We’ve known for a while now that time was running out for one longtime Chicago PD character, and sadly the show’s latest episode officially brought an end to their journey on the show.
WARNING: The following post contains spoilers from Chicago PD season 13, episode 19.
Heading into the episode, we had a sinking feeling that Bob’s death could be imminent, as the episode synopsis noted that the VHS at the center of the episode’s case was found in his father’s belongings. Our fear was that Ruzek would come across the tape after his father’s death, and we worried this moment might occur off-screen. While we were wrong about how Ruzek came to find the tape, we unfortunately were not wrong about Bob’s fate.
Early in Chicago PD season 13, episode 19, we see Ruzek visiting Bob at his care facility, and it’s clear that his father’s health is quickly declining. Bob is forgetting more and more, and he’s clearly in the final stages of the disease.
Through the episode, we saw Bob declining, and it became clear late in the episode this was the show saying goodbye to the character. After his initial visit, Ruzek gets a call from his dad’s nurse, and we come to learn that Bob has now stopped eating, a moment that often occurs in the final days of an Alzheimer’s patient’s life. By the episode’s end, Ruzek is called back, as it seems Bob is not expected to make it through the night.
As Ruzek sits by his dad’s bedside, he gets an opportunity not all people do to say goodbye to his dad and tell him how much he loves him. The moment is an emotionally charged scene as Ruzek promises his dad he’ll remember for him as we see flashes from Ruzek’s childhood and some of his many happy moments with his dad. As Ruzek tells his dad it’s okay to let go, we see Bob take his final breath in a moment we knew was coming but we weren’t truly prepared for.
