Well, that was terrible. What are your thoughts?

It's objectively bad writing, consistent with how Jay has been portrayed this entire season. When I say objectively bad writing, I mean that it violates a very basic, elementary tenant of fiction in which a character is assigned a motivation that drives an action. In this instance, we're witnessing a character behave in a way that does not compute with his values and relationships established over 9 full seasons, and not one valid catalyst has been provided. Actions not consistent with previously established characterizations have to be contextualized to be believable. If there's no logical rationalization, well, that's a clear indicator that the arc necessitates major recalibration.

I've said this before, but it rang true for me last night: if Gwen had wanted to give Jay a proper exit, she would've and could've. As is, I don't actually think she could have done anything to make this storyline worse. She knew Jesse was exiting before the writers' room commenced for the season. Under her leadership, they sat down and developed a storyline in which Jay aligns himself with Voight's policing, avoids Hailey, kills someone, prompts another coverup, leaves abruptly, avoids her for months, and extends his contract without a word - all without a sliver of rationale. They, bizarrely, have gone above and beyond to paint Jay as a selfish, cold man without any regard for his wife, a woman who has suffered immense trauma and abandonment throughout her life and canonically has no family or friends to rely on as a support system. It's pathological behavior.

I quite frankly feel secondhand embarrassment for Gwen with this output. Her failure as a showrunner and a storyteller cannot be overstated.

The most messed up part is that if I’m remembering correctly, Jay and Erin were separated when she left him without a word. Jay and Hailey are married….I just…can’t comprehend how they could make him do something this cruel and cowardly. From the looks of it, Hailey is just going to have to mourn the loss of her husband and her marriage with no closure or explanation from him…ever? He just disappears and abandons her and their relationship permanently? Can she even get a real divorce if he isn’t around to sign the papers?? Or what, he comes back home years down the line after zero contact and says - hey honey I’m home! And at that point she has grieved their relationship and is over it? Ugh. This is just so disappointing on so many levels. I truly don’t get it.

Having Jay do to Hailey almost exactly what was done to him five years ago- something that nearly destroyed him- is truly one of the worst cases of not knowing your own characters I've ever seen.

Get this man back on my screen asap 😭

legitimate gifset about the plot of the show

😭😭😭

8x11, “SIGNS OF VIOLENCE” | 10x03, “A GOOD MAN”

JESSE LEE SOFFER as JAY HALSTEAD

First appearance in Chicago Fire 2x01 “A Problem House”, aired 24 September 2013 Last appearance in Chicago PD 10x03 “A Good Man”, aired 5 October 2022

Jay, it’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.

Upstead in Chicago PD 10x03 “A Good Man”

Me @ Jay Halstead during the whole episode of Chicago PD 10x03 “A Good Man”

HAILEY UPTON, JAY HALSTEAD  CHICAGO PD, “A GOOD MAN”

YES TO ALL OF THIS!!!! Likeeeee she could have and would have supported him the way she always has, I’m sure of it. But it should have been a conversation they had and a decision they made together. The way they did it was so ooc and wrong and seems to have been solely done to further Hailey’s struggle in the coming episodes. Sucks.

Call me a wh*re for marriage, but how are you going to have two characters marry each other, and then just ignore it when it matters? Jay should have told Hailey about the job before taking it, and I have no doubt she still would have supported him. She should have seen him off at the airport, not some manufactured attempt to make Voight a good guy in all this. Since when are they not the priority in each other's lives?

Upstead say goodbye (for 8 months) ❤️

"You're the love of my life"

CHICAGO PD | 10x03

I have no coherent thoughts really, but I’m so sad and mad and confused. I REALLY don’t understand the purpose of the marital angst all last episode and this episode…it’s still unexplained. Why was Jay acting weird and moody, sleeping at voights, ignoring Hailey??? None of that was necessary AT ALL. They could have been happy and fine and then this case could have still thrown Jay off track because of the military connection, whatever, and ended with him not wanting to repeat a cover up/deciding to leave. That would’ve meant instead of that LONG and HEARTBREAKING ring tapping sequence (as well as all the angst last episode), we could have gotten some actual cute, happy domestic moments? Just a little upstead happiness, cute scenes of the two of them in their beautiful home that we could hang onto while we are supposed to still be shipping them offscreen for potentially forever. That would have been the NICE thing to do for upstead fans before ripping Jay away from us, which I get was not their choice. And I don’t even have WORDS right now to process Jay resigning and taking a new job and shipping off to Bolivia in the same fucking day and only telling Hailey after the the decision had been made?! I’m sorry but what. the. fuck. I’m just so sad. I cant even think right now. But at least Jay’s alive and wasn’t written off by the sick chicago fire writers of last night. 😭😭😭

SERIOUSLY

If Dick Wolf wants to retire he can. He doesn’t have to ruin his shows and get them all canceled to do that.

GUYS I AM UNWELL THIS EPISODE HURTS ALREADY

Who’s gonna cry tonight?! 🫵☹️

one chicago appreciation week // day 2 // fave character JAY😍HALSTEAD

SAME! I’m freaking out about tonight. It’s going to wreck me!!!

Never before in my life have I been nervous to watch a TV show.

I’m so nervous today.