Which One Chicago series has the biggest problem to solve?

Chicago Fire

What went wrong: Seemingly every member of Firehouse 51 was trapped in a burning factory that had a boiler primed to explode. Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) and Darren Ritter (recurring guest star Daniel Kyri) were barely keeping the boiler under control before the episode cut to black, leaving all the characters’ fates unclear.

How bad is it: Well, Derek Haas could pull a Melrose Place and blow up the building, which would kill everybody, but then there wouldn’t be a show next season. And remember that this show had four main characters in a warehouse fire two seasons ago, and managed to kill exactly no one. So there’s a fair chance this could be another fake-out. Or not.

That’s what makes it difficult to say how worried One Chicago fans should be here. There are a few characters who are absolutely safe, like Matthew Casey and Kelly Severide, since both Jesse Spencer and Taylor Kinney just signed new contracts to stay with the show. But it’s possible that Haas and company could dispense with one of the more supporting characters.

After all, it’d be an easy move (albeit a mistake) to kill off Ritter. We’ve discussed this before, but Chicago Fire has a tendency to bring in new members of Firehouse 51 and get rid of them as soon as they’ve served their story purpose. Jason Kannell was supposed to stick around, too, and he was gone after last season.

Being one of the two characters right in front of the boiler, Ritter is in some of the most danger if it does explode. He’s not a main character, so he can be killed off easier. And because fans are really liking the guy, it’d provide the requisite emotional impact if he died. But that’s also why they can’t kill him. Why waste a character with so much potential just for yet another cliffhanger? So be a bit worried, particularly if you’re a Ritter fan, but don’t freak out too much.