Chicago P.D. ended 2019 on a bloody note for Jay Halstead (pictured above looking about as rough as P.D. fans have seen him in recent seasons), and the cliffhanger left Intelligence is very real danger of losing another detective. Since Upton was the one who found Halstead after he'd been taken and tortured, it's a safe bet that she was the one who found him after Angela shot him for what he did to her husband. And Upton doesn't look like she's taking Halstead's predicament well in winter premiere photos.
Unsurprisingly, one photo reveals an emotional Upton chatting with her new coworker/roommate Rojas while sitting in the hospital, presumably waiting for updates on her partner. Take a look:
In true Upton style, she seems to be holding it together while still clearly struggling with what happened in the fall finale. I wouldn't be surprised if she blames herself for Halstead getting shot, since it happened almost immediately after she'd seemingly come to his rescue. She and Halstead are also very close, and showrunner Rick Eid has teased a potential romance in the works for them.
Jesse Lee Soffer, who plays Halstead, confirmed that they love each other, and Halstead's fate will be "a wake-up call" for Upton. Unfortunately, the official episode description for the winter premiere, called "Mercy," doesn't reveal what happens to Halstead. Rather, as Intelligence awaits news of his fate, they try "to focus on work, turning their attention to an illegal arms dealer."
Still, they'll all be at the hospital for Halstead at one point:
Burgess seems to be missing from the group in this scene, although it's possible she's simply out of frame rather than absent. She has issues of her own to deal with thanks to her uncertainty about her unexpected pregnancy and the complications with Ruzek, but I doubt she'd be MIA if she knows Halstead could be circling the drain!
The episode description does elaborate that Burgess will finally make her decision while "Voight faces the tricky task of how to deal with Halstead’s shooter." As if that's not enough drama for Intelligence, Atwater learns that his brother Jordan, who he sent away from Chicago for his own safety, has returned to the Windy City and could have connections to the case of the arms dealer.
Although Upton is the most visibly emotional about Halstead's fate in the winter premiere images, she's also on the case and in the field to hunt the bad guys. Check her out:
Fortunately, the wait for the resolution of the bloody cliffhanger is almost at an end. Chicago P.D. will return to NBC with "Mercy" on Wednesday, January 8 at 10 p.m. ET. Personally, I'm pretty confident that Halstead will survive and be back on the job after a time jump, but I don't take anything for granted anymore after another huge network TV death this season.
Chicago P.D. isn't the only Windy City drama returning on January 8. Chicago Med starts the night at 8 p.m. ET to develop the next stage of the unexpected love triangle, and Chicago Fire keeps the action rolling at 9 p.m. ET to resolve the Severide cliffhanger. P.D. closes out the night at 10 p.m. ET in the 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
