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Spoilers for the Season 12 premiere. The character killed in “Ten Ninety-Nine” is Detective Emily Martel, played by Victoria Cartagena. Showrunner Gwen Sigan said Martel’s sudden death was designed to bring the premiere’s themes of mortality and change into sharp focus—and to leave Ruzek and the Intelligence unit dealing with the loss.
Who dies in the Season 12 premiere?
Emily Martel is killed in the final moments of “Ten Ninety-Nine,” the Season 12 premiere. Martel, a new member of Intelligence, has begun working alongside the unit. Near the end of the episode, she and Adam Ruzek stop after shots are fired while they are driving. Martel is killed shortly after they get out of the car.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Chicago P.D.: Season Eleven | $28.45 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Chicago P.D. Seasons 1-4 | $102.90 | Buy on Amazon |
The episode’s title and the circumstances of the death set up a loss that is abrupt rather than resolved in advance. In a TV Insider interview published September 25, 2024, Sigan explained how that suddenness connects to the season’s larger concerns.
Why did the show kill off Martel?
Sigan linked the decision to two changes in Voight’s life: his near-death experience in the previous season and Upton’s departure. Voight remembers how close he came to dying, but responds by keeping himself in motion. The premiere uses that response to raise a larger question: what does a person do with limited time, and how can that time matter?
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Martel’s backstory sharpens the point. She had returned from mental-health leave after her partner died. Sigan said Martel’s death was meant to show that mortality can arrive without warning, leaving no time to prepare, say goodbye, or settle unfinished business. As she put it, the story was chosen because “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.”
How does Martel’s death affect Ruzek and Voight?
For Ruzek, the immediate consequence is shock and anxiety. Sigan described the following episode, “Blood Bleeds Blue,” as an adrenaline-driven story unfolding in real time, keeping the audience close to Ruzek’s response. The death also remains an undercurrent for the unit: police work carries everyday uncertainty and danger, and Martel’s loss makes that risk personal.
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- Chicago PD: The Complete Seasons 1-4 (DVD)
- Format: Box set, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada)
- Number of discs: 21 / Run Time: 4078.00 minutes
The next episode is listed as Season 12, Episode 2 on Peacock’s Chicago P.D. Season 12 page. Peacock’s episode listing identifies “Ten Ninety-Nine” as S12 E1 and “Blood Bleeds Blue” as S12 E2. Availability varies by region; the listing does not establish current access in every location.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is “Ten Ninety-Nine” about beyond the death?
The premiere frames Voight’s effort to keep moving against the question of whether motion is enough after a brush with death. Martel’s story brings a different loss into that same theme: even after returning to work and trying to move forward, she is not protected from a sudden ending. Sigan connected the season’s aftermath to identity, selfhood, crisis, and transformation—not only grief for one character, but what the loss forces the survivors to confront.
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