Chicago PD star reveals biggest regret after Hailey Upton left the show

Chicago PD suffered a major loss in season 11. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) may not have been the outright star of the show, but she was a crucial part of what made it work. Her dynamics with the rest of the cast powered some of PD's best episodes, and her departure, while impactful, deprived fans of what would have surely been some terrific stories.

The good news is that Spiridakos continues to be close with her Chicago PD co-stars, and has been seen spending time with them outside of the show. The bad news is that one of these stars, Marina Squerciati, feels her character's dynamic with Upton was not given a proper resolution.

Marina Squerciati wanted Burgess and Upton to be closer

Squerciati, who plays Kim Burgess, never got a chance to say goodbye to Upton before she the quit the IU and left the city. The two characters were decently close during their time on the show, but Squerciati (and the fans) were robbed of the chance of seeing them speak one last time.

Squerciati told CinemaBlend she was disappointed by this narrative decision. "I was sad that Tracy's character and I never really got our chance," she explained. "Like even at the end of the season, we never even get to say goodbye." The actress realized that it was done to emphasize the final scene between Upton and Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), but the regret remains the same.

The silver lining is that Burgess has slid into more of a mentorship role in season 12. The character has been promoted to detective in Upton's absence, and helped newcomer officers like Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) and Kiana Cook (Toya Turner) get acclimated to life with the IU.

She wants the same for Burgess and Kiana Cook

It's with Cook that Marina Squerciati sees a possible second chance. The actress posited that she wants Burgess and Cook to develop a stronger bond than she and Upton did. Especially in the field, where, as season 12 has shown, death can be swift.

"I would like to have something more with Toya than than I did with Upton," Squerciati told the outlet. "I think we deserve that." Cook has established dynamics with the likes of Torres and Burgess' fiance, Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), but the "breakthrough" with Burgess has yet to come.

We'd love to see it take place during the second half of season 12, and based on what Squerciati is saying, she would too.