New Chicago Fire season 10 photo hints Boden could be leaving 51

Over the course of the summer, there is no denying the biggest point of conversation among Chicago Fire fans has been the fate of Squad.

Given the final moments of the season saw Squad trapped underwater with no air left in their tanks, it’s been understandable that all eyes have been on Cruz (Joe Minoso), Severide (Taylor Kinney), Capp (Randy Flagler), and Tony (Anthony Ferraris). Whenever the lives of characters are left up in the air between seasons, it’s not uncommon for all eyes to be on who might not make it out and for fans to spend the offseason looking for any hints about who might survive.

As shocking as the moment was though, it wasn’t the only major cliffhanger in the season 9 finale.

While all eyes have been on whether Squad will survive the ordeal, let’s not forget that there was another member of Firehouse 51 whose future was very much left up in the air as the season came to a close: 51’s longtime leader, Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker).

Chicago Fire season 10 spoilers: Is Boden leaving Chicago Fire?

In the final hour of Chicago Fire season 9, Boden was presented with an incredible career opportunity in the form of the deputy district chief role.

Although it seemed as though Boden was going to turn down First Deputy Commissioner Gloria Hill’s (J. Nicole Brooks), various conversations had across the finale seemed to sway his opinion in helping him to recognize the impact he could have in the role. Moments before we cut to Squad’s brush with death, we saw Boden calling up Hill in order to inform her of his decision — a decision we didn’t get the chance to hear before the season came to a close.

It was a moment that left fans talking about whether Boden could be leaving 51 and while NBC has done a great job of keeping things under wraps, a new image from the season 10 premiere seems to hint that Boden might be leaving 51 after all.

While a photograph of Boden in his office is nothing new to fans, what has us concerned is the number of boxes that seem to be scattered out across his office and the contents they seem to contain.

As seen in the above first-look image from the new season, Boden is surrounded by boxes which seems to suggest he accepted the job offer and is in the process of packing up his office at 51. Sure there is nothing unusual about a box of files present in an image; however, we’re pretty certain those aren’t files being packed away in the box on the far right nor can we think of a reason why Boden would need that many boxes or have that many files out at once.

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Of course, this is all purely speculation in making an educated guess based on the contents of the photo and it could be argued that maybe he’s doing some spring cleaning. However, we can’t shake this feeling that Boden has decided to accept the deputy district chief role and might be leaving 51 as a result.

Regardless of what decision Boden makes, the good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any reason for concern over whether Boden will still be a part of the show. Even if he does take on this new role, we fully expect Boden to continue to be a prominent leader within the show and this also wouldn’t be the first time a character’s storyline took them outside the walls of 51.

For the latest season 10 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.