S10.E03: A Good Man

[jewel21]

Quote

The team investigates a string of brutal pharmacy robberies, and Halstead connects with one of the victims about their Army careers. Upton suspects there is more to the story and confides in Voight.

Airdate: 10/05/2022

[Snazzy Daisy]

[FnkyChkn34]

*THAT* was Jay Halstead's big send off?!?  Ugh.

At least we didn't have to watch some long, drawn-out goodbye between him and Hailey.  I've seen people profess more love to a good burrito...  The lack of chemistry there was not surprising, but disappointing to see.  Will Hailey get a Dear John letter in a few months to say that he's not coming back?  Leaving it open ended was an odd choice, IMO.  He needed something more definite than an 8-month assignment.

I wish the best of luck to Jesse Lee Soffer, and I hope that he lands a bigger and better role that makes him happy.  

[Avabelle]

I know Erin was all misery in her last season on the show but at least before that there was humour and a bit of fun with her Jay. With Jay and Hailey it’s all so heavy and depressing. 
 

[Guildford]

Hmmm.... where to start.

The Voight speech at the end felt clunky and off, Jay never wanted to be Voight so that made no sense at all. It felt like a cop out on the writers behalf. It's also such a lazy arc.... the open ended relationship.. I wish they had the guts to just end it rather than have this 'special' return down the track to satisfy shippers who can't let go only to then end it off screen. Just pull the band-aid off.

What did make sense though was the burden of all Voight & Upton's lies, the ease at which they were willing to do it again finally got too heavy. That at least felt like a good moment for Jay, because last season Jay was weak and feckless and it annoyed me no end how easily he just moved on & married her like he hadn't just shat over his moral code. It wasn't just Voight that changed him, Blondie did as well, maybe even moreso.

My gut feel from the start was that he'd go back to the Army somehow. 

But oh my giddy aunt did he nope the fuck out of his marriage & hop on that plane pretty damn quick.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the weeks and weeks of miserable Upton. She's miserable at the best of times, but this is going to be painful extra painful.

Good luck Jesse, you are free... go forth and do whatever it is you want & forget all about the mess they made of your character.

[nittany cougar]

8 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

*THAT* was Jay Halstead's big send off?!?  Ugh.

  The lack of chemistry there was not surprising, but disappointing to see.  Will Hailey get a Dear John letter in a few months to say that he's not coming back?  Leaving it open ended was an odd choice, IMO.  He needed something more definite than an 8-month assignment.  

It was really odd.  He just unilaterally made the decision to go to Bosnia and announced it without discussing it with Hailey. He wants to get away from her so badly that he waited until everything was booked!  He knows she has rage issues.

That last scene of Jay and Hailey was so strange and lacking in emotion.  DId they even kiss?  WTF.  At least his true love, Voight, showed up at the airport.  It would have been great if they ran into each other's arms.

[Rileyjo]

What’s with Hailey’s indignation about Jay covering for the dead vet.  I have only been watching old reruns since they killed off Al.  But I thought I saw a show where she killed someone (a CI maybe) and she and Voight covered it up. Am I misremembering?  She certainly has her own idea of justice.  Run like the wind, Jay! Maybe you can find Erin again. Haha! Good luck, Jesse Sofer! Another casualty of NBCs cost cutting?  Oh yeah, does Jay’s brother, the doctor, know he left chicago?  Did the writers forget they were brothers?  So much for continuity

[FnkyChkn34]

2 minutes ago, Rileyjo said:

What’s with Hailey’s indignation about Jay covering for the dead vet.  I have only been watching old reruns since they killed off Al.  But I thought I saw a show where she killed someone (a CI maybe) and she and Voight covered it up. Am I misremembering?  She certainly has her own idea of justice.  Run like the wind, Jay! Maybe you can find Erin again. Haha! Good luck, Jesse Sofer! Another casualty of NBCs cost cutting?  Oh yeah, does Jay’s brother, the doctor, know he left chicago?  Did the writers forget they were brothers?  So much for continuity

Hailey has killed multiple people, I think, and they've all lied to cover it up. If not multiple people, then definitely at least the one you are thinking of. She's a mess (to put it mildly) and was the catalyst of the downfall of Jay's character. Love of his life? Ugh, no. I hope he can find Erin again too. 

[ChicksDigScars]

I also wondered about Jay's brother at Chicago Med. What? Not even a mention of saying good bye to him?

Was Jesse a casualty of NBC cost cutting, or was this his own decision? I'll miss him. Maybe this will give us more Atwater, but I do have a soft spot for Soffer because I remember him as Will Munson on As the World Turns. And I like gingers. LOL

[Josh371982]

I still don't understand what Tracy Spirkados has done to deserve such high billing over Marina, John, and Laroyce who all have been there much longer? And I get mad knowing next week she'll probably be second billed when Marinas been there the longest of the ladies 

[nittany cougar]

10 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I also wondered about Jay's brother at Chicago Med. What? Not even a mention of saying good bye to him?

Was Jesse a casualty of NBC cost cutting, or was this his own decision? I'll miss him. Maybe this will give us more Atwater, but I do have a soft spot for Soffer because I remember him as Will Munson on As the World Turns. And I like gingers. LOL

GIven how flat and robotic his performance was last night, my guess is that he wanted to leave the show.  I think it's really sad that he and Tracy Spiradakos did not have a better final scene.  I don't know if it's the writing or the direction, but the scene lacked any emotional punch.  

[agentp]

22 hours ago, Guildford said:

I wish they had the guts to just end it rather than have this 'special' return down the track to satisfy shippers who can't let go only to then end it off screen. Just pull the band-aid off.

Mark my words, that special return will be in a fucking pine box draped in an American flag! As soon as I read "Bolivia" in the recap, I thought "yup, he's gonna die".

Edited October 7, 2022 by agentp
grammar

[agentp]

11 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Was Jesse a casualty of NBC cost cutting, or was this his own decision?

We haven't seen concrete evidence to the latter so we just have to assume that this is a cost-cutting move. And honestly, I don't blame the network/Wolf. They're never gonna shell out big contracts to actors people outside the fandom still can't pick out of a lineup, even after 10 years on a show.

[Guildford]

4 hours ago, nittany cougar said:

GIven how flat and robotic his performance was last night, my guess is that he wanted to leave the show.  I think it's really sad that he and Tracy Spiradakos did not have a better final scene.  I don't know if it's the writing or the direction, but the scene lacked any emotional punch.  

If they had any chemistry at all perhaps it would've been a better scene, there is not much the writers can do with two people who are like the north & south pole in every scene they attempt. Even his 'you are the love of my life' felt like a cheap throw away line to appease the twitter mob... that whole thing was weird. He just looked like he wanted to get as far away as possible.

[nittany cougar]

2 hours ago, Guildford said:

If they had any chemistry at all perhaps it would've been a better scene, there is not much the writers can do with two people who are like the north & south pole in every scene they attempt. Even his 'you are the love of my life' felt like a cheap throw away line to appease the twitter mob... that whole thing was weird. He just looked like he wanted to get as far away as possible.

They used to have great chemistry.  Last night, there was a rerun of the episode when Jay found out that Hailey was sleeping with Adam.  They were so good together in that episode, especially the scene where Hailey confessed to Jay and he said they would always be good. The show wasted a good dynamic by throwing them into a marriage so quickly.

5 hours ago, agentp said:

Mark my words, that special return will be in a fucking pine box draped in an American flag! As soon as I read "Bolivia" in the recap, I thought "yup, he's gonna die".

This is probably right and really depressing.  The only thing worse that abuse victim/ pissy  Upton will be widow Upton.

Edited October 7, 2022 by nittany cougar

[ChicksDigScars]

18 hours ago, Josh371982 said:

I still don't understand what Tracy Spirkados has done to deserve such high billing over Marina, John, and Laroyce who all have been there much longer? And I get mad knowing next week she'll probably be second billed when Marinas been there the longest of the ladies 

I noticed that, as well.  She SHOULD be behind Marina, John Patrick and LaRoyce in billing. How did she vault up to the Sophia Bush spot? I'd take Kim in a storyline over Hailey any day. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by ChicksDigScars

[Snazzy Daisy]

It is very important for Jay to chase "black and white, no more gray" and quickly leave everything behind including his greatest love!

🙄🙄🙄

Quote

"But I swear to you that we're gonna get through this because you're the love of my life. And if I'm yours... then you'll know that you have to let me go."

~ Jay Halstead ~

Edited October 7, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[FnkyChkn34]

Sorry, but those gifs make me cringe all over again, remembering the complete lack of chemistry and bad cry-acting.

I think the speculation is that it was Jesse's choice to leave.  The online mobs have analyzed Jesse's departure and the blonde-haired woman's departure from Law & Order: SVU, and I think the consensus is that Jesse chose to leave, and she was let go.  Obviously, I could be wrong, but I do hope that it was his choice.  He's better than what this show has become.

[Guildford]

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Sorry, but those gifs make me cringe all over again, remembering the complete lack of chemistry and bad cry-acting.

I think the speculation is that it was Jesse's choice to leave.  The online mobs have analyzed Jesse's departure and the blonde-haired woman's departure from Law & Order: SVU, and I think the consensus is that Jesse chose to leave, and she was let go.  Obviously, I could be wrong, but I do hope that it was his choice.  He's better than what this show has become.

The online mobs swear he was fired, that DIck wolf is deliberately tanking his own shows because he's flat broke & wants the cancelled, that he was told mid-way through filming an episode, that he'd never ever leave because once in an interview he said he'd stay forever....I could go on.

HIs story had hit a brick wall, was he forever going to be Voight's shadow & follow his crime bride around cleaning up her shit.... Halstead ceased being relevant when Eid insisted he marry his pet project, perhaps before. It's a shame he devolved into what he did. I don't blame Jesse for wanting out, he had been phoning it in for the past two seasons.

The real Jay would never have been part of that disgraceful cover up, he wouldn't rat them out, but he never wanted to be dragged into it either. Voight & Upton destroyed Jay Halstead.

[Jaelyn96]

On 10/1/2022 at 6:09 AM, jewel21 said:

Airdate: 10/05/2022

In my opinion, jays exit was rushed and wished he said Atleast to his other coworkers and brother. But it did make sense and I think this was coming from season 8 when the Roy/Upton/Voight happened and he had to get involved and how he was butting heads with Voight because Upton couldn’t mind her own business. And him leaving the Way he did is how he was from the beginning. He thinks he has to go through things by himself because he didn’t want to drag people down with him.

[preeya]

20 hours ago, nittany cougar said:

 I don't know if it's the writing or the direction, but the scene lacked any emotional punch.  

Yes, three episodes into this season and there is definitely something off.

[Guildford]

50 minutes ago, Jaelyn96 said:

In my opinion, jays exit was rushed and wished he said Atleast to his other coworkers and brother. But it did make sense and I think this was coming from season 8 when the Roy/Upton/Voight happened and he had to get involved and how he was butting heads with Voight because Upton couldn’t mind her own business. And him leaving the Way he did is how he was from the beginning. He thinks he has to go through things by himself because he didn’t want to drag people down with him.

I completely agree... it was rushed and because of that it seemed, on the surface, out of the blue when in reality it wasn't and with more time it could've been so much better. 

If you think back to late season 8 when Upton again went rogue and broke into the suspects house without a warrant... in the end Jay told her that she jammed him up & that wasn't okay. She then went to Voight & asked for a new partner because she didn't want to 'change' him... I know a lot of people blame Voight for Jay's disintegration but Upton played a huge part in it. 

Inexplicably they had him appear to completely forget about it & marry Upton after becoming everything he never wanted to be. So I've gotta say I am happy they returned him to his original character somewhat even if it was rushed. I just wished they hadn't done the 'shipper appeasement' route & actually made him call her out on her shit, he can still love her but know she's not good for him. Now she's going to mope around for weeks on end thinking she's a good person who's been abandoned so we get more of her woe is me attitude, when honestly she's just as to blame as Voight for forcing Jay to leave.

And yet again they completely ignore half their characters for this moronic Vupstead circle jerk... thank god that's over, even if we had to lose the best of the bad bunch.

[agentp]

5 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I think the speculation is that it was Jesse's choice to leave.  The online mobs have analyzed Jesse's departure and the blonde-haired woman's departure from Law & Order: SVU, and I think the consensus is that Jesse chose to leave, and she was let go.

I'd have to disagree with you on this, unfortunately. Like I've said in this thread in another reply, we haven't seen concrete evidence that he chose to leave, so we have to assume that, like Kelli Giddish's exit, it's a cost-cutting measure.

Damn, layoff szn at Wolf Entertainment sure is merciless 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Avabelle]

10 hours ago, agentp said:

I'd have to disagree with you on this, unfortunately. Like I've said in this thread in another reply, we haven't seen concrete evidence that he chose to leave, so we have to assume that, like Kelli Giddish's exit, it's a cost-cutting measure.

Why would we have to assume that? Just because he hasn’t given intricate details of his departure? Ten years is a long time on any show especially if you’re not Chicago based. He was going back to LA in between seasons so it was probably getting tiring.
He’s looked bored out of his mind since about season six so I’d say he wanted out. Unless anyone knows what his contract was  we can only speculate.

[agentp]

1 hour ago, Avabelle said:

Why would we have to assume that? Just because he hasn’t given intricate details of his departure?

Yes, in my opinion. We deserve some clarity here, I think we can all agree with that. With Kelli Giddish's exit on SVU, at least we have a whole article on Variety confirming that it's not her choice to leave. Here? It's foggier than freaking London.

[Avabelle]

6 minutes ago, agentp said:

Yes, in my opinion. We deserve some clarity here, I think we can all agree with that. With Kelli Giddish's exit on SVU, at least we have a whole article on Variety confirming that it's not her choice to leave. Here? It's foggier than freaking London.

Why do we deserve it? I get it’s frustrating but I don’t think we’re owed any sort of clarity. His reasons could be personal or if it wasn’t his decision maybe he’s still processing it and will discuss it when ready.

[Guildford]

24 minutes ago, Avabelle said:

Why do we deserve it? I get it’s frustrating but I don’t think we’re owed any sort of clarity. His reasons could be personal or if it wasn’t his decision maybe he’s still processing it and will discuss it when ready.

The same as anyone leaving any job, they are entitled to say as little or as much as they want. Random people on the internet aren't entitled to anything. I find it amusing that people think they are.

[KittenPokerCheater]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:42 AM, agentp said:

Mark my words, that special return will be in a fucking pine box draped in an American flag! As soon as I read "Bolivia" in the recap, I thought "yup, he's gonna die".

My theory is that he will be "presumed dead" so that Hailey can move on.  And it leaves the door open for the actor to return for a short arc if he so chooses.

I wonder if there will ever be some kind of BTS book down the line.

[Avabelle]

22 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

My theory is that he will be "presumed dead" so that Hailey can move on.  And it leaves the door open for the actor to return for a short arc if he so chooses.

I wonder if there will ever be some kind of BTS book down the line.

This is exactly how it will happen.

As for a BTS book, I don’t think so. It reads as though they put gag orders on the cast when they leave as none of them seem to discuss it. Sophia Bush was definitely gagged as exit was everywhere at the time. 

[Niesey]

SO sick of this wack story line with Jay & Hailey...move on!!! Give the black man a story. All he ever gets is 1 episode, yet we have to sit through all the other mess!

[FnkyChkn34]

17 hours ago, Avabelle said:

As for a BTS book, I don’t think so. It reads as though they put gag orders on the cast when they leave as none of them seem to discuss it. Sophia Bush was definitely gagged as exit was everywhere at the time. 

I think a "gag order" is just an unwritten rule of the business.  I doubt that there is anything official in place, but look at the people who have spoken up about abuse they've suffered, or other behind the scenes misdeeds - they all got "cancelled."  If you are perceived as a problem with a big mouth, then no one will want to work with you again.  IMO, that's rarely true because the people who speak up are the victims (not the problems) and I commend them for that, but Hollywood disagrees with me.

As a real life example, I was laid off just before the pandemic.  Multiple attorneys told me I had a case to sue for wrongful hiring (meaning, they lied to me in the interview about what my tasks would be to lure me over, and the job was never what I was promised in the first place - so yeah, I wasn't great at it but that wasn't my fault).  But I couldn't do that, because I can't become known as "that person" in my industry in my city.  No one would ever hire me again. 

Hollywood is the same - no one is going to tell all from behind the scenes unless and until they want to be finished in the industry.  

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/7/2022 at 6:09 AM, Guildford said:

If they had any chemistry at all perhaps it would've been a better scene, there is not much the writers can do with two people who are like the north & south pole in every scene they attempt. Even his 'you are the love of my life' felt like a cheap throw away line to appease the twitter mob... that whole thing was weird. He just looked like he wanted to get as far away as possible.

It all goes back to the old golden rule of writing - show, don't tell.

In other words, viewers shouldn't have to be TOLD Hailey is the love of Jay's life, they should be able to SEE it, in loving words, mannerisms, acts, etc. And no matter how much some fans fervently want to believe it in their love, it truly was never a real part of the show. They didn't even exchange smiles at work, for heaven's sake. Most of us have random colleagues we are friendlier with than this married couple was.