From the moment NBC first aired the promo for the Chicago Fire season 14 finale, fans have been spiraling about the potential of losing a beloved member of the show’s ensemble. This isn’t just the fandom being overly dramatic; no, this fear is very justified, as the promo heavily implies that the team at 51 is about to find themselves in grave danger.
“The season finale event will leave you breathless,” the promo warns as it weaves together several clips of the various members of 51 responding to a building fire, which implies that something will go terribly wrong. There’s an explosion that shakes the ground beneath the feet of Kidd, Vasquez, and Herrmann; a moment in which a blaze of flames goes up in the face of one unidentified firefighter; shots of the team racing through the smoke as flames engulf the building; and a distress call from Herrmann over the radio shouting, “Mayday! Mayday!”
The promo closes with a shot of Violet, Novak, and Pascal standing outside by the rig with shocked faces as they look into the distance in what we can only assume is the direction of the building fire at the heart of the call. This seems to hint that the trio can be crossed off the list of those in danger, which leaves us to shift our attention to the other members of 51.
There is truly no telling who might be in danger in the finale, but there is one particular character whose fate we’re growing more and more worried about: Mouch.
There is a real chance Mouch could die in the Chicago Fire season 14 finale
Throughout the trailer we get glimpses of every key series regular character with the exception of Mouch, who fails to appear directly in any of the shots woven together in the promo. The fact that we don’t see him on the call is the first red flag, as the show has been known to use its promos to lead fans to make incorrect assumptions based on the content shown. Based on the trailer, our minds jump to characters such as Cruz, Vasquez, Kidd, and Herrmann, who are all featured prominently in the scenes connected to the fire. It’s easy to jump right to the conclusion that this is the group that is at the most risk, but the fact of the matter is that it’s often those not shown as being in danger who end up being at the most risk.
Take, for example, back in season 11 when the show killed off Evan Hawkins in the third episode of the season. Hawkins was not featured at all in the promo, suggesting it was a member of Firehouse 51 who wouldn’t survive the call, only for it to be Hawkins who arrived at the scene and died a hero’s death when he rushed into action to help someone in need. We had no idea that it would be Hawkins who would die in the episode, as he wasn’t even featured in the promo, which is why Mouch’s absence in the season 14 finale promo has us so worried.
We also have to question whether the recently introduced storyline in which Mouch has penned a memoir could be a foreshadowing that his story is coming to an end. The decision to write a book about his life felt like an unexpected storyline to toss in so late in the season, but have the writers simply been leaving us a breadcrumb trail the entire time? Might “Brothers-in-Arms” turn from a celebration of Mouch and Herrmann’s journey through the years into a farewell, one that ensures Mouch’s story continues to live on beyond his death?
It doesn’t help that Chicago Fire hasn’t had a major character death in quite some time now, and the show has a tendency to keep fans on their toes with a shocking death every few seasons.
Hopefully, we’re wrong and Mouch and the 51 team will all make it out of the finale unscathed. However, we just cannot shake the feeling that Chicago Fire might be about to bid farewell to a beloved original member of the cast via the season 14 finale.
We’ll find out when the finale arrives on May 13 at 9/8c on NBC.
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