Spoilers lie ahead for Episode 2 of Chicago P.D. Season 8, called "White Knuckle."
Chicago P.D. spent the first two episodes of Season 8 dealing with the very real danger facing Atwater over his decision to take a stand against racist cops, but the trailer for what's to come in the new year reveals a story on the way for none other than Upton and Halstead. The partners were slowly but surely moving toward romance before Season 7 was cut short with Upton still over on FBI. The time is apparently coming to pick up on that plot, and showrunner Rick Eid shared with CinemaBlend how Chicago P.D. will explore what's in store for them.
The trailer for the next episode of Chicago P.D. reveals that Upton is being courted by the FBI offering a "joint-level task force," and Halstead (who has some experience with losing partners to the FBI) doesn't look thrilled about it. Upton caps the trailer by saying that he could tell her that he doesn't want her to take it. Viewers will have to wait until 2021 to see what the FBI offer means (or doesn't mean) for them. Chicago P.D. boss Rick Eid has shared what kinds of developments fans can expect from Halstead and Upton's relationship in Season 8:
This season, we will continue to explore Upton and Halstead’s evolving relationship and the complexities of working together while dating, which is especially challenging when you’re cops working to apprehend extremely dangerous criminals.
Their relationship has never been short on complexities, but Rick Eid's comments indicate that Halstead and Upton will give dating a shot. Both have experience with dating partners as well as with those relationships ending badly, so they definitely won't go into a romance blind to the kinds of challenges they're facing.
Fortunately, the trailer pointing toward the FBI offer pushing them toward each other at least suggests that unlike the Season 7 winter return, nobody has to get shot for any emotional realizations this time around, although I shouldn't rule anything out. Ruzek took a bullet to the vest in "White Knuckle" after patrol officers refused to respond to a scene when summoned by Atwater, and the shot left an ugly bruise that Ruzek was feeling for the rest of the episode.
Atwater found a way to handle Nolan that should remove him as a threat to Atwater and the rest of the team, and he did it without making a deal or sacrificing his career, but Intelligence is still facing challenges from within CPD. Samantha Miller's push for police reform isn't going anywhere, and she is presumably going to have her eye on Voight and his unit after how they handled investigations in the first two episodes of Season 8.
Throw in the FBI potentially trying to poach Upton on top of everything else, and fans have a lot to look forward to when Chicago P.D. returns. Unfortunately, the third episode of Season 8 won't release until Wednesday, January 6, 2021. But hey, there are worse ways to start a new year than with some Upstead developments!
Find out what happens next on Chicago P.D. with new episodes on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC starting in January, closing out One Chicago night following Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. For some more of what to what and when to watch them, take a look at our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule and our 2021 winter and spring premiere guide.
