Chicago PD finale teases a "vital decision" for Hailey Upton

It's all come down to this. Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) has been set to leave for the entirety of season 11, and yet, a few episodes away from the finale, and we still have no idea how or why. The show has taken a much different approach with Upton than with their previous character exits, as they often took place early on.

Upton's exit has had an entire season to marinate, and furthermore, the focus hasn't been on her for weeks at a time. If one was watching the show without knowledge that she was leaving, you'd never be able to tell! The showrunners and the cast have done a good job of playing her exit down, but it also has us questioning the motive.

Upton holds the key to her own future

Is Upton going to get killed off? is she going to break the law one last time before leaving? The newly released synopsis for the season 11 finale provides the first bit of clarity we have regarding what will happen. The synopsis for the episode, titled "More," reads as follows:

"As the months-long investigation into the serial killer reaches its close, Voight must outsmart the offender in a race against the clock. Upton must make a vital decision. "

Vital. This effectively rules out situations in which a decision would be taken out of Upton's hands. She's not going to be fired, or killed, based on this information, which is a relief. It does, however, mean that the character could be wading into legally questionable territory.

The synopsis suggests Upton won't die

She's covered up unlawful killings in the past, and the rest of the synopsis is dedicated to a case involving a serial killer that's taken up the back end of the season. If Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) is put in a desperate enough situation, he may turn to Upton or team up with her to play dirty and ensure the serial killer gets taken out of commission.

It's safe to assume that Josephine Petrovic (Bojana Novakovic) will be involved in some capacity as well. The newcomer has been working closely with Upton in season 11, and the going theory is that Petrovic will step in to replace Upton once she leaves. We're skeptical, but we're hoping Upton can leave the IU on as positive a note as possible.