Chicago PD season 6 character preview: Jay Halstead

What should happen

Chicago PD put Jay Halstead through the wringer last season, which made sense considering that he lost the woman he’d spent most of the last four seasons with—as he was planning to ask her to marry him, no less! It would have been weird if he wasn’t upset.

But now this is Chicago PD season 6, and we’ve seen Halstead in therapy, albeit not that much. He should have had plenty of time to talk about his issues, and he ought to have had a reality check in getting caught up with a drug dealer.

So we fully expect that this season, Jay will have gotten his stuff together, and be back to the dependable character audiences know and love. Anything else would be saying he didn’t learn anything from the fifth season, and isn’t capable of growth.

That doesn’t mean he has to be 100 percent okay. One of the great things about the past season was seeing a different side of Halstead, and the show can continue to explore that this season, in ways that aren’t so hazardous to Jay’s health.

Maybe he’s still in therapy. Maybe he’s just not quite as open as he used to be. Whatever happens, hopefully Chicago PD continues to build his character, but in ways that don’t involve him making a bunch of decisions that he regrets. He can continue to learn things and still have common sense. And please, let’s not give him another girlfriend.