Chicago PD season 8 character preview: Jay Halstead

What will happen

As we mentioned in our character preview for Hailey Upton, a Halstead and Upton relationship is pretty much a done deal. Chicago PD showrunner Rick Eid has called it love between the two and the show has been moving steadily in that direction for at least the last two seasons. They’ll hook up before the midseason finale.

As Upton has become a large part of the show we’ll see Halstead continue to be supporting her story, whether it’s as her partner while she continues down the path of being the next Voight or in their developing romance. He’ll be around but it will be as much, if not more, being secondary to her as with his own plotlines.

It would be nice to see the series make a callback to his previous relationship but that seems unlikely. Don’t hold your breath for references to Lindsay or how this is the second consecutive time that Jay has dated his partner. And you should absolutely not expect another appearance by or even mention of his ex-wife, although One Chicago fans will probably agree that’s a good thing, since his having an ex-wife didn’t make sense in the first place.

With the season 7 cliffhanger to be resolved, plus Burzek and impending Upstead, Jay’s own individual character arc will probably end up on the back burner to other people’s issues and the Intelligence Unit’s relationships.

For the latest Chicago PD season 8 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago PD category at One Chicago Center.