Chicago PD season 7 character review: Hailey Upton

What it means

The Hailey Upton of Chicago PD season 7 was miles away from the character who was originally introduced near the tail end of season 4. In three full seasons as a series regular, Upton has gone through a 180-degree shift from a law-abiding Robbery Homicide detective to a clone of Voight, and that’s not a compliment.

What made Upton interesting when she was brought on was that she was a straightforward cop with a sterling record—a straight shooter who could provide a counterpoint to how Intelligence always seemed to bend or break the law. The show gradually eroded that, and now in this season, she’s planting evidence and doing things that have gotten even Voight furious with her. She’s not anyone’s model employee anymore.

Tracy Spiridakos is doing well with the material she’s given, but by losing her unique point of view, Upton has lost her individuality; now she’s just another rank and file soldier in Voight’s army. But why is Voight now more interested in Upton, whether it’s what happens to her or partnering her with Rojas because he wants Upton’s opinion on the new arrival? And it also felt like we saw so much of her character in the first half of the season, while other characters went underused.

There’s an arc that Chicago PD is planning for Hailey Upton, but it’s going to take more time to fix some of those rough edges and perhaps re-establish how she fits within the team. The character is fundamentally good, but there’s room for improvement with where she’s going and how the writers use her going forward.