Chicago Fire season 7 character review: Joe Cruz

Our prognosis

Because Cruz’s storylines were wrapped up so well at the end of this season, and because he’s not as heavily featured as other characters, it’s harder to pin down what will come next for him. There are a lot of options out there, and the writers could honestly choose any of them.

Will the next Chicago Fire season shift Cruz back to being primarily comic relief? He and Otis have been well established as the two biggest sources of levity on the show, so it wouldn’t be shocking if he just goes back to more of a supporting role this fall. Joe Minoso’s certainly good at it.

Or do the writers build on what they establised here and perhaps include Cruz in more dramatic stories? He wouldn’t even have to be the star; he could just contribute a little more to the serious plots.

The brief rift he had with Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) is one example. Maybe Cruz starts having a louder voice in decision-making, and either becomes even more of a right-hand man to Severide, or they butt heads again. Either one would be entertaining and also keep moving Cruz ahead as a character.

It’d be appreciated if the writers found ways to work the Cruz and Leon relationship back in, too. It doesn’t even need to be plot-related. Leon seems to be doing well, and having him have some way to help Joe, after it was always Joe helping him, was a refreshing change. How about showing off more of that, especially since Chicago Fire doesn’t have the Dawson siblings to feature anymore?

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