Chicago P.D
Chicago PD Review – Upton’s Intense Fight (1020)
The women of Chicago PD—and there are really only two of them, which is honestly kind of sad—have been through hell and back. I don’t think the men on the series have endured as much emotional and physical trauma as Hailey Upton and Kim Burgess.
Chicago PD Season 10 Episode 20 saw Upton fighting for her life after getting caught up in a situation with one of Jay Halstead’s former CIs.
It was a hard watch considering all of the abuse that Upton took while trying to figure out how to escape captivity.
Keeping fans in the dark only intensified the anxiety that Upton was feeling—it was as if we were all locked up right alongside her. Lee didn’t want to reveal what he did or why they were captured, though eventually, it was revealed that he stole 50K from a man who didn’t take kindly to being robbed.
When Mark Vicente pressed for information about his cash, Lee remained mum, which only made things worse and added even more stress. Without all of the pieces of the puzzle, Upton couldn’t figure out a plan that guaranteed their freedom or survival.
While most people would sing like a canary after being threatened, Lee’s determination to stay quiet—even getting his hand chopped off with an ax—meant that he was protecting someone else.
Things escalated pretty quickly when Upton failed to get any information out of Lee, and when push came to shove, Mark’s associate accidentally killed Lee ruining their chances of getting any answers.
In his final moments, Lee couldn’t even give Upton any ammo as he revealed that his girlfriend, the one he died protecting, spent all of it.
Upton was now in it alone, relying solely on her own training to get her out of this bind. Thankfully, she was pretty confident that her team was already aware of her disappearance and leading a search party for her whereabouts. She left a message for Voight in blood on the floor of the bathroom, which helped Intelligence pinpoint her location, but Upton also didn’t put all of her eggs in one basket; she didn’t sit back and wait to be saved, instead, she leaped into action.
In such an uncertain situation, Upton showed an immense amount of bravery. She fought back at every turn, eventually kicking out the backseat from the trunk and climbing over to choke out Mark which resulted in a car crash.
She managed to escape the vehicle, and though it looked like both Mark and his associate died in the accident, the former mustered up all the strength to take one last shot at Hailey.
Thankfully, he underestimated her, and she was able to free herself from his grasp just as Voight and the team pulled up.
CHICAGO P.D. — “Fight” Episode 1020 — Pictured: (l-r) LaRoyce Hawkins as Kevin Atwater, Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess, Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek, Jason Beghe as Hank Voight — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)
If it wasn’t for Torres insisting that something was wrong because Upton never misses a training session, she likely wouldn’t have gotten help as quickly as she did. I’m glad that she has someone watching out for her because it clearly isn’t Jay Halstead anymore.
The episode kicked off with Upton chatting with Jay about his decision to extend his contract, but as things unfolded, it was evident that she was the only one still making an effort in this relationship. I know Jesse Lee Soffer wanted to leave the series of his own volition, but it’s unfortunate that they are making his character look like a grade-A asshole. The Halstead we know would never just turn his back on Upton, and he’d certainly be concerned about her disappearance.
But I understand that they have to find a way to write him out fully—he cannot be a ghost presence on the show and in her life for much longer—and there aren’t a lot of options.
While getting kidnapped had absolutely nothing to do with Upton’s relationship with Halstead, it did put her future into perspective as Lee was the only one fighting for his relationship while Jessica was simply using him. As Voight later revealed, she was the one who concocted the plan to rob Mark and even convinced Lee to go through with it, but when Lee was kidnapped and the cops begged her to help them find him, she pretended to have zero information on the situation or who was responsible. Lee’s blood is sort of on her hands; she didn’t seem to care what happened to him now that she got what she wanted.
Again, it’s not the exact same scenario as with Upton and Halstead, but it’s what made her really question her situation. And Voight’s heart-to-heart informing her that it’s okay to let go officially convinced her that it was time to say goodbye to this chapter of her life.
It’s a bummer we won’t get to see Jay’s perspective on all of this, but I’m glad that Upton is finally moving on and on her way to finding peace.
As for Upton and Burgess, well, I just hope these women can finally catch a break. They are fighters, no doubt, but that’s a lot of trauma to deal with and unpack! At the very least, I’d love to see them have a standing girl’s night where they just blow off some steam for their own sake and sanity. We have two women on the series—why aren’t they friends? Why can’t they be there for each other?!
What did you think of the episode?
It’s finally happening—our favorite One Chicago shows are coming home to us!
Chihards, mark your calendars and get ready to sit down in front of the TV on January 17 because that’s when Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago PD will make their highly-anticipated and long-awaited premieres!
It’s truly beginning to feel a lot like Christmas… though I hope that turning around new episodes doesn’t mean that the actors will have to work through the holidays.
one chicago wednesdays return January 17 on @nbc and streaming on @peacock!!!
— Top 1% of Burzek shippers (@NBCOneChicago) November 20, 2023
Chicago Med returns for season 9, Fire for season 12, and Med for season 11.
Of course, the full NBC 2024 lineup will kick off on Jan 1 with America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League, which means they are wasting no time getting back into the swing of things following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike delays.
Law & Order franchises will have their moment on Thursday, Jan 18 with Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime.
Part 1 of The Voice returns on Feb. 26, along with BC’s new Deal or No Deal spinoff, Deal or No Deal Island.
La Brea will air its final season on Jan 9, leading into the final two episodes of Found. The Irrational will also air its final four episodes starting Monday, Jan. 29.
Quantum Leap and Magnum P.I., Lopez vs. Lopez, The Weakest Link, Password, That’s My Jam and The Wall currently don’t have a premiere date.
Chicago PD fans—we’ve got some bad news coming your way.
As you await new episodes of the crime procedural, the cast is getting yet another shakeup (we’re still not over Jesse Lee Soffer’s exit in the first half of season 10, to be honest).
Variety announced that Tracy Spiridakos, who has portrayed Detective Hailey Upton since season 4, will be leaving the series. She is set to exit after season 11, though it remains unclear if she’ll be around for the entirety of the season or pull a move from Soffer’s playbook and exit a few episodes in.
The outlet notes that the decision to leave the show was entirely her own; Spiridakos has yet to confirm or release a statement of her own.
Spiridakos joined the Dick Wolf Entertainment drama in 2016 as a recurring character and was quickly upped to series regular starting in season 5. Since then she’s become an integral part of Intelligence, getting her hands dirty with Sgt. Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and sparking a romantic relationship with Soffer’s Det. Jay Halstead.
While it’s a bummer, her departure does kind of make sense when you look at her overall story. Since Halstead left the city to fulfill an Army task in Bolivia and basically broke her heart, she’s had trouble picking up the pieces and finding her place. Hitting refresh—which ultimately means leaving the show—is a logical next step as there’s nothing holding her back anymore. The writers could find a way to mend Upstead with her joining Jay wherever his duties take him or she can look for a fresh start in a place that no longer reminds her of her broken marriage.
Spiridakos’ character was also involved in a rather intense case that spanned several episodes last season, so they could use that as an excuse to write her off, noting that the case took a toll on her.
The 10th season has been delayed by the writers’ and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and while writers are able to get back into the rooms and craft storylines, production remains halted. No premiere dates have been announced yet, so it’s unclear how long we’ll wait for the upcoming highly-anticipated season… and Spiridakos’ last.
Without her, there are only 4 originals left standing; In addition to Beghe, the series stars LaRoyce Hawkins (Kevin Atwater), Patrick J. Flueger (Adam Ruzek), and Marina Squerciati (Kim Burgess). In 2022, newcomer Benjamin Levy Aguilar (Torres) was upped to series regular, rounding out the squad.
The One Chicago franchise has endured plenty of loss as of late, with many notable stars exiting their respective shows, including a total of 5 characters leaving Chicago Med.
Following Chicago PD Season 5’s finale, it’s understandable that fans are worried about Adam Ruzek’s fate as it hangs in the balance.
Questions and concerns immediately began popping up, with many wondering if Patrick Flueger is leaving the series.
For now, it’s unclear as the episode that ended the season left things on a bit of a cliffhanger in terms of Ruzek’s health.
During the episode, Ruzek, who was working undercover for months to thwart Richard’s, a white supremacist’s deadly terrorist plan, blew his own cover to Richard’s daughter, Sam, who was trying to skip town after her dad moved up the date for his attack.
Ruzek and the Intelligence team then convinced Sam to inform on her dad and his crew in exchange for immunity for herself and her son, Callum, which she did.
He then advised them to pack up their things and head over to a safe house, which she proposed as a little getaway to Callum. Unfortunately, Cal was so brainwashed by his grandfather that he immediately called him to let him know that his mom was trying to leave.
When Ruzek approached him and saw him on the phone, Cal pulled out a gun. Ruzek tried to diffuse the situation but Cal pulled the trigger, hitting Ruzek in the abdomen. He immediately started bleeding out and collapsed to the ground. Once Sam realized what was happening, she grabbed her son and made a run for it, leaving Ruzek alone to die. Thankfully, he was able to reach Kim Burgess and within minutes, he was in an ambo on his way to Med.
CHICAGO P.D. — “A Better Place” Episode 1022 — Pictured: Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)
Unfortunately, once he went into surgery, the doctors provided no additional updates, though Platt assured a very concerned Burgess that they got to him quickly.
It’s tough to say if Ruzek will survive, especially with so many Chicago PD and Chicago Med exits happening this year, however, Ruzek is one of the fan-favorite characters, so I can’t see him leaving the series anytime soon. He’s strong and he’s a fighter, and he has a lot to live for—he just made things official with Burgess, he’s a father to Makayla, and he’s an integral part of Intelligence.
My guess is that he will survive the surgery, but he’ll be sidelined for a bit and will likely have to go through some rehab and therapy in the same way Burgess did after her near-death experience.
This seems to be a still from an upcoming episode that shows Ruzek still alive post-surgery—though unconscious—with Burgess by his side, which is promising.
CHICAGO P.D. — “A Better Place” Episode 1022 — Pictured: (l-r) Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek, Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)
While I can’t say anything definitively, I firmly believe that Adam Ruzek is not leaving Chicago PD just yet. And we likely won’t know more until Chicago PD Season 9 returns in the fall.
You can read our Chicago PD Season 10 Episode 22 review right here.
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