A shift at Intelligence. During the Wednesday, December 8, episode of Chicago P.D., not only did Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) finally face Voight (Jason Beghe) and changed — well, everything — he also took a huge step in his relationship with Hailey (Tracy Spiradakos).
After choosing to blackmail the FBI instead of turning in Voight or his fiancée, Jay told his boss that from here on out, he would be let in on every conversation.
“I think after nine seasons of working with Voight, Jay has grown and changed in so many ways,” Soffer, 37, told Us Weekly exclusively about the big move. “This helps the dynamic between Jay and Voight grow and shift in a positive way. It lends itself to totally new story lines between those two having a different kind of relationship, a different kind of mutual respect. … I was really excited.”
The conversation seemed to allude that one day, Jay may take over for his boss — an idea that the three-time Emmy nominee laughed at.
“Voight’s not going anywhere. He’s Hank Voight,” Soffer told Us. “We’re finishing an episode now where we’re seeing that dynamic is a little different — just how the writers are writing it, and Voight coming to Jay, like, ‘All right, let’s talk about this. Here’s what I have going on privately, secretively. What do you think?'”
However, the men’s interaction wasn’t the most shocking part of the episode. The final moments revealed that Jay and Hailey decided to get married in the courthouse — then have quite a romantic and steamy night in the bedroom.
“That all felt like the next natural step. The two characters have been talking about getting married since, I think, the end of last season,” he explained of Upstead. “Getting over all of these road bumps … It was like, ‘OK, we’re, we’re past all this, and we’re still here. F–k it, let’s do it!'”
Although they’re the first married couple in Intelligence, “it doesn’t really change anything” when the two go to work.
“They went to a courthouse and they put on a rubber ring. The characters were already together. It was an afterthought. It’s like, ‘Let’s just do it and be done with it,'” he added. “The next episode starts day one after that night or a couple of days after and they’re wearing the rings and someone’s like, ‘Did you guys get married?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, anyway. What’s this case about?’ … Are marriages on a TV show easy? No. Is the marriage going to affect work and is work going to affect the marriage? Yes, probably.”
The episode wrapped up with a love scene between the pair — something they’re both pretty used to at this point.
“I don’t have time for TV, so if you tell me it was intense, then OK. It was intense,” Soffer said with a laugh. “We’ve been playing partners and love interests for so long, that it’s second nature. Also, I was on a soap for a while and she’s worked a ton! It’s like, ‘All right, sex scene? Got it.’ It’s been easy. She’s a great scene partner to have.”
Chicago P.D. airs on NBC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
