Chicago Fire season 7: Ranking the biggest moments so far

1. Benny’s death

What happened: Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) asked his father Benny Severide (recurring guest star Treat Williams) for help with Firehouse 51’s political problems. When Benny failed to show up for a planned post-shift meeting, Kelly found out that his father had a stroke—and died less than an hour before he was able to get to the hospital.

The episode: “All The Proof” (episode 6) and “What Will Define You” (episode 7)

Why it’s important: This was the One Chicago franchise killing off one of its most well-known and longest-tenured recurring characters. Benny Severide had a ton of flaws that complicated Chicago Fire over the years, but he still meant a lot to his son, the show and the fans. It was a drastic step for the series to kill him.

The writers crafted a bittersweet story about Benny having called in every favor to help Firehouse 51 before he died, as if they were “redeeming” him in a sense. He was not a great father but his last act was to do something amazing for his son and remind Kelly that he was a better man than Kelly had given him credit for.

But this was a big risk, and it’s one that Chicago Fire might wind up regretting. There were a lot of dramatic possibilities if Benny had been around to see his handiwork, and who knows what plots the show may miss out on now that it can’t write for him anymore? It was great drama in the moment but what about the long game?

Plus, it was a bit of salt in the wound, in the sense that by this point One Chicago had already killed off another father during the crossover (Pat Halstead on Chicago Med). The choice reinforced an unintentional, but pretty depressing, theme. At least Benny got the sendoff that he deserved, with great acting from Taylor Kinney and a reason to bring Brittany Curran‘s Katie Nolan back after all these years.

What moments from the first half of Chicago Fire season 7 stand out to you? Let us know what you would put on this list in the comments below.