Chicago Fire season 8 premiere preview: Sacred Ground

What should fans watch for in the Chicago Fire premiere? Get ready for Sacred Ground with our Chicago Fire season 8, episode 1 preview.

There’s only one question to ask about the Chicago Fire premiere: Who will die?

It’s been made clear that a character will be killed off in tonight’s opening episode, leaving One Chicago fans bracing themselves for another loss on a show that’s almost never been shy about making a change.

Of all the One Chicago shows, it’s Fire that is most likely to drop characters when they’ve served their purpose (see precedent), and generally those characters don’t get happy endings. All signs point toward “Sacred Ground” being another one of those shake-up episodes.

And frankly, it’s hard to argue the point. The last time the show had a huge season-ending fire, that was season 5, and fans were all sort of baffled by how four main characters could be stuck in a blaze and yet everyone walked out fine.

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Though no one has explicitly said as much, this episode feels like a response to that criticism. Last season’s cliffhanger didn’t just put a few characters in danger; it chucked all of Firehouse 51 into danger. And this time, it’s no secret that somebody won’t be making it to the closing credits.

The list of potential victims has gotten much shorter since the season 7 finale ended in May, but there’s no good choice. Whoever gets the axe, fans will be upset about it.

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But it’s not going to change, so the only thing fans can do is prepare themselves to be upset—and then start looking forward to how the firehouse, and the show, are going to deal with this latest tragedy in their midst. Firehouse 51 has lost a few people already to either death, injury or other issues, so are they used to loss by now? Or will this be one that particularly leaves a mark?

“Sacred Ground” also has to address Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) accepting an impulsive marriage proposal, but honestly that storyline should and probably will take a back seat to someone being killed. That shock will matter more to viewers than Brett’s romantic life.

So who won’t make it back? Will it be Ritter, Herrmann, Cruz, or Otis? And how will Chicago Fire honor that person’s sacrifice? Leslie Shay (Lauren German) had the ambulance dedicated in her memory. Benny Severide (Treat Williams) had a massive funeral that was one of the most tear-jerking episodes last season.

If the show’s going to kill someone, it has to do it right and make sure the loss is felt, and that’s going to be the most important thing about this season premiere.

Next. What to watch for in Chicago Fire season 8. dark

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