#cpd 4x17

[xofeno]

JAY HALSTEAD + Recovering from PTSD

[minibetta]

"I love you, and I want to stay."

[cb150681]

WTF (CPD 4x17)

I usually don’t make this kind of post, mostly because I watch the show after most of the people here and everything is already been said and let’s face it I don’t think anyone really want to read my thoughts :P But I’m pissed so here it is!

What was that people (I mean writers)!

Confess, you were thinking you were writing that storyline for Adam right?

Because no way Jay Halstead, the one you show us for 4 seasons will ever get married and never tell his current girlfriend and partner about it!

The only moment that I recognized Jay in this episode was in the end when he said he wanted to stay but leave anyway. Because we all know that he always want to protect Erin and he thinks she don’t deserve to have to deal with his shit and because he never want to face his demons specially in front of of her.

But even that wasn’t well played because at this point of their relationship, she will had stop him and he will end up trying to deal with it with her help. So I’m hoping that this wasn’t the end of the scene and 4x18 shows us the Jay we knew.

A few days ago I was writing the one shot for 4x15 I think, the grasshopper episode and i wrote about Jay talking in his sleep and Erin telling about and she tells him that sometimes it seems like he lived a life that she will never know or hear about it and he says to her that he know he should tell her about that life but he is too afraid to face his demons because he was in a really bad place back then.

All of this make sense to Jay and even to this stupid storyline but he will never pick his bags and leave out of the blue...

And that’s it I’m pissed and frustrated and this is just a damn TV Show so I should get back to work and do stuff that matter :P

Have a good day ;)

[lindsayhalsteadgifs]

OTP MEME: [1/7] things → observations from others

[timandlucy]

Does anyone want to join @queseraone and I in our CPD rewatch (we will of course stop before 4x17 because that episode doesn't exists it is literally dead to me)

[fighterkimburgess]

Watching CPD 4X17 for fic research, and I forgot this episode has so many of my favourite scenes in it. Kim saying to zip up? Adam giving Al that awkward hug? I love it

[fictionismyforte]

Jay halstead thoughts

Ok, ever since 4x17 I, like pretty much every cpd fan, has been questioning this "hidden wife". I was annoyed that's the route they chose to go when bringing in a new storyline for Jay. Why didn't Mouse coming back trigger these memories? What about when Terry died? Why choose a wife, instead of an old army buddy? But I think I finally have an answer (it's the one I'm going with to make myself feel better, at least.) It's pretty much headcannon that Jay pushed back the memories of his time overseas. He ignored them, as he tends to do. The reason Abby returning brought them back is because he can't push them back anymore. With Mouse, we saw Jay sort of tense up whenever Mouse tried to talk to him about Afghanistan. He wouldn't hold a conversation about it, instead changing the subject. He did the same thing when Terry died—threw everything into the case, and only broke down when no one was around. He can't ignore Abby. Erin wanted to know who she was and how Jay knew her and he's honest with Erin, he couldn't lie when she asked. He should've mentioned it earlier but he was trying to forget about it, but he didn't flat out lie about her. Jay explained he was in a bad place when they married and now Erin KNOWS. We don't really know if Jay has ever talked about his time as a Ranger, but I think it's safe to say this is the first time Erin has really realized how much it messed him up. And now that Erin is noticing this, Jay can't pretend he's fine anymore. He's accepted that maybe he hasn't dealt with things, and Erin knows he hasn't, and he doesn't want to break down with her because that's not who he is. I'm writing this before I see the episode, so this might be totally non-cannon in an hour.

[varietyofwords]

No, I am not at all upset that the writers decided to break-up Linstead. I crave angst, and I know these two will reunite eventually. I have the utmost faith in their love and support of one another. Here are about 95 examples of why you should, too. 

And, no, I'm not surprised that Jay would choose to keep things from Erin. He has never been loose lipped about his past. Even when asked. So I can understand him not wanting her to know about a time in his life he isn't proud of where he was getting blackout drunk every day. And I can also understand him believing he needs space and distance to fix his shit because, as Will said in 3x03, no one was there for him before. Only Mouse was, and now Mouse is gone.

Has Erin shown she will be there for him no matter what? Hell yes. You only need to rewatch 2x03, 2x17, 3x01, 3x07, 3x17, or 4x05 to see that. 

It’s the same with 4x17. Erin tried to get Jay to open up to her in break room, confronted him when he wouldn't, and then said he didn't have to leave. She said "whatever it is, I can handle it" because she can. Because he did the same for her when she thought he couldn't. So, yes, I have faith in them. And, frankly, I figured a break-up was coming in S4 or S5 because all writers default to break-ups for drama.

What I am upset about is (a) the decision to give Jay a hidden wife for 8 years and (b) have her return be the trigger for his trauma to rear. A hidden spouse is something I expect out of soap opera, and it is something I literally just went through on another show.

More importantly, though, a hidden wife wasn't needed to lay groundwork, as Sophia says. CPD had already done it. If you don't think the groundwork for Jay's PTSD and trauma and self-loathing to return was laid, here are 34 scenes for you to reconsider.

More specifically, why didn't Jay have the reaction he did in 4x17 when Terry died before his eyes in 3x17? Or, with Ethan in 3x07? How about when he was tortured in 3x01? Or, when Mouse wanted to reenlist in 4x05? Erin knew things weren't behind him then. 

What specifically was it about a hidden wife that the writers felt would be the best trigger for him? Why not his dad? Why not Mouse?

And, if hidden wife is perfect trigger, why am I sitting here trying to reconcile how he went from joking with Abby to walking out on Erin? Because, other than trying to avoid her calls, he seemed pretty calm about her showing up at the district and saying they weren't divorced. He was willing to go out for a drink with someone who lied to him for 8 yrs. He was shown joking about his time overseas with her. 

So what was the trigger to make him decide he needs to go despite wanting to stay, that now he needs to deal with things not behind him? Because, rewatching their final scene in 4x17, it sounds like finding out he is still married is the sole trigger.

Yet he was blase about getting papers signed when Abby said they weren't. He was adamant to Erin it was over & to Abby he wasn't interested. So is it simply the fact he's been (unknowingly) cheating on his wife for eight years? That he (basically) turned Erin into his mistress?

I can see how finding out would make Jay see shades of his old self in himself, but I feel like that's a stretch given his prior reactions. And, given that his (soon-to-be ex) wife won't be in any more episodes, I cannot see how and why she needed to be his trigger. I just can't. That is why I'm upset & disappointed with Chicago P.D. The writers went for a cheap trigger when far more interesting ones (already) existed.

[runnin-on-sunshine]

I just realized....we didn't get the scene in 4x17 between Lindsay and platt. There were promo photos for it but it wasn't in the episode. Ugh. It looked like it could've been a good scene between the two. CPD really needs to start releasing their deleted scenes. It's frustrating.

Yeah I wonder what it was supposed to be about. Looked interesting. They at least need to stop releasing promo stuff for things that get edited out.. it happens too often.

[xofeno]

JAY HALSTEAD +scrabble partners 

[minibetta]

"Can I give you a hug?"

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"Jay, you married this girl, and you never told me...and you were never going to tell me..."

[minibetta]

Linstead good cop-bad cop.

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Tension.

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"You really don't trust her, do you?"