Chicago Fire season 14, episode 11 might have brought back a familiar face with the return of Jake Lockett’s Sam Carver, but the episode also managed to casually leave a few notable characters on the sideline in the process. Fans were quick to take notice of how several characters were randomly missing in episode 11, “Frostbite Blue,” without any proper explanation provided as to their whereabouts.
The most glaring absence from the episode was the lack of a presence from Squad 3 with no signs of Cruz, Capp, or Tony in the episode. The only main member of Squad 3 who was featured in the episode was Severide, but he spent the episode chasing leads for Van Meter, rather than being involved in the storylines unfolding at Firehouse 51. Also missing in action was Chief Pascal, who failed to appear in the episode, with no mention of what he was up to this week.
It was definitely a jarring creative decision that created some confusion and concern among viewers, who took to social media to question what had happened to the various characters. Unfortunately, there really aren’t any answers to be had as the show failed to give us an official update on the characters’ whereabouts within the episode.
This is sadly a common occurrence for the show, one that has been created by the current television landscape. In order to keep production costs down, series regulars appear in fewer episodes each season.
Sometimes, when a character like Cruz or Pascal is not in an episode, the writers will find a way to quickly address their absence.
Take, for example, how in the winter premiere, Kidd quickly informed Severide that Cruz was on vacation for an anniversary trip. It was a quick line that worked in the context of the scene, but also helped to serve a purpose of informing the audience that Cruz was out of town and why we did not see the character in the episode. We’ve seen a similar approach with Chief Pascal at various points this season, such as when it was explained he was away working out of a different firehouse as a result of the CFD layoffs.
Other times, such as in episode 11, the show simply writes the characters out for the episode and fails to address the absence. Sometimes this works as there is so much going on in an episode that fans fail to realize a character was missing in the chaos of it all. Others times, like in this instance, it’s a glaring omission that creates confusion among viewers and questions about where the characters are.
The good news is that we will be seeing Cruz and Pascal back next week, as both characters were heavily featured in the promo for the February 4 episode. It’s also likely Capp and Tony will return in episode 12, though their return has not yet been confirmed via the promotional materials.