Chicago PD: 3 ways Hailey Upton could be written off the show

You probably know by now, but Hailey Upton (Tracy Spirikdakos) will be leaving Chicago PD in season 11. The character has been part of the mix for nearly eight years, and will be the second main cast member to depart in the last two seasons, following her husband Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer).

It will be sad to see Upton go, but as we discussed in a previous article, her impending exit is not all that surprising. The character was reaching a bit of a dead end in season 10, especially since Halstead was no longer part of the show. As the writers continue to work on the scripts for the upcoming season, here are some ways that Upton could feasibly leave the show.

Upton could get in trouble for killing Roy Walton

Upton has a pretty spotless police record, with the exception of the Roy Walton (Michael Maize) case. The police officer shot and killed Walton to protect her boss, Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), but in doing so, she placed herself in the uncommon situation of having to cover up a technical crime. The cover up became so serious that she was forced to bring Halstead into the mix to help.

We could see a world where the Walton case resurfaces in season 11, and Upton is forced to resign from the IU or risk facing jail time for not only shooting someone, but covering up their death and hiding the body. It would be an interesting inverse of the reason Halstead left.

Upton could quit the IU to be with Halstead in Bolivia

Upton is clearly (and understandably) heartbroken by the way her marriage has fallen apart since Halstead decided to quit the IU and move to Bolivia to ward off drug cartels. The latter hasn’t been returning her calls or giving her updates on when he plans on coming back to the U.S.

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It wouldn’t be out of the question for Upton to decided that she needed to go to Halstead and try to salvage her marriage, even if it means traveling to another country and effectively putting an end to her career in Chicago. It would be a sad resolution to her character, but a realistic one.

Upton and Halstead could move somewhere else for a fresh start

This one is best case scenario. If Halstead recognized the error of his ways, and agreed to return and patch things up with Upton, then we would definitely be rooting for the couple to move away and get a fresh start. They both have been through a lot in recent years, and have become burnt out by the various things they’ve had to do on the job.

If they felt like leaving the IU and Chicago altogether was what needed to happen to maintain a happy and healthy marriage, then fans could at least take solace in the fact that they are doing better than ever offscreen. Seems like a worthwhile trade-off.

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