‘Chicago PD’ season 11 finale, explained

A good season finale should have more than a few shocking moments. A sitcom might have a ruined wedding day or a stressful family vacation. A drama could finally allow two characters to get together. And one of the most thrilling police procedurals needs to put a beloved character in a scary position that their team will help them get out of.

Thankfully, the Chicago PD season 11 finale, “More,” gave us all that we wanted.From a tough but hopeful goodbye to a legendary character to a moving scene between two fan favorites, we were on the edge of our seats the whole time (and might have shed a couple of tears).

What happened in the Chicago PD season 11 finale?

Episode 10 of season 11 picked up where the previous episode left off: serial killer Frank Matson (Dennis Flanagan) kidnapped Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). Voight realizes quickly that he might not survive this because, as Matson explains, the only thing that makes him happy is killing people along with one of their loved ones.

While not every episode or scene of Chicago PD is realistic, Matson feels like a killer who really could exist, which makes this finale particularly terrifying. The episode moves between the team trying to figure out where Voight is and Voight figuring out Matson’s plan. While the team does their usual thing, from tracing a burner phone to wondering if Matson has planted traps and tricked them, the extra emotion of trying to save Voight powers the whole episode.

It was smart to have Matson kidnap Voight because this allowed the series to delve more into Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Voight’s dynamic. Matson likes for his victims to call one person and then when they come, he kills them both. Voight insists that he’ll never call Upton, and she struggles with the potential loss of her mentor and friend. After tracing a gray Sedan to a warehouse, Upton yells at the people living there because she can’t admit she’s afraid.

In one of the darkest season 11 finale scenes, Voight imagines himself talking to his late partner Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas). After Olinsky was killed in prison in a horrible season 5 scene, Voight has felt guilty and sad. Olinksy tells Voight it’s not his time to die. This is a real crossroads for Voight, who thinks he deserves to be killed and is struggling to find a reason to survive.

How did Hailey Upton leave Chicago PD?

The most highly anticipated moment of the season 11 finale was Hailey Upton’s last scenes since Tracy Spiridakos announced her exit. We hoped for an emotionally satisfying ending, and Chicago PD delivered.

Even serial killer Matson drove home the fact that Voight has become a father to Upton, who has been running from her tragic childhood for years. After she saves Voight, Upton recovers in the hospital and the two have a serious chat. While on a lesser show, this would be too corny to handle, it was flawless. Voight asks Upton if he’s a negative influence on her since Matson suggested that he was, and she says she wanted to become a police officer as a response to her abusive father.

Voight and Upton are both independent people who hate being vulnerable, but they let their guards down and admit they mean a lot to each other. Hailey says, “You didn’t mess me up… I came this way” and adds, “I don’t want to still be affected by my childhood, to be an adult stuck in some cage she made.” After she admits that she wants to stop being a cop, which is a terrifying confession given the personal sacrifices she has made for her career, Voight encourages her to take a risk and be happy. It’s powerful watching Upton begin to heal from what she went through from having Voight, a strong and stable father figure presence, in her life.

Spiridakos told Entertainment Weekly that she and Jason Beghe enjoyed filming that part of the episode since they “love getting to play together and getting meaty scenes like that.”

While it’s possible Upton will get a new job where she will help people, as she looks up job applications for the FBI and the like on her laptop, she might also go on vacation. In her last scene, she takes a cab to O’Hare and smiles as she stares out the window, looking forward to her future for what might be the first time ever.

Showrunner Gwen Sigan told NBC.com that it felt right not to explain Upton’s next steps. Sigan said, “I love the idea that it’s open. The audience gets to fill it in, and we all get to fill it in.”

Season 12 of Chicago PD will likely be just as intense as ever. The team will have to adjust to Hailey Upton’s departure and heal from the trauma of almost losing Voight.