Yahoo Movies How Jesse Lee Soffer’s Character Jay Halstead Was Written Off ‘Chicago P.D.’
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “A Good Man,” the Oct. 5 episode of “Chicago P.D.“
Jay Halstead no longer works for the CPD. Jesse Lee Soffer appeared in his final episode of NBC’s “Chicago P.D.” on Wednesday night. After another hour of shutting out his wife and partner, Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos), Jay finally realized that he had changed — and not for the better.
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During a case that involved saving the reputation of an Army vet who had assisted in a robbery, Jay went around the law (once again) to take down the robbers. He didn’t turn in the vet, who ultimately died saving another woman, in order to protect the man’s family and reputation. However, knowing that he’d broken the law once again — and stabbed a man in the process — Jay chose to resign from Intelligence.
In the final moments of the episode, he told Hailey that he had joined an Army group that tracked down Cartel forces, which was relocating him to Bolivia for eight weeks. He swore to her that she is the love of his life, and that they would get through it.
At the airport, Voight’s (Jason Beghe) came to say goodbye and offered him any job he wanted to stay. In turn, Jay told him that he wanted to be Voight — which was the problem. “It’s like you’ve always told me: I’m not, and I shouldn’t try,” he told his former boss. With that, they shook hands and Jay left Chicago.
Variety exclusively broke the news in August that Soffer would be leaving the Dick Wolf drama after 10 seasons. “To create this hour drama week after week has been a labor of love by everyone who touches the show. I will always be proud of my time as Det. Jay Halstead,” he said in a statement at the time.
Ahead of his exit, showrunner Gwen Sigan hinted at how the exit will affect Upton, who married Halstead in Season 8.
“It’s certainly been a challenge, but I’m really proud of where we came out of it, because I think we’ve given Upton a really interesting story this season as to how she deals with this. She’s someone that is so loyal and so attached to him. It’s not just a marriage, they also are partners and they’re partners in a job that is a pressure cooker. Their lives are at risk all the time, especially how we play it on the show,” she told Variety last month. “To suddenly not have that second half of who you are puts you in a very vulnerable and raw place. As we know, Upton is very strong and she’s also someone who’s very guarded and likes to have control of her emotions and likes to be able to deal with things. This puts her in an interesting spot, and we definitely see how it falls out. That’s been really exciting to write and I think will be something really interesting for Tracy to play. She’s been killing it.”
Soffer has portrayed Halstead since the NBC series’ debut in 2014, appearing in every episode, as well as multiple episodes of “Chicago Med” and “Chicago Fire.”
Chicago P.D. airs on NBC Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
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