Chicago Fire has been on the air for 13 seasons, and its firefighters have been saving lives for even longer. Eventually, the notion of retirement is going to come up, but we did not expect it to rear its ugly head the way it did during the recent episode "Cut Me Open." Suddenly, the career of one of Fire's most liked characters is in jeopardy.
We're talking, of course, about Mouch (Christian Stolte). He was earmarked, alongside his buddy Mouch (David Eigenberg), as the firefighters most likely to be affected by the layoffs that are being put into play by the Chicago Fire Department. The performance efficiency expert who made this ruling noted that Mouch is nearing retirement age, which makes him easier to cut (in theory).
Mouch is on a shortlist of expendable 51 members
We are concerned. Herrmann has the benefit of being touted for a promotion, and we already know that the character is going to take the chief's exam thanks to the synopsis for the season 13 finale, but things are less clear for Mouch. Not only has the character butted heads with the current Chief, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney), but he is, unfortunately, getting older.
It would be easy to write off what the performance efficiency expert said about Mouch, but the truth of the matter is, the firefighter has entertained retirement before. Mouch considered retirement as far back as season 5, when he suffered a heart attack during a fire. He decided against it, naturally, but the idea has never fully left his mind.
Mouch flirted with retirement a few more times in season 11. In the episode "Something for the Pain," the character questioned whether he'd become irrelevant in comparison to his younger co-workers, and worried that he did not have the pedigree for a promotion. The season 11 finale brought about another health scare, as the character was wounded by shrapnel in the line of duty.
The character remains committed to his career
Once again, the character prevailed. After a six month recovery period, Mouch returned to 51 leaner and more energized than ever. He's been on this productivity kick ever since, but now that 51 is going to be forced to make personnel cuts, his future is uncertain. We don't want to see him go, especially since we already know that two other firefighters (Ritter and Carver, respectively) are leaving.
Mouch isn't getting any younger, and Chicago Fire can only delay the inevitable for so long when it comes to putting a man in his early 60s in the line of fire, but we remain hopeful that the franchise can figure out a way to transition the character to a new chapter without forcing him off the show. Fire has done it before, and can do it again.