Change is in the air at Firehouse 51. Already this season we’ve seen Severide officially promoted to captain, bid an official farewell to former chief Dom Pascal, watched as a handful of new CFD chiefs have popped up, and welcomed a batch of new firefighter candidates to the 51 team to train under Kidd. Of course, there has also been a change in the lineup of Squad 3, with the team down a man following Joe Cruz’s injury at the warehouse fire, which has left him sidelined and fighting to regain the ability to use his legs.
While we’re optimistic about Cruz’s recovery, we know that there is sadly no way back to Squad 3 for him and that the show is gearing up to write the character out of the series timed to Joe Minoso’s exit. With Cruz’s time at Firehouse 51 coming to an end, Squad 3 is down to just three members, but the question has been whether it will remain this way or whether the show will introduce a proper replacement for Cruz on the elite team.
After months of speculation, it seems we finally have an answer, as Chicago Fire showrunner Victor Teran has confirmed to Us Weekly that the show will be addressing the vacancy created by Cruz’s departure.
“It’ll be cool and surprising,” Teran teased of how the show will address the vacancy on Squad 3, keeping details on how exactly the void will be filled under wraps.
Teran’s comments certainly leave us with even more questions, but we have to wonder if his tease that the vacancy will be filled in a cool and surprising way hints that perhaps Cruz will be replaced by a familiar face within the CFD.
Knowing that Squad 3 is an elite team, it would make sense for Severide to look to fill that spot with someone on the team who has already proven themselves and who has experience working alongside Capp and Tony. Firehouse 51’s current team is certainly a bit on the thin side at the moment, but could we perhaps see someone such as Vasquez or even a veteran like Herrmann make the jump to Squad 3? That would certainly be an interesting twist, and it could then allow one of the candidates, such as Burke, to fill their role at 51, giving the show an organic way to work him into the show.
Speaking of Burke, he is another prime candidate for the position. Typically, we’ve only seen veteran firefighters called up to work on Squad 3, which would make it interesting to see a character as green as Burke land the prime spot after he finishes his rotation at 51. It might be unlikely, but it would certainly be surprising and allow for some new storylines to be explored with Squad 3 working with such a fresh-faced firefighter.
There is also the question of whether we could perhaps see a familiar face return to fill the vacancy. There have been many characters who have left 51 in recent years, and this would be a fun way to bring back a familiar face from the past.
The list of characters we’d love to see return and join Squad 3 is endless, but one that would certainly be fun and expected would be Kylie, who could become the first woman to join Squad 3 in a move that would bring some representation and diversity to the unit. We’ve gone on such a journey with Kylie through the years from her early days in Girls on Fire to watching her flourish within the CFD, and it would be a welcome homecoming to see her join Squad 3.
Of course, there is also a good chance that the show might bring in someone entirely new to fill the vacancy. We haven’t heard any whispers of a major addition to the cast, but casting announcements can often be kept under wraps, and there is certainly a possibility the Chicago Fire writers might look to bring in a new face to shake things up.
Needless to say, there are definitely a lot of options on the table for how the show can fill the vacancy left by Cruz’s exit, and we’re certainly eager to see who ends up taking his place.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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