What’s next for Mouch in Chicago Fire season 12?

Mouch (Christian Stolte) is on the brink of death. The final episode of Chicago Fire season 11 saw the character get hit by a sniper, and potentially flatline in his hospital bed. It was an incredibly dire note to end the season on, but it does have us eager to see the season 12 premiere.

Mouch is a character that many assume the safety of, like Herrmann (David Eigenberg), Cruz (Joe Minoso), and the rest of the supporting cast. He’s rarely brought into the central dramatic plotting of a story, but when he is, it’s usually life-threatening. Take, for example, the season 11 finale and the season 5 finale when Mouch had a heart attack.

Is Christian Stolte coming back to Chicago Fire?

Despite the bad condition the character is in, we’re going to assume that Mouch makes it through the season 12 premiere alive. We’d like to think he’s stable after it was discovered that he was still bleeding out, and that he’s good as new by the time the credits roll on episode 1. That being said, a serious injury, at the age of 60 no less, would cause anyone to take a step back and consider their future.

Mouch is no stranger to confronting mortality. When he survived his aforementioned heart attack (an incident which also led to him briefly flatlining), he considered retiring from the 51. He changed his mind, obviously, but the seeds of doubt were planted, and we would be surprised if he didn’t reconsider things in season 12.

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The mandatory retirement age for a Chicago firefighter is 63 years old, so there will likely be some time dedicated to Mouch’s weariness on the job, and the hesitancy he might have putting his life on the line over and over again. The actor who plays Mouch, Christian Stolte, had fans worried when he seemingly posted a goodbye message to fans on Instagram, but there hasn’t been anything else to suggest that he will be walking away from the show.

All signs point to Mouch not only recovering, but remaining on as a cog in the 51 machine.

What did you think about the Chicago Fire season 11 finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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