“It was really fun to work with everybody. It was great,” Chicago P.D. icon Amy Morton told NBC Insider.
Chicago P.D. Season 13’s “Heroes” was a certified tear-jerker as Desk Sergeant Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) found herself outside of the precinct on a frenzied hunt to get to the bottom of a mysterious death. Amid the “really exciting” P.D. twists and turns, Morton opened up to NBC Insider about Platt’s heartbreaking episode.
After performing a wellness check on her cherished former recruit, Narcotic Officer Robbie McKay, Platt was horrified to find her colleague dead from a gunshot wound to the head. After the bullet was connected to McKay’s service weapon, homicide detectives swiftly ruled the death a suicide. This mystified the dubious Platt, who’d been laughing with McKay just the evening before.
Privy to the large-scale drug trafficking case McKay had been making progress on, Platt feared that her dear friend had been killed amid a sinister cover-up. However, after evidence emerged indicating that McKay did take his own life, it was up to Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) to help Platt gain the clarity she needed to process the heartbreaking truth.
Desk Sgt. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) appears on Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 9.
Photo: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC
“It was a big deal for me, quite frankly, I mean, I haven’t had an episode this large in many years. So it was really exciting, and I was scared sh**less, I’m not gonna lie,” Morton, 66, told NBC Insider ahead of the action-packed episode, which saw Platt leading a winding Intelligence Unit investigation.
Amy Morton worked closely with One Chicago producer and podcast host Brian Luce
Platt was on fire during P.D.‘s “Heroes,” and NBC Insider was eager to chat with Morton about the One Chicago fan favorite’s recent spotlight. Aside from connecting with P.D.‘s “amazing crew” on many of the thrilling drug busts and chase sequences of the episode, Morton worked closely with the “invaluable” One Chicago Podcast host and P.D. consultant-turned-producer Brian Luce for the emotional beats.
Morton revealed that Luce suffered a tragic loss during his time as a Chicago police officer, an experience that inspired “Heroes.”
“[Luce is] absolutely who you go to for anything procedural, but also, this was an episode that was near and dear to him because he lived this story,” Morton said, revealing that, like Platt, Luce was once blindsided by a colleague’s suicide. “He did not see it coming at all, so to have Luce on set was incredibly helpful, and I felt really fortunate.”
Part of what made the episode such an impactful watch was Morton’s performance as the grief-stricken Platt, whose stubbornness worked against her as the evidence supporting McKay’s suicide became undeniable.
Platt moved forward as though McKay had been murdered, meanwhile solving the last case he worked on, while Burgess set out to help her friend see the truth at the center of the investigation.
“She’s believing what she wants to believe, which is completely understandable in the human course of events, but it’s also heartbreaking,” Morton said. “Because people are seeing it before she does, and that’s not usually the case. She’s usually kind of sniffing stuff out pretty early, and she didn’t this time.”
Amy Morton talks about that tear-jerking final scene with Burgess
After years at the Intelligence Unit together, Burgess was the best person to deliver the news that she’d found McKay’s cell phone, which included a clarifying suicide note in the form of a video. Still convinced she was about to nail the recently-arrested drug-dealing gang leader for murder, Platt was in disbelief, reminding Burgess about the shreds of evidence that pointed to homicide. Maybe McKay had been forced to pull the trigger?
But Burgess remained adamant: The overwhelming evidence and McKay’s video message told the heartbreaking truth. “I’m very sorry,” Burgess said before Platt grabbed the phone, insisting on watching McKay’s message for herself. After ending the ill-fated clip, Platt was stunned.
“I thought I knew him,” Platt said, dumbfounded and heartbroken. “I didn’t see this.”
“Because he didn’t want you to, Trudy,” Burgess explained, but the Desk Sergeant remained tearfully confused about missing the signs as a seasoned cop. Burgess told Platt that McKay had been sick and was hurting, and had done his best to hide that pain from everyone.
“Listen to me, his legacy is still the same,” Burgess told Platt. “And everything that you said about that man? It’s still true. OK? It’s still true. This was an on-duty death; we both know that. He was a good cop, OK? He was a good cop.”
Morton spoke about the heartbreaking scene with NBC Insider, commending the P.D. writers’ room for shining a light on such a “human story.”
“[The last scene] was written so well, her denial… The writing was really good. It just was not a hard episode for me to get close to because it’s so human, you know?” Morton said, adding that few law enforcers speak on the subject. “It’s a very, very human story… the statistics of suicide in Chicago for cops are the highest in the nation. And so it’s also felt like it was an incredibly important story to tell.”
Aside from the powerful storytelling of P.D.’s latest, Morton was also happy to see the tables turn between Platt and Burgess. After years of Burgess being under Platt’s wing, she was the perfect person to swoop in and deliver the reality check.
“It was really fun to work with everybody. It was great, and it was so great working with Marina in a completely opposite relationship,” Morton said while speaking to the joys of filming the Platt-heavy episode. “Where she’s the one taking care of me, and trying to get me to see what’s in front of me. That was one of my favorite parts — was being able to work with Marina in that way.”
