NBC warned fans that the Chicago Fire season 14 finale would leave them breathless, and the ending of the episode most certainly took our breath away.
Throughout the finale, it was clear we were building up to a major moment as the episode cut back and forth between the present time and hours earlier. By the closing moments of the finale, we finally returned to the present day as 51 responded to a building fire and raced into action. As the clips from earlier in the episode indicated, the call quickly went south, and Pascal tried to order an evacuation from the building when it became apparent that the roof was going to collapse; however, the call came too late.
In the closing moments of the season, the building went up in flames, and the roof collapsed with Severide, Cruz, Mouch, Capp, and Tony all trapped inside. Meanwhile, as Truck 81’s members attempted to flee the roof and make their way down to the ground via the ladder, Kidd, Vasquez, Herrmann, and Ballard were caught in a blaze of fire, which engulfed them as the episode cut to black.
The finale was one that is sure to bring up memories of Chicago Fire season 2, which ended in a similar manner, with the fates of all of the show’s first responders up in the air. That finale ended up resulting in the death of paramedic Leslie Shay in the season 3 premiere, which is why fans are worried that someone could be leaving Chicago Fire after the explosive finale.
There is a very real reality in which at least one character will not survive the fire and perish in the season 15 premiere. The show has not killed off a core member of the team in a few years now, and we're due for a shocking and major death. Due to the nature of the finale, there are several characters whose futures are up in the air on Chicago Fire, but there are five characters we know for certain will be back next season!
Who is coming back for Chicago Fire season 15?
Let's start with the three characters who were not in the fire and therefore marked safe. Violet, Novak, and Pascal were all outside of the fire by Truck 81, which means that the trio are not in any danger following the explosion and roof collapse. Unless the show decides to throw a random curveball our way when the season arrives and we learn that one of the three characters were injured after the fact, all three should be back and aren't ones fans need to worry about.
Fans can also mark Severide and Kidd as safe. While Severide was inside the building when it collapsed and Kidd was among those on the ladder when the fireball engulfed them, the duo are not in any danger. This is evident in the fact that both Taylor Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo have inked new deals to return for season 15.
With Mayo and Kinney both signed on to return for season 15, this means that Severide and Kidd are not in any real danger and will survive the events of the finale. This is sure to be a major relief as the pair remain a central part of the show and are among the fans' favorite characters.
Who is in danger of leaving Chicago Fire?
Now that we've established that Kidd, Severide, Pascal, Novak, and Violet are all safe and will be back this leaves us with those in danger of leaving he show in season 15.
While we know that Kidd and Severide will both make it out of the fire, the same can not be said for those who were alongside them, which was pretty much everyone else in the ensemble. Mouch, Cruz, Capp, and Tony are all trapped in the building when the roof collapses, while Herrmann, Vasquez, and Ballad were all on the ladder with Kidd, attempting to make it down when the ball of fire engulfed them.
This essentially means that Herrmann, Cruz, Mouch, Capp, Tony, Ballard, and Vasquez are the characters in the most danger of actually leaving Chicago Fire as a result of this cliffhanger.
Of this group, we have to wonder if Chicago Fire might be about to kill off an original cast member with Herrmann, Mouch, and Cruz being in the most danger of the group. Heading into the finale, we speculated that Mouch could be in grave danger, and he remains at the top of our list for those we fear could be leaving the show.
Not since the death of Otis in season 8 has the show killed off a main character from the original ensemble, and it seems likely that the show is cooking up a major exit with this finale storyline.
Herrmann went through so much in season 14 with his family losing their home that we don't anticipate the writers would kill him off the show—especially as Herrmann remains a fan favorite character who is central to so many storylines.
Then we have Cruz, who learned in the finale that he's expecting twins. While the show could kill Cruz off and deal with the fallout of Chloe losing her husband before their twins arrive, it seems that the twins' storyline would give way to several fun storylines to be explored in season 15 as he adjusts to his family doubling. This also gives us another reason Herrmann would likely be safe, as the show could have some fun with Cruz turning to Herrmann for parenting advice as someone who knows how to run a household with more than three kids.
We do have Vasquez, but he's a new character that still has so much untapped potential, including unresolved ties to the ongoing love triangle with him, Violet, and Novak. That's a storyline we imagine the writers will want to continue to explore, so we can't see them killing the love triangle thread by killing Vasquez.
This leaves Ballard, Capp, and Tony. Killing any of these three characters would certainly be impactful, but not quite in the same way killing a bigger character such as Mouch would have. However, that could be why this trio would also make a perfect selection if the show wants to kill off a core member of 51 without losing a major player.
While Capp and Tony have been around since the beginning, they're often relegated to the background, which means their deaths would be impactful and rock the fandom but not exactly leave a major gap in the show's ensemble. Meanwhile, Ballard barely gets any screentime, so we haven't really gotten to know him much, making his death the one that would have the least impact.
Of the seven characters in jeopardy, there is really no telling who could truly be in danger of leaving, but at least we know there are five characters we can count on to return in season 15.
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