Chicago P.D. 11×13 “More” ties up the loose ends of the serial killer storyline that has been the connecting thread of the season, just as it says goodbye to Hailey Upton. It does one of those two things much better than the other because of course it does. One episode cannot really be expected to do it all. One short, thirteen-episode season cannot be expected to do it all. Particularly when it feels like the season never really tried to set up Hailey’s exit in a way that made sense.
It wasn’t really that hard to make Tracy Spiridakos’s exit emotionally resonant. The show could have made it about her and her alone. It could have also taken the opportunity to, even without bringing him back, give Upstead fans some resolution. Jay and Hailey broke up off-screen. They could have gotten back together off-screen too, or at the very least, the show could have left us and them with some actual, concrete hope.
Chicago P.D. 11×13 “More” is, instead, a retelling of history that wants to make us believe that Hailey’s most important relationship in this show is and has always been with Hank Voight, who btw, has always been like a father figure to her. Ironically, I maybe would have liked that show. It’s just not one I ever watched. Instead, I just got to watch one where Voight checked in on Hailey a couple of times when she was at her absolute worst, and Hailey mistook that for actual caring. As a viewer, I didn’t.
I’ll give it to Voight, though, he spends Chicago P.D. 11×13 “More” playing against what a serial killer wants. And honestly, people like Matson always get caught because of their own hubris, but the thought that he did because he was so sure he could force Voight’s hand proves that he didn’t actually know Voight.
The thing, though is that, even as we celebrated the appearance of the ghost of Alvin Olinsky, it’s hard not to count bodies of people he cares about starting to add up for Voight, or the people who have had to walk away from him. The show never really sits with how heavy this burden must be for him, not for long enough, but if it did, it would be a much better show. And considering he is staying, well, it’s a worthwhile exploration.
As for Hailey, and Tracy Spiridakos, well, more is right. More is what we wanted. What we deserved. More of a character who we never really got to know as well as we could have. Who, at times, we only explored as half of a ship that the show was then very happy to set fire to without looking back. And who, then, once the ship was already in flames, barely focused on individually.
More. Of Hailey and Adam, whose friendship was important only in little moments. Of Hailey and Kevin, who we had to extrapolate were close. Of Hailey and Kim, who we never really got to see bond. Of Hailey and Dante, who could have had such a great dynamic. And even of Hailey and Voight. Something, anything, that would have made us believe the fantasy the show was selling that Voight saw himself as Hailey’s father figure.
But we didn’t get any of that, not on-screen. Chicago P.D. never showed us. Instead, it continued, in Season 13, to try to tell us things that we never really saw. And we’re way past the point of believing them.
It’s hard to say goodbye. But, at this point, as sad as it is to say, both actress and character are probably better off far away from this show.
Things I think I think:
- Hailey and Petrovic could have been such a fun partnership. Sad we won’t get to see that realized. Even sadder that we got more of the two of them together in a few episodes than we got of Hailey and Kim in YEARS.
- I can probably list 5 things that would make Voight more sympathetic as a character than the show’s attempts to rewrite history with Hailey, including everything they did with Noah.
- Like, I know the whole “no dad would want this” bit was supposed to be emotional, but it was kinda laughable.
- Wherever Hailey goes, she’s got leadership potential.
- I know Chicago P.D. doesn’t really do warm and fuzzy, but after so long, it kinda hurts that it feels Hailey is leaving about as damaged as she came in. Did we get to see any growth in the character? I’d say we did, but then she regressed. Does that still count as growth? Hard to tell right now, in the middle of another disappointment in how they wrote out a character.
- Hilarious how I was never worried for one second of this episode. The stakes were practically zero. Al was like “You don’t get to die” and I was like, exactly, the show would never kill him off, we know.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 11×13 “More”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. aired on Wednesdays on NBC.
I agree with a lot of what you have said here. This finale actually made me more ticked off about Season 10 and this season. In my opinion, neither of these seasons was very good. I agree with you that they did not do a good job creating this father-daughter relationship as they thought that they did. Had they invested the time in doing this it could have made these seasons much better. It could have moved Voight’s character forward in a more meaningful way. While I was not afraid of Voight dying, I was concerned when Hailey was shot. It wouldn’t be the first time a character left One Chicago in a hearse. Al’s ghost was a nice surprise.
I also hated how we got to the final scene with Matson. He plants 3 cell phones and Hailey is going to choose the right one??? Leaves a lot to chance for Matson, could have just as easily been Adam and Kim that found him. Also, I know Hailey and Petrovick split up, but from the time Hailey radioed her that she found the car, there was enough time for Hailey to confront Matson, give into him, let him put the zip ties on her, put her into the trunk and drive off without Petrovic getting there???? Make that make sense. Also did Chapman really call Voight baby or did I imagine that?
I also did not like this open ended ending. Gwen Sigan stated that “I wanted this idea that the world is hers now, and that she’s finally in a headspace where she can see that there’s a lot out there and there’s a lot you can choose,” the Chicago P.D. boss explains. “Leaving it that open-ended gave that feeling of possibility.” What is this choose your own adventure? I guess if we want, we can tell ourselves that she took a job with the DEA and that a year from now she ends up down in Bolivia on a joint operation with the military where she reconnects with Jay.
I agree this was forced. In many ways her relationship with Voight was toxic and unhealthy- to glamorize that was offensive frankly.
What she had with Jay was insanely powerful. They sort of went against the show’s “bible” by making him break her heart the way he did. That wasnt the Jay Halstead we had for ten years and Hailey and Voight is what tore them apart in the first place.
Its almost like glamorizng an emotionally abusive relationship. Just so odd not to give the fans a glimmer of hope to feel satiated.
This is a horrible exit for Hailey, second only to how GS wrote Jay out. You spend all that time with flashbacks on how Hank dragged Hailey down, ruined her relationship with Jay, etc, and then they have familial feelings for each other? Imo, Hailey was much closer to Platt than she ever was to Voight. GS seems to think that Hailey choosing to choose to be happy by working on her relationship with Jay is terrible. Apparently burying oneself in a new job is the tonic that Hailey needs rather than actually working through things. At least Kim went to therapy.
They should have done a time jump and let Hailey say goodbye to the TEAM, then gone out to a waiting taxi with Jay. They can make whatever changes they need to be happy.
GS clearly hates the fans. All we wanted was to rehabilitate Jay’s character assassination and give them a happy ending. Instead Gwen re-writes history/canon and sends her off in a taxi. I seriously doubt I’ll be watching next season. The show started downhill after Jesse left, and will continue to suck without Tracy. The single character focus isn’t working either, and I’m shocked at how low the finale ratings were. Since GW took over as show runner, they have lost almost a million viewers. SMH.