Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from the Chicago PD season 12 premiere, “Ten Ninety-Nine.”
Victoria Cartagena makes her Chicago PD debut as Detective Emily Martel during the season 12 premiere, but by the episode’s end, Martel has a surprising fate that directly parallels the pilot. The NBC police procedural TV show, created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, premiered in January 2014, serving as the first Chicago Fire spinoff and thereby officially establishing the One Chicago universe. The Chicago PD series premiere also sets the tone for the rest of the show, especially since it contains one of the crime drama’s most shocking twists.
Flash forward more than a decade later, Chicago PD still manages to surprise audiences with its premieres. The first episode of season 12 picks up more than a month following Hailey Upton’s exit from Chicago PD, and the Intelligence Unit already has her successor — Martel. When the episode opens, Martel has been with Intelligence for a month. She is settled in and is forming strong bonds with her colleagues. However, Martel has a leg up because she knows Adam Ruzek from the police academy. Unfortunately, though, Martel’s time as Upton’s replacement soon comes to an end by the hour’s conclusion.
Martel Dying In Chicago PD Season 12’s Premiere Parallels Jules’ Death In The Pilot
Dawson’s Partner Was Tragically Killed In The Chicago PD Pilot
The Chicago PD season 12 premiere shockingly kills off Martel during the episode’s ending. While she and Ruzek are driving, they hear gunshots. Stopping the car, Martel and Ruzek get out, draw their guns, and try to find the source of the gunfire. However, moments later, a bullet goes through Martel’s forehead, instantly killing her. While the final scene is unbelievably tragic, it’s also reminiscent of Detective Julie “Jules” Willhite’s death during Chicago PD‘s first episode.
As some may remember, Jules, played by Melissa Sagemiller, was Antonio Dawson’s partner who was first introduced during Chicago Fire season 1, episode 23, “Let Her Go” (Chicago PD‘s backdoor pilot). Sagemiller then reprised her role in the police procedural’s series premiere, “Stepping Stone.” However, Jules was tragically murdered in episode 1.
So, when Martel is introduced and killed in the same Chicago PD episode 10 years later, it’s easy to see the parallels between her and Jules.
When Jules and Dawson tracked down a suspect during the pilot, she was shot in the neck. Jules later died from her wound, utterly stunning the rest of the Intelligence Unit. So, when Martel is introduced and killed in the same Chicago PD episode 10 years later, it’s easy to see the parallels between her and Jules.
Why Chicago PD Season 12 Quickly Kills Martel
Showrunner Gwen Sigan Explains The Decision To Kill Martel
The decision to have Martel die at the end of the story in Chicago PD season 12, episode 1, was seemingly a calculated move to set up the rest of the season. Plus, according to showrunner Gwen Sigan, Martel’s death directly coincides with Voight’s storyline. Sigan told TV Insider:
“We knew in the [writers’] room that the story we wanted to tell was really dealing with Voight and how he’s been affected by the events of last year and most especially, I think, two pieces, which is that Upton’s gone, and then also that he had this near-death experience and that he remembers a lot of it, and he remembers what it felt like, and he remembers that this was all just going to be gone, right? … So, when we knew that’s what the episode was about, we also wanted to tell that story through another character, which ended up being Martel. And it felt fresh. It felt different for us to introduce a unit member that way where we get to just see her a month in, and she’s already been accepted, and she’s already found her footing … And so it, for us, felt like it was all the perfect pieces and then to end in a way where you’re emphasizing that this is how death happens, that it can happen instantaneously … And so to us, it felt thematically like the perfect story and that it would also trigger all the themes we want to tell this year, which are kind of identity and self and crisis of self and transformation and all these things that you think about a lot when you’re thinking about your own mortality.”
So, Martel’s death serves as a vehicle for the other Chicago PD characters in season 12. Since Martel dies during her first episode, the tragedy signifies how instant death can happen. It sounds as if this will be a struggle Voight will be dealing with as Chicago PD season 12 continues, and Martel’s fate will also undoubtedly greatly affect Ruzek’s story in the episodes.
