'Chicago P.D.' Showrunner Gwen Sigan on the Cat-and-Mouse Game Between Voight and Serial Killer Frank Matson

Patrick John Flueger, Marina Squerciati, Tracy Spiridakos

The penultimate episode of Season 11 of Chicago P.D. left us with quite the cliffhanger. As the months-long investigation into the serial killer that murdered Noah (Bobby Hogan) is reaching its conclusion, Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) has been kidnapped by said serial killer Frank Matson (Dennis Flanagan) and the Intelligence team races against the clock to find Voight before Matson kills him.

It was a unique twist for the Wolf/NBC cop drama to play because Voight has always seemed like a super cop, not someone who would have been vulnerable to being drugged at his favorite bar and then captured.

“That was the goal,” showrunner Gwen Sigan tells Parade exclusively. “It’s something we haven’t seen from him, and I think it’s always exciting to get to see a different side of a character, especially 11 seasons in. It felt like the right time as well story-wise, knowing that this was going to be Upton’s [Tracy Spiridakos] last season with us. We wanted to show Voight in a different light and get him to a place where he could be looking at himself differently, and in turn looking at Upton differently, and give us some nice story opportunity.”

Related: Who Died Tonight on Chicago P.D.?

Matson’s MO as a serial killer, though, is to kill in pairs. He kidnaps his first victim and then has them call someone they love to come rescue them, and then he kills them both. Voight is very much aware of this, so Matson, who is no dummy, must understand that Voight won’t react the way his previous victims did.

“That’s part of the appeal, right?” Sigan says. “That’s a little part of the appeal for Matson. By the point that we see Matson in episode 12, he knows he’s not long for the world. He knows that they’re narrowing in on him and it’s a matter of time. So, it’s almost that idea of a last hurrah, you know? One last thing to get that fulfillment that he gets from doing this. And so, to him, it’s almost like a prized possession getting to Voight.”

Related: Chicago PD's Marina Squerciati Delights Fans With Photos From Night Out With So Many Co-Stars

But what Matson might not take into consideration is the fact that Voight may not be afraid to die. He’s not going to call anyone to come rescue him. In his mind, he has enough blood on his hands and there’s a moment in the finale that demonstrates it, which we won’t spoil. Instead, he’s going to try to figure out a way to outsmart Matson.

“In my mind, Matson is aware that that is what Voight believes [that he's not afriad to die],” Sigan continues. “But I think Matson, being who he is and having some tendencies that I would say are narcissistic or he’s somewhat OCD, he’s got a lot of things in his mind that make him believe that he knows Voight better than Voight knows himself. In his head, he is twisted enough to think that. And so, I believe he thinks that with enough time, Voight will be scared just like every other human being is scared and won’t want to die.”

As Voight is dealing with Matson, trying to buy time, Upton is on a mission to rescue him. To her, Voight is more than her boss. He’s become a father figure, and she is willing to go to any lengths to save him. She’s not alone in her search, she has the team, but she’s the most obsessed and will even put her own life in jeopardy if she thinks it's necessary.

Related: Tracy Spiridakos Reveals Why She's Leaving Chicago P.D.

It was part of Sigan’s design in creating the episode. She wanted to make Spiridakos’ departure fulfilling for the audience who has watched her over the years.

“We really wanted to get Upton to a place where she had to make a decision and make a choice that we haven’t seen her make before,” she says. “I knew I wanted it to be this arc of she’s gone through so much, so much struggle, and she finally is in a place where she’s realizing, ‘Oh, this is why my brain’s doing what it’s doing.’ So the big question is, ‘Okay, then what do you do about it? You know this now, but what do you do?’ And so that’s really what we wanted to craft and get her to this year.”

Related: Chicago P.D.'s Tracy Spiridakos Praises Jesse Lee Soffer in New Photo Ahead of Her Last Episode

What made Spiridakos' departure even more bittersweet was the return of Jesse Lee Soffer, who played her husband Jay Halstead, to direct the penultimate episode. So, he was on hand as she got ready to say goodbye to her role, just as she was there for his exit.

“We knew we wanted Jesse to come back and direct because he’s a very good director,” Sigan concludes. “He directed last season, and he killed it, so he was always on our docket to come back this year. It just so happened that he ended up doing a very heavy Tracy episode, and such an important episode to the season. But he killed it with episode 12, and it was so much action which he’s very good at, and so I’m very glad he ended up slotted at that episode in particular.”

The Chicago P.D. season 11 finale airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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