The realities of Upstead are complicated.
As fans, we want to see our ships happy, but being involved with your partner when you are a cop is easier said than done. It certainly makes for exciting television, as we watch them in dangerous situations. Romantic feelings can cloud your judgment while under fire or in the middle of an opp.
Chicago PD changed up the formula slightly in “Safe.” The opening scene is Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) enjoying a rare night out for his dad’s birthday. How often do we see our beloved cops just living their lives?
Cut to the next morning. Both Hailey and Jay are hungover, blaming it on that one too many bottles of red wine.
Hailey was supposed to teach at the Academy the night before but canceled. Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) informs her that Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) was looking for her because she skipped out.
Hailey did not get off the great start with Voight in this episode. While she’s explaining herself, they get a call over the radio of a home invasion. Intelligence is already on a case. They’ve been tracking two thieves that have been robbing homes in an expensive neighborhood.
By the time they get there, the guys are gone, but a man’s been shot who will later die at the hospital, and the wife has been beaten.
Fast forward to finding a pawn shop guy that seems suspicious. Jay and Hailey follow him into a parking garage. The guy approaches them because the supsects are watching him.
The team uses him as bait to get the guys. As they are waiting for the meet to take place, Jay thinks he sees a gun in the hand of a male in a white van. Hailey jumps on it, and they go in, only to find out they are construction workers and not their guys. Their cover had been blown.
This is when Voight approaches Hailey about if she’s dating Jay and if it’s interfering with her ability to go with her gut. Of course, Hailey is offended by this. But she’s worried that it may be affecting her judgment, so she sets up boundaries with Jay for at the office.
Then, another home invasion happens, and a boy is killed. She can’t help but feel responsible for the kid’s death, so she puts in overtime to catch the killer.
When she tracks the guy down, she brings Jay in to stake out the house and goes in without a warrant. The guy comes home. Shots are fired all the way to the conclusion of him dying.
Jay is then forced to lie to Voight about going into the home. He’s not happy with Hailey for forcing him to go into the home because he wasn’t going to let her go in alone and then having to lie to Voight about it.
Upstead is not the happy couple we would have hoped for, but this is the most realistic version of two partners dating that I can think of. It’s complicated and messy.
It’s really going to test their relationship as they try to navigate being partners at work and partners at home.
This wasn’t the emotionally driven character-centric episodes that we’re used to. It was something different, and it worked really well.
I enjoyed watching Hailey navigate how her and Jay’s relationship was affecting her job. Her go-to was to double down on the case. And it was fascinating detective work as she put the pieces together to track down the offender. We’re so used to someone flipping to lead to the criminal, but this was more interesting.
Once again, Voight proves his character is at his best when he’s playing mentor to the group. He is an intimidating guy, but he’s not mad at Hailey for having a romantic relationship with Jay. He won’t even break them up on the field because they work so well together, but he did tell her to be careful and not change Jay.
Voight clearly knows they went into the house. And he’s also right about not changing Jay. We do need him exactly the way he is.
I like that the writers are playing with the dynamics of this relationship. It can make for intense scenes in a case.
And while I wish the writers could figure out Voight’s post “by any means” attitude, I do quite enjoy his words of wisdom.
Hailey also confessed that the unpredictability of the job is what makes her feel safe. Which, yeah, does sound a little crazy. But we’ve already established she has past trauma that she hasn’t dealt with yet.
I hope that the writers explore her psyche even more. There’s so much depth to Hailey and they haven’t even tapped into all of that yet.
Do you think Upstead being in a romantic relationship will mess up their partnership? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
