SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals key plot points from tonight’s episode of NBC’s Chicago PD
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NBC’s Chicago P.D premiered its 10th season on Wednesday night and the anticipation of how Jesse Lee Soffer, who plays Detective Jay Halstead, will exit is all anyone can think about.
The episode picks up two weeks after the zany events of the Season 9 finale, in which the Intelligence Unit took down the infamous Los Temidos gang, which was responsible for much of the drugs going in and out of, among other horrific crimes flowed from the city.
With the organization out of the way, his successor has already taken root, and Voight (Jason Beghe) isn’t too happy about it. Even as a powerful and connected guy, not even Voight can stop a new gang from claiming the deserted street corners.
It is revealed early on that the head of the unit is dealing with some demons after the death of his informant, Anna Avalos (Carmela Zumbado). Although he didn’t pull the trigger himself, he feels responsible for not protecting her as he promised.
Meanwhile, Hailey Upton Halstead (Tracy Spiridakos) is also coming to terms with the aftermath of the finale as the person who killed Anna, even after Voight has stated that he takes full responsibility for her death and doesn’t blame her.
Back on the street, Voight finds an unconscious boy who has overdosed after accidentally eating drug-laced strawberries that were lying on the concrete. And things only get worse as the boy dies and an enraged Voight orders the team to go around town and search for the new traders immediately.
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Newcomer Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) made his acting debut tonight when Halstead enlists his help in finding Enzo, the new drug lord. At first he was on loan from the police, but by the end of the episode Chief Patrick O’Neal (Michael Gaston) allows Torres to officially join Voight’s team.
After taking Enzo down, Voight talks to Halstead and Upton and tells them they can no longer work together. This could be the resolution that eventually leads to Halstead’s departure.
Chicago P.D Executive Producer Gwen Sigan spoke to Deadline about a future without Halstead, Voight’s journey in Season 10 and more.
DEADLINE: Voight is really struggling after Anna’s death and isn’t thinking properly. What can we expect from his trip this season?
GWEN SIGNAL: Yes, he’s definitely feeling the effects, especially in this first episode. We’re two weeks into it so it’s really fresh. It’s also been a while since we’ve seen Voight have a relationship like that with Anna where he allowed himself to be a little more vulnerable and have a connection that was reciprocated. He’s someone who loves everyone in his unit so much, but he has those limitations and we’ve seen a bit of those walls come down over the last season. And now, after her brutal death, he’s taking a lot of responsibility for it. He really feels very guilty in that first episode, to the point where he’s really bleeding from it. He wished he had done things differently. We’ll be sure to see it continue throughout the season.
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DEADLINE: Fans of the series from day one aren’t ready to say goodbye to Halstead just yet. How is the show without him?
SIGNAL: We’re keeping the details of when and how he leaves under wraps. But I think it will make sense for fans when they see it, and they’ll understand that we really wanted to do justice to the character, who he is and what he represents to the show. And also Jesse himself, since he’s been here since day one – even before day one. He was there when Chicago fire started the spin-off for PD. He is a member of this family and always will be. We just wanted to give it a showcase.
DEADLINE: Everything feels so dark right now. Will it stay like this all season?
SIGNAL: The season will not be entirely dark. The theme we are aiming for this year is Savior and we are looking at this question: Can the broken be saved? So we will see some savings this season as well.
DEADLINE: What can you tease about Torres just officially joining Voight’s team?
SIGNAL: It was so much fun writing for him. We are so lucky to have him. He’s so talented and brings so much to the character that you’ll really get to know this season and all the different facets of him. We often go home with him. We see that he still lives in the same neighborhood where he was born and he lives with his mother. He’s so rooted in the neighborhood he grew up in and he’s very confident. We learn a lot about his past and about the different things that happened in his life that made him want to become a police officer and do his job in a very specific way. We’ll also see some growing pains this season. It’s hard coming into this unit fresh off patrol, especially during this tense time where you have to build all these different relationships and also see where he fits in. So there are a lot of great stories to tell and I think fans are really going to fall in love with him.
DEADLINE: What are your plans for Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) and their relationship?
SIGNAL: Episode 2 of this season is an episode of Burgess and Ruzek in which we answer this question that we left open last season. Will they move in together? Will they try again and be a modern family together? We’re responding to that and putting it into some sort of new dynamic that’s a bit more stable. And I think they’re always going to have this relationship that’s so complicated and messy, but they’re still going to be there for each other.
DEADLINE: What does Upton’s future look like without Halstead?
SIGNAL: Upton will have some consequences, yes. It’s a difficult place for them. She’s just so connected to Halstead, who is not only her husband but also her partner. They’re so intertwined in her life and just seeing her alone and navigating it – she’s certainly going into some really interesting territory this season as she tries to navigate it. She’s someone who isn’t necessarily the best at managing her emotions. She likes to be in control and likes to feel like she is in control of her headspace. So that’s going to upset her a bit.