Chicago P.D. ended the first half of Season 7 on a bloody cliffhanger thanks to Halstead taking a bullet just when it seemed he was finally safe, following a reunion with Upton. Halstead let his big heart get the better of him in the winter finale, and confessed his role in Marcus West's death to his widow when all signs pointed toward both of them being murdered in a basement. Could this decision mean that he's doomed no matter what happens in the winter premiere?
The good news is that Halstead overpowered their captors before either he or Angela could be killed, and Upton discovered them and was able to call for help. The bad news is that Halstead thought news of their rescue meant that he was safe from Angela, but Angela had something else in mind once she got her hands on a gun. She shot Halstead in the chest, and 2019 will end with Halstead's life very much in jeopardy.
A first look at the winter premiere of Chicago P.D., which airs in early 2020, doesn't give fans any reason to rest easier through the holidays about his fate, either in the hospital or after if he survives his injury. Is Halstead doomed no matter what happens? Here's what we know.
In the first look at the first Chicago P.D. episode back in 2020 (via TVLine), Jay Halstead is actually nowhere to be seen, but Will Halstead is looking grim as he comes out to update Upton and the rest of Intelligence on his brother's status. Dr. Marcel apparently took a break from disrupting relationships on Chicago Med to operate on Jay and is trying to repair an artery grazed by the bullet.
While this sounds good considering Dr. Marcel's prodigious skills, all Will could say about his brother's survival odds is that "he's lost a lot of blood." Could Jesse Lee Soffer's teases ahead of the Season 7 winter finale really mean that Jay could die in the winter premiere? Well, this new footage at least suggests that he won't be out of the woods right off the bat, and that's not all it shows that has Intelligence looking pretty unhappy.
Right after Will has to deliver some depressing news to Jay's fellow cops, Burgess has some more bad news for them: Angela is going to be just fine, and she plans on telling the truth about Jay's confession that Marcus was framed for the death of two little boys after the CPD (guided by the eager replacement superintendent) identified the wrong man. In the first look at the next episode, Angela is up, alert, and ready to tell her story.
Although Jay was working to save her life as well as his own throughout the winter finale, her survival is a pretty big inconvenience for Intelligence, the CPD, and Jay himself if he survives thanks to his decision to come clean to Angela. In his defense, Jay did have every reason to believe both he and Angela were going to die when he dropped the truth about Marcus' death on her, but he also underestimated her reaction because he was not expecting her to shoot him right after he'd saved their lives.
It does look like Intelligence is willing to cross lines if it means keeping Angela quiet. After she declared her intention to tell the truth about what Halstead did, Voight and Burgess made it clear that nobody was to come in and out of her hospital room, including the patrol officers who were standing guard. Angela clearly doesn't know who she's dealing with, because saying "You can't silence me" to Voight seems like a pretty terrible idea.
So, as of what we know so far, Jay Halstead could be doomed if Dr. Marcel isn't able to repair his injuries enough to compensate for all the blood he lost due to the initial wound, and he could be doomed if he survives and Angela gets to tell her story and he becomes the face of the CPD in the inevitable scandal. Could Voight and Co. find a way to cast the blame on somebody else, like Crawford, who actually more or less is to blame?
Or could there be a way to remove Angela as a threat to telling the truth? Whether by blackmail or assassination, Chicago P.D. has found ways to silence witnesses before.
At this point, I'm pretty confident that Halstead won't die due to his injuries, but that's about it. Ruzek's return to Intelligence in Season 7 proves that cops can come back from just about anything in the One Chicago universe, so even Halstead's actions being outed wouldn't have to mean the end of his career at CPD. Only time will tell. One star did promise some "shocking stuff" is on the way!
Chicago P.D. returns for the second half of Season 7 on Wednesday, January 8 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following the winter premieres of Chicago Fire (with its own deadly cliffhanger to resolve) at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med (undoubtedly packed with emotions) at 8 p.m. ET in the 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
