Warning: spoilers for Chicago P.D.'s "The Devil You Know" episode of Season 7.
The "Devil You Know" episode of Chicago P.D. delivered a doozy of a development when it comes to Hailey Upton and Hank Voight, although thankfully (for many reasons, in my book) not anything that will lead to more romantic complications within Intelligence. Upton made a dark decision that resulted in the death of Darius Walker, causing Voight to worry that she's following in his ruthless footsteps. Halstead did not find out what his partner did, but actress Tracy Spiridakos revealed that is on the way.
First, Tracy Spiridakos shared what's next for Upton after she gave Voight reason to worry that she's turning into him:
We haven’t explored it too much yet with the episodes that we’ve filmed, but we’re definitely going to see how she’s dealing with that on an emotional level. We’re definitely going to see a development in [Voight and Hailey’s] dynamic as the episodes go on. He’s keeping an eye on her to see what’s going to happen after [the January 22] episode.
Voight isn't just going to let go of the conversation where Upton promised that she'd get to the place where she can turn off the part of her that resists doing things like manipulating people to kill an enemy for her. When conflict seemed to be brewing between Voight and Halstead at the beginning of the season, who would have guessed that the real tension might be between Voight and Upton because she starts crossing lines?
Halstead is no stranger to crossing lines, and he has the fresh bullet wound to prove it, but how will he react to Upton's decision? He does know that she went to see the people who eventually killed Darius, as he followed her and tried to convince her to stop. That said, he's not up on what exactly she did that Darius Walker wound up dead on a pool table with a dead rat hung over him.
Tracy Spiridakos went on to TV Insider to say viewers will see "what happens when Jay finds out what happened," and we'll presumably get to see his reaction, whatever that is. On the one hand, Halstead literally just almost died for going rogue, so it'll be a bit rich if he climbs up on a high horse to criticize his partner. On the other hand, Halstead went rogue to try and help a mother and son after the husband/dad was wrongfully killed and framed, so he may not see Upton's vengeance in quite the same light.
Halstead is going to face a conundrum in the upcoming crossover between Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.; could that be when he finds out about what Upton did? She may have had a "wake-up call" about her feelings for him after he was shot, but she's not one to back down when she believes she's right.
That said, the moment in the winter premiere when Rojas made Upton face that she cared more for her critically-injured partner than she thought could impact their dynamic moving forward. Here's how Tracy Spiridakos put it:
[That] was the moment ... and the realization of maybe there’s a little more [than partnership] there and 'I’m obviously not covering it the way that I thought.' It all unraveled for her. The injury opened what [her feelings for Jay] are. She’s not struggling with it as much anymore as she was. Him being injured and almost losing him got her to a place where she recognized how she feels about him. I don’t know what’s going to happen with that going forward. I don’t know if that’s a thing she’s going to hold with her or if that’s going to be explored.
Will Chicago P.D. explore a romance with Upstead, when Burgess and Ruzek are having a baby, Atwater and Rojas may have something brewing, and Upton just took a step in the Voight direction? At least the status quo probably means a super weird One Chicago love triangle isn't on the way, and Halstead and Upton may have larger concerns about their partnership than sparks flying. She's in a dark place.
See what happens for Upton, Halstead, and the rest in the next new episode of Chicago P.D. on Wednesday, February 5 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC as the third hour of the One Chicago block beginning with Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET (with more of the other Halstead brother) and Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET.
