‘Chicago P.D.’ Season 9: Jesse Lee Soffer Explains Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton Eloping: ‘They’re Not Ceremonial or Sentimental’
The Chicago P.D. Season 9 fall finale concluded the storyline surrounding Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead, and Hank Voight. In season 9 episode 9, Halstead and Upton decided they couldn’t wait any longer to tie the knot, so they ran to the courthouse and got married on a whim. Now, actors Jesse Lee Soffer and Tracy Spiridakos are explaining their characters’ decisions to marry without a proper ceremony.
What happened in the ‘Chicago P.D.’ Season 9 fall finale? Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton had a huge moment
The Chicago P.D. Season 9 fall finale proved Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton can overcome anything together. At the beginning of the season, viewers watched Upton grapple with shooting and killing Roy Walton while Hank Voight secretly did away with the body. Eventually, Halstead learned the truth from Voight, causing a major rift in his relationship with Upton. And Chicago P.D. Season 9 Episode 9 showed Halstead choosing between cooperating with the FBI or saving Voight from taking the fall for Walton’s death.
Halstead chose to come up with a plan with Voight to save all three of them from taking the blame — and the plan worked. Voight and Halstead created a difficult situation for FBI Agent North involving his drug-addicted brother. This resulted in Agent North backing off of Voight and Halstead. At the end of the episode, Voight, Halstead, and Upton were safe from taking the fall for Walton.
Once all was said and done, Halstead told Upton he didn’t want to wait another moment before marrying her. The two immediately went to the courthouse to exchange their vows and give each other their rings. They officially married — and told no one — by the very end of the episode.
Actor Jesse Lee Soffer explained why Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton decided to elope
Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton could’ve had a huge wedding with all of their family and friends from the Intelligence Unit, but they decided to elope in the Chicago P.D. Season 9 fall finale. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer explained this decision.
“I don’t think their characters are the type that need to celebrate it or the type that really needed to discuss marriage and a wedding,” Soffer told TVLine. “They’re not ceremonial or sentimental in that way. They’re passionate people. And they’re very honest, very real people so I think after getting over this huge hump with North, the FBI and Roy, they wanted to put it behind them as fast as possible. The next step in their lives is, ‘Well, let’s be together,’ so it was logical.”
“And I love that it was a spur of the moment thing and it was just for the two of them,” Upton actor Tracy Spiridakos told TV Insider. “It wasn’t a big celebration because it’s just for the two of them. Things have been so fractured for so long between them that it was a moment for the two of them to reconnect and kind of show that they’re in this together and they’re going to move forward together.”
When does ‘Chicago P.D.’ Season 9 return?
The Chicago P.D. Season 9 fall finale aired on Dec. 8, 2021, and that followed several weeks of hiatus. Unfortunately for fans, they’ll have to wait an additional few weeks for new content. Chicago P.D. returns with the rest of season 9 on Jan. 5, 2022. The timeslot remains the same at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.
Chicago Med Season 7 and Chicago Fire Season 10 also return on Jan. 5.
Until then, fans will have to wait to see how Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton’s marriage plays out with the rest of the firehouse. Showrunner Gwen Sigan promised TVLine there are “many” Halstead/Upton moments to come.
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