Spoilers ahead for the seventh episode of Chicago P.D. Season 9 on NBC, called “Trust Me.”
After taking a few episodes off from the storyline surrounding the murder and subsequent coverup of Roy Walton, Chicago P.D. went right back into the drama with Halstead still processing that Upton killed Roy, Voight disposed of the body, and they both kept it a secret for months. Now, the next episode is set to bring the FBI into the matter, and not because they want to recruit Upton again or her pal OA is dropping by from CBS. It looks like the truth is going to come out about what happened to Roy, and the question is: who will take the fall if that happens?
As of the end of “Trust Me,” the only three people who are confirmed to 100% know the truth that Upton killed Roy and Voight disposed of the body are Upton, Voight, and Halstead. Based on the promo for the next episode, the feds know that Roy is dead and suspect that Upton covered it up, and it really seems like there’s no more avoiding the situation. So, let’s take a look at the most likely candidates to take the fall, plus a wild card.
Hailey Upton
Let’s start with the most obvious person who could take the fall for killing Roy: Hailey Upton, who actually did kill Roy, and she even doubled down in “Trust Me” on telling Halstead that she made her own choice to go after Voight on that fateful night. Still, she wasn’t exactly cold and calculated when it came to Roy’s death. She wanted Voight to bring him in the right way, and ultimately only pulled the trigger when Roy went for Voight’s gun. She was so wracked with guilt earlier in Season 9 that she was literally not eating, not sleeping, and scratching herself bloody. Halstead learning the truth seems to have helped, but what happens when she’s confronted by the FBI?
Well, she was about ready to confess in a hostage situation in the Season 9 premiere, and almost spilled to Halstead in the middle of a panic attack, so it wouldn’t be wholly out of character if she came clean when pressed by the feds. That said, she has had plenty of opportunities to come clean, so it’s probably safe to say that she’d rather not go down for what she did. Plus, it was really Voight disposing of the body that turned Upton killing Roy into something that neither of them could come back from.
It’s also worth noting that the FBI agent in the promo for the next episode only says that she covered up Roy’s death. If the feds suspect (or know) that she’s involved but don’t think she killed Roy, she might want to keep the whole truth to herself. A lot may depend on her emotional state, as it was when she was deeply upset that she came close to spilling the truth previously. She’s also in a rough patch with Halstead, who she could previously lean on. If the guilt gets to her, and if everything snowballs, Upton could go down for the murder, which… well, by the letter of the law, she did commit.
Hank Voight
Upton may have pulled the trigger and fired the shot that killed Roy, but the whole situation is arguably really Voight’s fault. It’s up for debate whether or not he deliberately stood close enough to Roy that Roy went for his gun and Upton was forced to kill him to save Voight, but what could have probably been sold as a good shoot with a little bit of creative storytelling to the CPD brass went past the point of no return when Voight burned the body. As Halstead said when he finally learned the truth, Voight is pretty much the one who killed Roy.
Except… he’s not literally the one who killed Roy. So if Chicago P.D. follows the letter of the law, Voight shouldn’t take the fall for the murder, but also shouldn’t get off scot free. That said, it’s hard to imagine Chicago P.D. playing it totally straight when it comes to Upton and Voight’s guilt. “Trust Me” showed off the more sympathetic side of Voight as he reflected on Justin’s death on his birthday; could this have put Voight in the mindset that he’s really to blame for the whole mess, and take the fall for Upton?
Voight has done a lot of bad things over the years, and perhaps thinking back on what happened to Olinsky would make him inclined to step up for Upton. Olinsky’s situation and Upton’s situation aren’t perfect parallels, but – love him, hate him, or don’t particularly care about him – Voight getting backed into a corner has been a long time coming, going all the way back to Chicago Fire. He could wind up behind bars (or at least in hot water) for Roy’s murder.
Somebody Else Entirely
Jason Beghe and Tracy Spiridakos are both series regulars on Chicago P.D., so even if the writing seems to be on the wall for Voight and/or Upton, that might not be the case once the feds start getting closer to the truth. It’s hard to say who might end up taking the fall if not one of them, and everybody else in Intelligence is accounted for at the time of the murder. Miller would be a possibility since she kinda sorta had the motivation to kill Roy, but it would also be a stretch that might need fans to overlook some things about the timeline.
Another possibility would be a criminal who could be framed for the crime. That wouldn’t explain Upton covering up Roy’s death, which the feds seemingly know, unless it could be sold that Upton just wanted to let somebody get away with murdering somebody who had attacked Burgess. Who knows? Maybe they could somehow pin the blame on somebody who is already dead. That would be convenient, and it's definitely not likely that Upton can just call in a favor at the FBI just because she crossed over a couple of years back.
If it is somebody other than Upton or Voight, the odds seem in favor of a random person or Miller. Nicole Ari Parker isn’t a series regular on Chicago P.D. this season, and this wouldn’t be the first time that P.D. brought back an actress only to write her off right away to send her character to prison. Remember Anne Heche’s Katherine Brennan?
Wild Card: Jay Halstead
Let me preface this by saying that including Halstead on this list is just about the very wildest of wild cards who could possibly be pitched as a candidate, but he’s really the only major character other than Upton or Voight who might be motivated to take the fall, so if I had to pick somebody as a wild card, he's the only one who could fit. It's an incredible stretch, and a claim that could be easily disproved by evidence, even if there was even the possibility of Upton letting him go down for her crime. But Halstead doesn’t always make the best decisions when thinking with his heart over his head, and Upstead isn’t necessarily dead despite their conversation in “Trust Me.”
That said, it seems more likely to me that Halstead would propose a speedy courthouse wedding just so he could avoid testifying against her or committing perjury. And that is nearly as wild of a thing to consider! But if I had to pick an unlikely person who nevertheless has a little bit of motivation, I have to go with Halstead. He’s not doing so well with the secret at the moment either. Even if he’s not quite as much of an emotional wreck as Upton was, his head isn’t in the best place. Do I think Halstead would do it? No, but now is the time to consider wild cards.
My Verdict
Honestly, I have no idea. At the end of the day, unless Tracy Spiridakos or Jason Beghe is pulling a Jesse Spencer of Chicago Fire and leaving Chicago P.D. in an episode that’s not a premiere or a finale, I don’t think Upton or Voight will go down for Roy’s death. At least, I don’t think they’d go down for it and it would stick. My ideal person who I think could take the fall and it would stick would actually be Miller, since she’s a relatively important character who arguably could have the motivation and not come completely out of nowhere if you squint. Plus, she wouldn’t exactly mourn the man, and the conclusion to the Roy arc really wouldn’t be satisfying if Voight pins it on somebody who comes out of nowhere.
That said, my ideal being Miller partly comes out of not wanting it to be Upton, not expecting it to be Voight short of a crisis of conscience, not believing that Halstead is wild enough of a wild card to try it, and not wanting a random character to take the fall. I do think that Nicole Ari Parker could nail that kind of twist for Miller, based on her work on Empire. Still, it’s entirely possible that the case will be ongoing even after the next episode. It looks like the feds are taking the case past the point of no return, but promos never tell the whole story. Take a look:
See who takes the fall for Roy’s murder with new episodes of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, following Chicago Fire (which just introduced Casey’s replacement) at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med (complete with a doctor who just went too far) at 8 p.m. ET in the fall lineup.
