Why Halstead Didn’t Return For Upton’s Season 11 Finale Exit Justified By Chicago PD Showrunner

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Chicago PD season 11 finale.

Summary Gwen Sigan explains why Halstead didn't return in the Chicago PD season 11 finale, citing wanting to focus on Upton for her exit.

Not bringing back Jesse Lee Soffer means that Chicago PD missed the chance to fix the poorly done Halstead departure.

Halstead's abrupt departure was rushed and made little sense in terms of his character.

Executive producers Gwen Sigan explains why Jay Halstead didn't return for Hailey Upton's final Chicago PD episode. Jesse Lee Soffer exited One Chicago as Jay Halstead at the beginning of season 10. The way he was written out remains divisive, especially since his actions leading to his abrupt decision to resign from Intelligence were uncharacteristic. Despite the end of his stint as Halstead, Soffer continues to be involved in Chicago PD, returning twice to be a director. Given this, there were expectations that he would reprise his character in time for Upton's exit.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The Chicago PD season 11 finale focused on Voight's abduction, but also highlighted Upton's struggles in the last few months, including her need to start over. In a new interview with TV Line, Sigan cites this as the reason why they didn't bring back Soffer's Halstead. Read her full quote below:

“We definitely considered it. We talked about it a lot. We wanted to go through all the different choices of where this character would go, and it really came down to I wanted it to be about [Upton].”

Chicago PD Wasted Its Final Opportunity To Fix Halstead

Halstead's Chicago PD Exit Was So Poorly Done.

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Ahead of its broadcast, Voight's abduction felt like a great way to bring back Antonio Dawson, considering the circumstances surrounding Intelligence in the Chicago PD season 10 finale. The team has been operating undermanned for years now, and while they do their job effectively, Upton's impending departure would make it more difficult moving forward. But while Antonio's possible return would mean that Jon Seda can rejoin the cast as a regular, Soffer's proposed comeback was not only to serve Upton's story but also fix his controversial final arc.

The way Halstead's Chicago PD departure played out was insulting was so rushed, that many of the events leading to it didn't make sense.

The way Halstead's Chicago PD departure played out was insulting was so rushed, that many of the events leading to it didn't make sense. After years of covering up crimes for Intelligence, he supposedly reached his limit resulting in his decision to leave the police force and run to Bolivia. He didn't even consult Upton, his new wife, about his life-changing decision. He promised her that he would return after eight months to pick up where they left off, but he ended up ghosting her until the Chicago PD season 10 finale. After that, they were suddenly divorcing.

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Bringing back Halstead before Upton left would have given him the chance to make amends. Even if they don't get back together, he should have at least apologized to her for everything he has put her through. Unfortunately, even if Soffer comes back in Chicago PD season 12, Halstead cannot really make up for the damage she did to his former partner because she's no longer with Intelligence.

The Chicago PD season 11 finale is available to stream on Peacock.

Source: TV Line

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