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‘Chicago P.D.’: Is Hailey Upton Leaving?

Haley Upton is a controversial character on Chicago P.D. and is not every fan’s favorite character. Some never got over her replacing Erin Lindsay, and it didn’t help that she soon became a romantic interest for Lindsay’s ex Jay Halstead. Upton also has a tendency to bend the rules and crossing the line while on duty, leading to her recent …
by Stuart Walker
Published on
3 min read

Haley Upton is a controversial character on Chicago P.D. and is not every fan’s favorite character. Some never got over her replacing Erin Lindsay, and it didn’t help that she soon became a romantic interest for Lindsay’s ex Jay Halstead. Upton also has a tendency to bend the rules and crossing the line while on duty, leading to her recent trip to the FBI. While she’s returned from her stint with the FBI, there’s a chance she might go back — is she leaving Chicago P.D.?

Tracy Spiridakos as Det Hailey Upton sitting on a desk
Tracy Spiridakos as Det Hailey Upton | Matt Dinerstein/Getty Images

Hailey Upton got into some hot water last season

It all starts in season 7 when Upton’s CI (criminal informant) is killed; she suspects that Hank Voight and the CI may have had something to do with the murder. The tension between Upton and Voight increases later in the season when the question of whether Upton would end up being a by-the-book cop like Halstead or be willing to break the rules as Voight would looms over the department.

When Voight makes a deal with Walker to bust some dirty cops working with gang members, and both the cops and the gang members end up dead, Upton takes justice into her own hands by leaking that Walker is working with the police he is promptly killed. She confronted Voight saying, “And if it worked out that a bad thing happened to a bad person because of that misinterpretation, well, I learned from the best,” but Voight worried that she was becoming just like him.

Hailey Upton does things Voight’s way

When the entire department is trying to take down drug kingpin Gael Rodriguez, the police set up cameras across from one of his hideouts. At the time, Upton was living with her fellow officer Rojas, who is shocked to see her ex-boyfriend Luis on one of the cameras and erases Luis’s appearance.

Rojas tells Upton, who lies to back her up, but Voight finds out and orders Luis arrested. Voight agrees that if they can capture Gael, then Luis can turn on Gael and go free. Sadly, the trap they set for Gael failed, and it looks like Luis will still go to prison. Upton, however, takes justice into her own hands and plants drugs on Gael. The planted drugs get Gael arrested, and Luis is freed, but this massive violation proved to be too far. Voight responded by transferring Upton to the FBI until she learns to act less like him.

Upton in the FBI — for good?

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Upton is thriving in her first case with the FBI and helps her partner solve a murder case, find some stolen drugs, and celebrate their teamwork. There was supposed to be more to the season, but coronavirus (COVID-19) halted production, leaving us with a cliffhanger but not the one we expected. Will Upton continue to work for the FBI, or will she return to Chicago P.D.?

The trailer for the next episode to be released in January shows Upton’s return, but also gives some insight into how well she did with the FBI. According to CinemaBlend, it appears the FBI is trying to recruit Upton, potentially taking her from Chicago P.D. and moving along to star in FBI. It could also be that the FBI wants Upton to lead a “joint task force” with the Chicago P.D., but nothing is certain as of now. Fans will have to find out in January if Upton is staying with the unit.

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