Patrick John Flueger speaks about Martel's death

It's safe to say that Officer Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) is in shock after Detective Emily Martel (Victoria Cartagena) ends up being shot in the head in front of him Chicago PD Season 12 premiere. And so at the beginning of the second episode of the season, which airs on October 2nd, he is “doing as well as he can,” says Flueger.

“They have known each other for a long time, over a decade. I think it's one of the first times for him – at least on camera – watching a friend get stuffed like this. That's why I find it kind of shocking,” he tells TV Insider.

“I love the call-out part. I love the “Martel!” Martel,” because usually everyone calls back, “I'm fine, I'm fine.” And I think it's one of the first times I can remember her not responding “when he calls,” Flueger continues. “He lost people along the way, but it wasn’t shoved right in his face in the same way.”

Introducing Martel and then killing her in the same episode, as if she were a tie-in to Sergeant Hank Voight's (Jason Beghe) storyline for the season.

“We knew in the room that the story we wanted to tell was really about Voight and how he was affected by the events of the last year, and particularly, I think, by two parts, Upton being gone and then also that he “I had this near-death experience and he remembers a lot of it and he remembers what it felt like and he remembers that it would all just go away,” showrunner Gwen Sigan explained to us after the premiere.

By introducing her as having been with the unit for a month and ending the premiere with her shocking death, “you emphasize that death happens in such a way that it can happen in an instant, without you having had time for it.” Be prepared and without being able to resolve outstanding issues, say goodbye, or find out what your life was worth, it may just be gone,” she continued. “And so it felt like the perfect story to us thematically and that it would also tap into all the themes that we want to tell this year, which is identity and self, self-crisis and transformation and all of these things that you think about.” often when contemplating one’s own mortality.”

The subsequent second episode, in which the Secret Service grapples with the aforementioned tragedy and a manhunt across the city, “is actually just an adrenaline rush, and I think you're in shock the whole episode.” Our hope was that you as a viewer feel almost the same fear as Ruzek. “It's a real-time episode, so you're in that moment with Ruzek for about 42 minutes and you feel what it feels like to have just seen it,” Sigan previews.

What do you hope to see after this death? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chicago PDWednesdays, 10/9c, NBC