Chicago PD Season 12 has debunked a big returning character theory with Upton’s replacement

One theory about who will be Hailey Upton’s replacement Chicago PD Has been debunked by the main writer’s latest update. Upton joined the series in season 4, and was involved in both personal and professional storylines, most notably her romance with Jay Halstead. Halstead left both her and the camera in season 10, leaving her floundering, and after a harrowing mission to save Voight from a serial killer, she left Chicago in search of a more fulfilling job. Thus, Upton will be one of the most central characters that will not return to a One Chicago series in 2024.

Upton’s absence leaves a gaping hole in the intelligence unit. She was not only one of the people who worked the longest in the unit, but also Voight’s right-hand woman. Voight will need a new deputy and confidante; The latter role is especially important, considering how often he bends or breaks the law In the name of getting justice. There have been persistent rumors and speculation about who will replace Upton in the Chicago PD Season 12 cast.

Upton’s replacement in Chicago PD won’t be a returning character like Dawson

The series plans to promote an existing character instead

There has been widespread speculation that fan-favorite Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) could return to Chicago PD To take over the role of Voight’s deputy. Dawson was a well-respected member of the team for several years, but developed an addiction to opioids that ruined his career. After a long arc in which Dawson refused to continue letting Ruzek sit in prison for a murder Dawson committed, Voight helped Dawson get into rehab. However, Dawson was second-in-command before his fall from grace, so it would have been logical for him to have returned now to take Upton’s place in the team.

This theory is wrong, however. Lead writer Gwen Sigan recently confirmed that Chicago PD Will replace Upton with a character already in the camera., which will finally achieve the promotion that they have dreamed of for a while. Neither Dawson nor anyone else is missing Chicago PD The character will return to the series to take Upton’s placeAnd instead Burgess, Atwater, or Ruzek will become Voight’s new second-in-command and confidante.

Why it’s good Chicago PD won’t bring back Dawson or another character to replace Upton

There are more than enough characters that deserve a promotion

Bringing Dawson back made sense in one respect, but not in several others. for one thing, It would be hard to believe that Voight would trust Dawson again after all the trouble he caused while in the throes of addiction. While Dawson went through rehab and is probably sober now, he would be one relapse away from sabotaging the entire unit again. So if he will return in the future, he has to prove himself before being given a powerful position that allows him to be close to far and learn all his secrets.

In addition, there are several characters who have been loyal members of Voight’s team for years, and it would be an insult to them to pass them over for promotion while recruiting Dawson or another team member who has previously left the unit. Burgess and Atwater started as patrol officers and then became detectives, proving that members of this series can earn promotions. So it is better Chicago PD Take the realistic route and promote someone from within instead of bringing back someone who is no longer part of the department.

That doesn’t mean characters like Dawson can’t make guest appearances. It would be interesting to catch up with a hopefully sober Dawson and for him to be part of a case. Similarly, a Roman-Burgess reunion would be a fun addition to an episode. However, there is no reason for characters like these to become full-time cast members instead of appearing as guests as a nod to their importance in earlier years of Chicago PD.

Who Will Upton’s Replacement Be On Chicago PD Season 12?

There are several possible replacements

Although there are four detectives left in the Intelligence Unit, only Three of them have been there long enough to consider promoting them. Torres is too new, so it would be unrealistic for him to get promoted to Voight’s second-in-command. That would cause hurt feelings among senior detectives, and it’s also not clear that Torres has the qualifications needed to be second-in-command or the confidence Voight needs to hire someone as his deputy. Promoting any of the other detectives would offer strong opportunities for drama.

Burgess and Ruzek’s relationship makes it difficult to replace Hailey Upton Chicago PD. If Voight picks one of them, it could cause tension, which is the last thing they need when they’re set to get married in season 12. However, if Voight chooses Atwater over them, there will always be a question of whether he chose the best man For the job or chose someone who is not Ruzk or Burgess to avoid the controversy of choosing one half of a soon-to-be married couple.

Ruzek was the most loyal to Voight, considering he was willing to go to jail to stop Voight’s coverage of Dawson’s bad behavior from being exposed. Thus, Ruzek probably fulfills Voight’s need for a confidant better than any other member of the team. However, accepting the position as second-in-command would likely mean that he would eventually have to keep major secrets from Burgess after she struggled to trust him. Enough to let him back into her life.

Burgess would not agree to keep such secrets, and in the past has disapproved of activities that crossed the line. So, if Voight intends to completely clean up his act, she wouldn’t be the best choice for the role. However, she could take the job and hope to keep Voight in line or, at the very least, push him to do the right thing more often.

Atwater was first promoted to Intelligence after season 1, so he is deserving of the promotion based on seniority. He’s also mostly straightforward, which would be good for the department’s image but not necessarily good for Voight. Atwater may also hope to improve race relations with the Chicago Black community as a Black officer in a position of​​​​power, though this may be difficult without institutional change in addition to his promotion.

Can Dawson still return to Chicago PD?

His exit left the door open for a return

While Dawson won’t be second-in-command, there’s no reason he can’t return as a guest star or for a One Chicago Crossover. His rehabilitation was supposedly successful, and he was later said to have left Chicago altogether to start a new life in Puerto Rico. So, everyone Chicago PD Requires a compelling reason for him to return to Chicago for a visit, such as a cold case that requires his expertise or a murder with a personal connection to him.

There are many possibilities if Chicago PD Dawson wants to return, and most of them would lead to compelling drama as he struggles with the question of whether he can protect his mental health if he picks up police work again. However, it makes more sense for the series to promote a character from within than to recruit Dawson to return to his previous post, especially given his history with drugs and the reason he left in the first place.