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What Tracy Spiridakos' Final Cliffhanger Scene as Upton Actually Meant (DETAILS)
The longtime Chicago P.D. star exits the show following the Season 11 finale.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the May 22 Season 11 finale episode of Chicago P.D., "More".
In Chicago P.D.'s Season 11 finale "More," the Intelligence Unit was successfully led by Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) as they raced to find Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), who was drugged and captured by serial killer Frank Matson.
Throughout the thrilling hour, fans saw Upton at her lowest, at her best, and everything in between: bravely in charge of the Intelligence Unit, frantic and anxious to find Voight, fighting to keep them both alive while in Matson's clutches, and vulnerable when confessing to Voight, "I just want to feel better, be better. Start over, I guess?"
The span of emotions is fitting, with it serving as Upton's final episode in the series after it was confirmed Spiridakos would be exiting Chicago P.D. earlier this year.
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"We wanted to earn the goodbye," showrunner Gwen Sigan told NBC Insider. "Get to show all those sides and get to show the different emotions and what it would mean for her to leave, and how she was coming to that decision throughout the episode, as well."
Read ahead as we break down Upton's final scenes, including that cab ride that ended on a major cliffhanger.
What happened to Upton in her final scenes on Chicago P.D.?
After Upton finds Voight and Matson is killed, the two are rescued by the Intelligence Unit. Later on — after both leave the hospital against doctor's orders — they have a heart-to-heart back at the station. It's a rare moment where we see both characters let their guard down.
"Am I bad for you?" Voight asks.
"What? Of course not," she responds. "You are not bad for me. You didn't mess me up, Voight. I came this way. It's why I came, why I became a cop. I'm pretty sure I've just been remaking my childhood everyday making myself the victor... I don't want to be stuck in my childhood. To be an adult stuck in some cage she made."
As much as it’s vulnerable and emotional, for actors that’s fun.”
Voight then asks Upton if she wants to leave the Intelligence Unit, and she responds: "I don't want to leave the team, I don't want to leave you."
He then responds with the most heartwarming, encouraging words.
"You can't lose any of us, not even if you leave," he says. "If you want better for you, if you want more, different, go get it. You won't lose me, I got you. It's not conditional."
In a heartbreaking moment, a tearful Upton asks, "What if I don't deserve more?" Voight confidently responds, "You do."
The two hug, and those last words seem to be the final push Upton needed to leave the team — and Chicago — for good.
"I think it was a really special scene and really beautiful to get to see Hailey... with just kind of raw emotions," Spiridakos said. "They’ve been through this crazy situation, and now they’re just here. Together... It was a really fun scene. As much as it’s vulnerable and emotional, for actors that’s fun."
RELATED: LaRoyce Hawkins Tears Up About Tracy Spiridakos' P.D. Exit: "She's Like a Sister"
Sigan added, "I think they’ve [Voight and Upton] always had such a special relationship. And, to me, I always thought it came from there’s an understanding between the pair of them. They sort of know each other’s darkest, most vulnerable places, and they also have always been able to push each other to be better and to be different. And so that seemed like the perfect pairing... And so there was also this lovely sort of fulfillment of him being a father figure to her, and being able to give her, that, that she didn’t get from a parental figure."
What did Upton's final cab scene mean — and what's next for her?
In the very last moments of the episode, Upton researches jobs at the FBI, FEMA, and DEA. She then packs up her apartment and gets in a taxi to Chicago O'Hare Airport.
"Where are you headed?" the cab driver asks. A smiling Upton looks out the window, and we don't hear her answer. And that was on purpose.
"I love the idea that it’s open," Sigan says of the episode's ending. "The audience gets to fill it in, and we all get to fill it in. You know, I have a version of where I think she’s headed. I’m sure Tracy has one. I think all of us do, but I love that it’s open 'cause I think, more than anything, we wanted it to be hopeful and to [her] moving on to something better and bigger and different."
RELATED: Jason Beghe Reacts to Tracy Spiridakos Leaving Chicago P.D.: "She's Changed the Show"
So, we may never know if Upton gets a fancy new job with a major government intelligence agency or whether she ever has contact with her ex-husband again. But what we do know is she's finally making room for joy in her life.
"I didn’t fill in the end," Spiridakos said. "I think I took a lot of comfort in that it was happy. I loved that on the ride to the airport, she smiles... And so I didn’t really fill in the blank. I just kind of let it be, but I loved that it was in this positive vibe. She's going into this happiness, which we haven’t gotten to see a lot of with her."
