek was engaged to someone else.
Infidelity is a trope that irritates my soul, yet I couldn’t resist the chemistry simmering between them when they shared their first kiss during Chicago PD Season 1 Episode 10.
It was the start of something special that became a staple of the Burzek relationship through all of its ups and downs, on and off: protection, tenderness, and kindness.
Ruzek is one of the series’ most honorable, protective, and loyal characters. Before he could anticipate where their lives would take them, he knew Burgess was a person he needed in his life.
And Ruzek cares about his people — once he’s carved out a space for them in his life, it’s a done deal, solidified, fated.
No wonder the pair found their way to one another with an engagement during Chicago PD Season 2. Nevertheless, it wasn’t their time, but that made their journey all the sweeter.
Burzek’s love is enduring and resilient. I cannot think of anything more badass than these two tackling their impenetrable bond every bit as much as they do perpetrators.
Even at their absolute worst, Ruzek and Burgess were friends — family. There’s no one without the other. It makes their romance all the more meaningful as the embodiment of an “everything ‘ship.”
Their bond transcends all labels and conformity, embodying everything: friends, lovers, partners, and now, blessedly, soon-to-be husband and wife.
Their ability to flit in and out of these roles with relative ease proves that their purest sense of connection is that of soulmates.
No couple on Chicago PD has faced the challenges that they have together. They’ve both nearly lost each other multiple times — seeing the love of your life fighting for theirs, well, it’s as if you’re dying, too.
Through the years, no matter what was happening, Ruzek and Burgess kept finding their way back to one another.
The slow burn is the most compelling. It was frustrating that two people who fit each other wholly spent so much time apart.
But it was also gratifying, too.
While the romance reached frustrating new heights of slow burn, even thawing completely, the series also gave them space to grow and evolve individually.
It made their official reunion all the sweeter.
For Burzek, reuniting is a genuine choice because, like magnets, they’ll forever drawn to one another.
Ruzek and Burgess worked for their romance and love story, forming a family well before they needed to define it with romantic overtures.
We saw that with an unplanned joy turned tragedy during Chicago PD Season 7.
It was Burzek’s near-insurmountable challenge to date, and the subsequent pain tested the nature of their bond in deeper ways.
However, fate planned for these two to have their family in some capacity.
Ironically, what tested them most also brought them together: unorthodox parenthood, partnership, and family.
Makayla became this piece to a Burzek puzzle that solidified their union well before they allowed themselves to see it during Chicago PD Season 8.
By Chicago PD Season 10, we had this beautiful family, living together, being happy, and eventually, in the finale, reuniting romantically, punctuating the traditional sense of it with a well-timed moment of Makayla calling the man who already owned the role, “Dad.”
It feels like the season of Burzek, as we’ll eventually see a long-awaited moment of their nuptials, nearly a year after a quiet, intimate, and lowkey proposal during Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 3.
I guess the third time really is the charm — and patience is key.
Valentine’s Day makes us think of the beauty of love and how it transforms, and Burzek personifies that.
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