Chicago Fire season 9, episode 5 preview: My Lucky Day

This week’s Chicago Fire episode is going to be a massive change of pace for the show—and that’s a good thing.

“My Lucky Day” focuses on Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) and Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso), who get trapped in an elevator inside a burning building. While the rest of Firehouse 51 scrambles to rescue them, the audience spends a lot of time with Herrmann and Cruz.

Eigenberg and Cruz are primarily known for the humor they bring to Chicago Fire, but both are underappreciated when it comes to their dramatic talents. We saw that last season with how each of their characters reacted to the death of Otis (Yuri Sardarov).

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Cruz’s grief over the loss of his best friend was heartbreaking, and Herrmann’s scene confronting the CEO of the Arnow Mattress Company was one of the best of season 8.

Chicago Fire season 9, episode 5 preview

After the start of season 9 primarily dealt with Stella’s promotion prospects and the Brett-Casey relationship, audiences will get a break from those storylines with “My Lucky Day,” which is the first Herrmann story of the season and gives Cruz something more to do than worry over Gianna Mackey (Adriyan Rae).

The challenge of that is that it rests primarily on the performances of the two aforementioned actors. It’s likely the only huge fire scene is going to be the one that gets Cruz and Herrmann in this predicament, and that the show isn’t going to cut away to another story. The actors have to hold the audience’s attention for most of 42 minutes, in a confined space.

Luckily, we know that Minoso and Eigenberg can do that. While the tension will be running high, they’ll probably sneak in some of their signature humor for levity—Herrmann in particular will be almost assured of having some snarky, frustrated comments about being stuck in an elevator.

NBC hasn’t included either star in their photos for this episode, probably helping to preserve the suspense as to whether or not either character survives. It’s hard to imagine that Fire would kill off either one; Cruz just got married and seems integral to Gianna’s development, and Herrmann is a one of a kind character. But that doesn’t mean Derek Haas can’t push them, and the actors playing them, pretty far.

This could be one of the best episodes of the season, and the season isn’t even a third of the way done.

For the latest Chicago Fire season 9 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.