Chicago P.D.: Season 9's Biggest Moments So Far — Plus, Grade It

Chicago P.D. pushed Intelligence to new limits in Season 9 as the team tackled more harrowing cases and faced personal struggles that revealed more of who they are beneath the gun and badge.

For Atwater, this season has been about finding someone to connect with while navigating cases that hit far too close to home. The detective hadn't had an on-screen love interest since the Season 6 episode "Black and Blue" — he fell in love with Laila (played by Milauna Jemai Jackson), who was eventually sentenced to prison for murder — until encountering Celeste this season. With her, he found someone who could relate to him in ways others couldn't.

Meanwhile, Upton and Halstead supported each other through the daily grind of a difficult job. Getting caught up in one of Voight's lies and nearly losing their careers was enough to bring the couple each closer together, and Season 9 saw them take their relationship to surprising new levels.

Also carving a new path was Ruzek and Burgess, who built a nice little family unit with their adoptive daughter Makayla. The formerly engaged pair isn't back together, but they've been navigating this weird space where they deeply care for each other and live under the same roof while raising a child together. The boundaries between them are blurred, and they haven't completely shut the door on a reconciliation.

With so much happening this season, like Upton's daring underwater rescue and Voight taking on a new CI named Anna, we've compiled the biggest storylines in one place.

Read on for highlights from Season 9 thus far. What are you enjoying about the season? What needs work?  Grade the season below, and let us know how you're feeling in the comments. 

Intelligence assembled at the start of Season 9 to find the men responsible for Burgess' brutal kidnapping and assault. While Halstead and Atwater went by the book, Voight chose to do things his own way, and that meant assaulting their main suspect, a human trafficker named Roy, for answers. But the situation went south when Upton killed Roy to save Voight, and Voight stopped her from calling it in. Instead, he buried the body and told Upton to keep it secret, which she struggled with during the first few episodes. Halstead picked up on his partner's rattled emotions and confronted Voight in Episode 4.

All three tried to keep a handle on the situation, even as FBI agent North closed in on the truth about Roy. North propositioned Halstead to turn on Voight, or risk him and Upton going down with the sergeant. Just when it seemed like the trio would lose their badges and face criminal charges, Halstead uncovered incriminating evidence against North. In Episode 9, he blackmailed the agent into dropping the investigation, finally putting the Roy situation to bed.

The couple, who got engaged in the Season 9 premiere, didn't wait long after wrapping up the Roy investigation to forge ahead. That evening, they went to the courthouse and eloped in their street clothes, becoming the first Intelligence pairing to wed.

"They've been through so much together (this season especially), and this was a completely emotional decision made inside a moment — they wanted something good, they wanted something permanent that made all the events of the episode worthwhile, they wanted connection — and they didn't want to wait another second," showrunner Gwen Sigan previously told TVLine.

"I don't think their characters are the type that need to celebrate it, or the type that really needed to discuss marriage and a wedding. They're not ceremonial or sentimental in that way," Jesse Lee Soffer added. "After getting over this huge hump with North, the FBI and Roy, they wanted to put it behind them as fast as possible."

Atwater first met Celeste (Trial & Error's Amanda Payton) in Episode 5, titled "Burnside." Their flirtations at the bar turned into one steamy night together, and the potential for a long-term romance was real. But after learning that Celeste was a social activist who was also critical of the police, Atwater decided to keep his real job a secret from her.

They bonded over their shared experience with racism, with Atwater pretending to be a regular citizen. When he came clean to her in Episode 11, it didn't go over well. Celeste was more upset that he lied to her for so long, insisting that him being a police officer wouldn't have mattered because she cared about him. Their emotional back-and-forth ended with the pair breaking up. 

This may be the end for now, but LaRoyce Hawkins expressed up for a reconciliation in the future. "I think if they give each other enough time and then they process the situation, they should be able to find themselves or at least cross paths," he said.

Burgess found a unique family situation with Ruzek and Makayla, the young girl she decided to raise after her father murdered the rest of her family. However, their world was rocked in Episode 10 when they learned that Makayla's paternal uncle Theo had filed for full custody.

Things came to a head in Episode 14, when Burgess and Theo faced off in a court battle for custody. Theo pulled out all the stops, even digging into Burgess' medical records to prove she was unfit to raise Makayla. Burgess delivered a passionate plea about her special relationship with Makayla, and that convinced the court to grant her full custody. Burgess and Ruzek's celebration was cut short when they found their babysitter Gabby bleeding on the floor and Makayla missing.

In Episode 15, we learned that Theo had been bribed by Makayla's father, who staged her abduction to pay off his prison debt. The sensitive nature of the case saw Ruzek and Burgess at their whit's end trying to find her, both disagreeing on how to approach the handoff. Ruzek pushed back against working with the kidnappers, believing they would take the money and run. Although correct, he nearly jeopardized the case when he tailed and killed one of the accomplices. The team quickly traced the remaining co-conspirator to a junkyard, and Burgess found Makayla alive. Burgess also invited Theo to go with them to Chicago Med, suggesting peace between the warring adults.

Voight first encountered Anna Avalos in Episode 12, the latter ensuring him that she could help Intelligence bring down the Los Temidos gang. When their undercover operation nearly went sideways, it became clear that Anna had a personal connection to the case. She admitted to being initiated into the gang, and Voight vowed to get her out of that life.

By Episode 16, she honed her undercover skills and was now working for a bakery owner named Escano, suspected of using his business as a cover for a cartel. Intelligence investigated a shooting outside the bakery as Anna worked from the inside. Anna was still undercover at the end of the episode when Escano revealed that he knows about Anna's past — but not that she's working with Voight — and trusts her. With Voight still trying to bring him down, this case is far from over.