The 5 best Chicago PD season 5 episodes

3. Ghosts

You have to hand it to Tracy Spiridakos: in her first season as a Chicago PD regular, she did some fantastic work. She was a standout this season, even though Upton had to step out of the shadow from the departing Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush). There were two Upton-centric episodes in this season, and “Ghosts” was the best of the pair.

That episode finally answered the backstory question that had been asked when Hailey Upton was first introduced: What was that undercover operation that she couldn’t talk about? It came back to the forefront when Upton resurrected her former cover identity in order to finally bust Ronald Booth (guest star Titus Welliver). Not only was Booth the suspect who got away, he had killed Upton’s partner—whom she was in love with—and tried to sexually assault her.

That made him the most loathsome villain of Chicago PD season 5, and Welliver (of Bosch and The Good Wife fame) was an absolutely perfect choice for the role. He played Booth as oozing with an unhealthy obsession with Upton, yet also ruthless and willing to do anything he needed to stay in control.

The scene in which Booth and Upton violently battle in a stairwell, culminating in Upton deciding whether or not to kill him before Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) steps in, was one of the most chilling moments out of the entire run. This episode also gave us some great Halstead and Upton moments, solidifying them as a true partnership, and definitively proved that Upton belonged as part of the Chicago PD family.