Chicago PD still has a lot on work to do on Upton's story arc

Chicago PD has laid the groundwork for Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) to eventually leave. The character's divorce from Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer), and her inability to work a case without letting her emotions get in the way, suggested that maybe a change of scenery is needed for her to find happiness.

The problem is, all this character development was in the season 11 premiere. Upton was the focus of the episode, and has played a very minor part in the episodes that have followed.

Upton has gotten less screen time in S11

This is nothing new for Chicago PD, a show that likes to shift the focus from one officer to the next depending on the episode, but we have a bit of a ticking clock situation with Upton. We know that the character is going to be leaving at some point during season 11, and all signs point to it happening on the back end of the season.

The thing is, we're dealing with significantly less episodes than usual. An average season of PD runs from 18-20 episodes, whereas the current season will only be 13 episodes.

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That means that the show is going to have to cram a lot of character development and resolution into the remaining episodes, or run the risk of not doing a character as important as Upton service.

Chicago PD showrunner Gwen Sigan hinted at Upton's psychological state ahead of the premiere, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the character is going to have to come to grips with some unhappy truths about herself if she's going to progress:

"So much of her mental journey that is so interesting is that she’s someone who I think denies a lot of her emotion and doesn’t want to feel certain things."

Upton is set to leave at the end of S11

It stands to reason that the acceptance of this emotion is going to come into play, but PD doesn't have a lot of screen time left. The fifth episode of season 11, which is slated to air on February 21, will focus on Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins).

There's also the engagement of Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger), and the complicated undercover situation that Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) has gotten himself into.

PD has proved that it knows how to stick the landing with storylines, we just hope that this one gets on the runway soon.