'Chicago P.D.' season 7: Will Hailey Upton succeed in taking over Erin Lindsay's role in the Intelligence unit and in viewers' hearts?
Sophia Bush portrayed Detective Erin Lindsay in the Dick Wold produced cop-drama, 'Chicago P.D.' for four seasons. Before Bush left the show in the season 4 finale, her character Lindsay was the major female character among the other male detectives. Understandably, many viewers were upset when Bush announced her departure from the show. Bush's portrayal of Lindsay was acclaimed; the way she brought the character's vulnerabilities and her strengths flawlessly to the screen made her one of the most favorite characters on the show. Her relationship with Jason Beghe's Hank Voight helped explore more of who she was before she became a cop and her relationship with Jesse Lee Soffer's Detective Jay Halstead was shipped by viewers consistently since season 1. Lindsay was not just a fierce woman who could outshine the boys more often than not, but she was also quite flawed. She had her addiction issues, and she often got more affected by the cases than the guys. But that quality of hers made her a better cop than most.
Bush's departure was decided prior to the start of season 4 filming and we were introduced to a new character towards the end of the season. Tracy Spiridakos recurred as Detective Hailey Upton, but viewers would not know until the season ended that her character would be replacing Lindsay's. When season 5 aired, both Upton and Detective Kim Burgess (played by Marina Squerciati) picked up in the absence of Erin. While Kim has been part of the show (but not the squad) since season 1, Hailey was new and viewers were not sure whether they would take to her as they took to Lindsay.
Season 5 gave the viewers the chance to get to know Upton and how she would fit in with the team. After Upton joined the Intelligence Unit, she realized the team works on their own moral code (especially Hank Voight) and she had to quickly learn to get with the program. She was partnered with Jay Halstead, which led to many viewers hoping for a romance between their characters. Two episodes in season 5 helped viewers learn more about her background. In 'Fallen', we get to see a character who worked with her before and come to know that he respected her for her intelligence. In the episode 'Ghosts', her undercover work comes to light. This episode also helped cement her partnership with Halstead, with both characters trying to cover each other's backs.
In Season 6, we see Upton fully integrated into the Intelligence Unit. Not only did she get comfortable with revealing a personal secret in front of the team during the interrogation of a suspect, she also got romantically involved with Detective Adam Ruzek (played by Patrick Flueger). The relationship, which started with a one-night stand, came as a surprise to many viewers due to the lack of a build-up. Upton also got closer to Halstead, both realizing that there was "a thing between" them that helped them work well together. However, there was not much more of the character's history revealed and the viewers still don't know her like they know the others.
Has she successfully taken over Lindsay's position in the team and in the viewers' hearts? That could take a season or two, depending on the show's renewal status and whether Spiridakos will continue playing Upton. But the character needs to evolve beyond her relationships with Halstead and Ruzek. What made Lindsay unique was that she was front and center in nearly every episode she was in, and this gave her the opportunity to interact meaningfully with characters beyond Voight and Halstead. We'd like to see this for Upton and we especially hope we get more scenes with the women together -- Burgess, Upton and Sergeant Trudy Platt (played by Amy Morton). We have previously learned that Sergeant Platt is the reason that Upton became a cop in the first place and we hope this relationship is explored further.
What makes 'Chicago P.D.' stand out from the other shows of the 'Chicago' franchise, is that the romantic subplots never take the focus away from the team and how they get their work done each week. For example, while the character of Burgess mainly revolved around Ruzek initially, she came into her own, turning from beat cop to a member of the Intelligence Unit. While Upton has been impressive so far, we hope her character does not just revolve around Halstead and Ruzek. With Jon Seda's departure as Detective Antonio Dawson, Upton could become a more integral part of the team. There is plenty of opportunity for more of her history to come out, and she could be well on her way to not be seen as Lindsay's substitute anymore.