Chicago PD has returned, but when something, it makes us really feel extra nostalgic than ever for what the collection was.
In some ways, Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 1 highlights some gripes viewers have had concerning the collection for a while.
All these points had been pushed ahead, thus making a highly-anticipated season premiere simply shy of underwhelming. Scratch that, as we outlined in our Chicago PD Evaluation, it was the epitome of underwhelming.
We’ve lots of issues to face this season with a restricted variety of episodes (the shortest thus far), a brand new character we nonetheless should adapt to, and, most notably, the approaching departure of Hailey Upton.
The excellent news, though that is getting referred to as into query as of late, is that with Hailey sticking round for many of, if not the complete season, there’s time for the collection to orchestrate a good exit that respects the collection, what it constructed, the character and actress, and followers.
But when the season premiere signifies what that departure will likely be, we’re off to a tough begin.
A constant downside with Chicago PD is how imbalanced they’ve turn into with their storytelling and character focus.
We regularly have characters who fall to the wayside with little or stalled growth and others who kind of monopolize lots of display time and plots.
And since the collection has spent a substantial amount of time lately working round its solid by focusing extra on character-centric installments in rotation slightly than main case-first with one thing that requires the complete workforce, it is extra noticeable than ever when some characters eat the collection.
It is the place we’re with Hailey Upton and have been for an extended whereas.
And now, Chicago PD Season 11 faces a predicament because it’s her ultimate season, and at a time when many viewers would like to see her take a backseat, she’ll probably be entrance and middle.
However the issue is that she’s typically been entrance and middle for therefore lengthy that now it is merely extra of the identical.
They’ve oversaturated the collection with Hailey storylines and points that have a tendency to pull on endlessly. Sadly, none of them are scintillating or new.
They’ve overplayed the Hailey card.
The Chicago PD season premiere ought to’ve targeted extra solely on Adam Ruzek and the ramifications of his capturing.
Even with the six-month soar, it was the extra urgent storyline that demanded rapid consideration and focus.
And but, as soon as once more, as was the case with Kim Burgess’ capturing, Ruzek in some way took a backseat to Hailey and her deteriorating psychological well being and respective points. It was confounding earlier than and simply as a lot now and is a routine downside for the collection.
It is a puzzling maneuver to push this sole character ahead so typically and incessantly on the expense of the others and the narrative. And so they’ve achieved it in such a redundant manner that it is also been a disservice to Hailey.
It is also confirmed to be troublesome from a storytelling perspective when Upton is a personality who typically isolates and alienates herself from all the opposite characters exterior of Halstead, who’s now gone, and Hank Voight.
Limiting her to solely interacting and having storylines linked to the identical two folks negatively impacts the opposite characters once they should combat for some semblance of presence or an equally expansive storyline.
If the season premiere proved something, it is that as upsetting as will probably be for some followers and viewers, Hailey’s departure could also be a blessing in disguise.
We’re spinning a wheel together with her storylines in such a manner that it means that the collection does not know what to do together with her anymore.
We’re rehashing the identical storylines with Hailey, whether or not it is impulsively leaping to conclusions about mentally in poor health suspects (that is the second time she’s achieved this) or making questionable selections within the discipline underneath the guise of realizing higher (which has turn into her whole character).
What’s disappointing about Hailey’s arc is that it is at all times repeated with little variation. We spent all of Chicago PD Season 10 watching her depressed, shedding her grip on issues, battling issues that occurred with Halstead, and usually being unhappy.
And let’s not overlook that almost all of Chicago PD Season 9 was Hailey spiraling and traumatized.
We have been on Hailey’s poor psychological well being prepare for an extended whereas, and understandably, many viewers need off of this trip.
The time to make some ahead motion together with her rising and figuring issues out for herself was through the 19 episodes that included time jumps since Halstead departed in Chicago PD Season 10 Episode 3.
It is as in the event that they’re caught in a rut with this character, her explicit storyline relating to this identical material and angle of character exploration dragging on nicely previous its expiration date. In distinction, arcs for different characters could be blink-and-you-miss-it-fast with much less thought behind them.
Hailey’s arcs have run out of gasoline, and retreading the identical issues for her character has postpone the viewers. It is laborious to stay up for the prospect of going through much more of the identical as we gear towards her departure.
If something, it results in an awesome sense of dread that we’ll probably face a closely Hailey-centered shortened season as they work towards writing her off, and it might not be to the satisfaction of viewers.
We acknowledge that Hailey’s departure impacts the collection. We have mentioned it as a lot, and whether or not you are a fan of the character or not, it goes with out query.
However Hailey’s leaving additionally opens up new prospects for the collection.
With Halstead and Hailey gone, seeing what’s in retailer for Voight will likely be intriguing. Each characters typically took up a lot of his time, as that trio had a storyline intertwined for the previous two or three seasons.
In some ways, it had all their characters coming throughout as inaccessible to the opposite workforce members, and as a lot as we all know that the unit is meant to be close-knit, the collection drew an unstated line.
Voight has misplaced many individuals whom he cared about, and his job is his whole world.
He considers his unit his household, and extra lately, there’s been a extra paternal position that he is taken with among the workforce members as he fumbles by way of making an attempt to mentor and exist with them throughout a few of their extra private points.
Voight can typically be an island by himself, however there’s an unstated want to not be that anymore, and if Hailey departs for higher alternatives or what’s greatest for her, it makes you surprise what position Voight will take with the opposite characters.
It could imply we would look at extra of Voight’s dynamic with them, a few of whom we’ve but to see a lot of the complete collection (Kevin Atwater) and others we have not explored in additional element in a while (Adam Ruzek).
After all, Hailey’s absence may imply that Voight spends extra time mentoring somebody like Dante Torres, taking the beginner underneath his wing to forestall among the burnout and darkish paths that consumed Halstead and Hailey.
Torres is hard to learn, stoic, and has a darker previous than the same old fare of cops and detectives. He and Voight share some similarities, and it is a relationship that is contemporary, new, and value digging into deeply.
The unit may revitalize itself with the second-generation method to Voight mentoring and spending extra time with Torres.
He goes into that dynamic with the heavy previous of the place he went incorrect and all his errors and troubles with earlier unit members like Erin, Olinsky, Dawson, Halstead, and Hailey.
Hailey’s departure additionally implies that there will likely be a refreshing shift in how the unit features. Basically, Voight does must have a “second” that he leans on or bounces issues off of, and he can discover a model of that with Atwater, Kim Burgess, or Ruzek.
It additionally speaks volumes concerning the progress of that trio of characters as we have adopted their journey by way of their recruitment to the unit as much as them serving as some type of a accomplice for Voight as they’ve greater than earned their bones and turn into seasoned cops all worthy of detective standing.
In some ways, proximity to Voight can help a personality nicely, therefore the way it has benefited Hailey, whether or not folks cared for the storylines that resulted from it or not.
We’re as a result of discover Voight’s reference to these different characters extra, and one factor the season premiere does tease is how deeply affected he was but once more by one thing horrible taking place to certainly one of his personal.
Ruzek’s capturing weighed closely on him and appeared to hang-out him months later, and he refuses to think about anybody else for Ruzek’s place, even quickly.
It’s going to be good to see that model of Voight directed towards the 4 remaining characters.
As a result of the 4 different unit members are nearer or on the trail towards it, Hailey’s absence implies that we’ll probably have a extra cohesive unit.
With out shifting focus or splitting time as much as focus extra solely on Hailey and Voight or Hailey by herself, the collection may faucet into that sentimentality of earlier seasons by having a extra interactive unit with each other.
We all know the budget-cutting incentives have affected how the collection tells tales and the way it chooses to give attention to characters.
It is impacted actors’ display time and characters’ presence. However somebody of prime billing like Tracy Spiridakos exiting and probably pursuing even larger ventures will profit the finances slightly than hinder it and the way viewers take pleasure in and eat the collection.
The dangerous information is that we’ll be down a personality and a well-liked one, at that. Alternatively, we can’t should sacrifice a lot display time with the remaining characters; every may get extra consideration and have extra complete storylines.
In hindsight, it is unbelievable to think about simply what number of storylines Hailey has had her hand in over the previous few seasons. Because of this, it typically looks like she’s dominated a lot of the collection.
Along with the character-focused hours the others have, she typically has some position or extra vital elements in ongoing plots and main plots all through the season, so she’s at all times there.
However in her stead, the collection may take a special method to pursuing future plots.
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Hailey’s departure presents a chance for the collection to concurrently faucet into the wistful really feel of earlier seasons whereas additionally turning a brand new web page within the saga, revamping the collection.
There’s trepidation about her exit, however there’s additionally an pleasure to see how the collection transforms with out her.
There are totally new angles the collection can discover with area to look at the remainder of the workforce.
Even among the tried and true arcs about psychological well being and the way the job impacts an individual’s psyche and weighs on them could be pleasurable from the attitude of any of the opposite remaining characters.
Everybody behaves and responds to such issues in a different way, and varied components can influence their portrayal.
The collection has at all times grappled with legislation enforcement who coloration exterior the strains and lift points with their questionable strategies.
Voight helms the unit, and his old-guard policing has been taken to process and dissected by way of the collection’ tenure, evolving together with the numerous conversations about legislation enforcement, overreach, and a lot extra.
However the collection post-Hailey could dabble much less with the questionable methodologies of policing.
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Voight, for higher or worse, relying on the viewer, has simmered down on a few of his excessive antics and walks a tightrope with how he approaches circumstances and criminals.
Resident impulsive hothead Ruzek has advanced and grown organically and is not susceptible to land himself in as many pickles as he as soon as did.
Atwater was by no means a personality who stepped too far exterior the road in comparison with the others, not egregiously and detrimentally so, and is the closest to a “by the books” cop that the collection has.
And we have watched Burgess’s journey, particularly lately, and the way motherhood has affected her. She’s additionally grown, working by way of her trauma healthily and productively, thus giving us one of many higher arcs relating to psychological well being.
We will transfer on from a lot of the arcs that concerned questionable shoots, coverups, biases deeply affecting circumstances, and unethical and immoral maneuvers that raised flags.
Their arcs typically appeared to plague Voight, Halstead, and Hailey greater than the opposite characters and with such a frequency that they turned cyclical.
Hailey’s depart poses an thrilling shift. She and Voight have typically tried to carry each other accountable, but it surely’s usually implosive and backfires greater than something.
However there’s potential for Voight to discover a new steadiness with one other workforce member that will not end in coverups and physique burying.
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There may very well be a personality that may maintain Voight accountable however can also be strong-willed sufficient to not fall consistent with emulating a few of his darker traits.
The unit will at all times cross strains, however we are able to graduate from the workforce doing it within the worst attainable methods.
And if a personality like Torres is the one to get referred to as into query from time to time, it could really feel extra pure for somebody simply beginning and coming into his personal as a cop slightly than somebody established who goes wayward when the job turns into an excessive amount of.
As we settle into this season of Chicago PD and brace ourselves for the route they take Hailey main as much as her exit, there could also be a light-weight on the finish of the tunnel on the positives and advantages of this exit.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics. Would the collection profit from Hailey’s departure? Let’s hear it within the feedback beneath.
Chicago PD airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC. You possibly can stream it the next day on Peacock.
Jasmine Blu is a senior employees author for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching manner too many exhibits and binge-drinking manner an excessive amount of tea. Her eclectic style makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for advanced characters, various illustration, dynamic duos, compelling tales, and responsible pleasures. You may undoubtedly discover her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
