Heading into Chicago Fire season 14, episode 12, “Coming in Hot,” we knew that one member of Firehouse 51 would find themselves in harm’s way. What we did not expect was that the episode would end with a shocking death of an entirely different character.
After Tony was injured on the job, an investigation was launched into Chief Pascal’s actions on the call, with Deputy District Chief Cranston being assigned to oversee the case. Upon meeting Cranston, it was quickly revealed that he and Pascal shared a complicated history. We’d come to learn that the pair worked together and were quite close, but a wedge was driven between them after a call went wrong, leading to the death of a woman they failed to find in time.
The woman’s death was the reason Pascal left Chicago and moved to Miami to start fresh, as he was looking to put space between himself and the CFD and blamed himself for the woman’s death. Cranston tried to reach out to him after he left town, but Pascal iced him out, leading to their friendship dissolving.
Sadly, before the pair could fully mend fences, Cranston suffered a heart attack while on a call and died at the scene. The death came literally out of nowhere and was one of the more shocking deaths in recent years. It was also a death that wasn’t necessary and ended up squandering a character who had real potential.
Cranston’s death caught many by surprise, as it’s not often a new character with a shared history with a main character enters the mix, only to die in the same episode they were introduced. What is so frustrating is that this character was one who felt like they had such potential and could have played a key role in Pascal’s arc.
Yes, the show did an amazing job of using the limited screen time to provide audiences with a key piece of information about Pascal’s backstory that had been missing through Cranston’s arrival. However, by killing the character off so quickly, we lost yet another connection to Pascal’s life before he came to Firehouse 51. It’s almost as though every time we meet someone with a connection to Pascal’s early days, their story ends in tragedy.
It would have been nice to see the show give Pascal more space to work through his past trauma and reconnect with his former friend. This could have allowed the show to further explore Pascal’s origins, and it would have been nice for him to have a friend within the CFD to turn to as he continues to fight against the department’s ongoing budget cuts.
Beyond Pascal, we selfishly would have loved to see more of Max Martini on the show and for Cranston to become a recurring character. Martini is an incredible actor and we’ve missed having him on our screens in a regular capacity, so there is a part of us that wishes the writers hadn’t killed his character off so that the door remained open for Cranston to return. It also feels like he could have been the perfect person to replace Pascal in the weeks ahead, knowing that Pascal is about to be sidelined somehow, leading to a temporary replacement stepping in at Firehouse 51.
Although Cranston came in hot and grilled Pascal and Cruz about the incident, he was also fair and came through for Pascal in the end. This is the type of character we’d love to have seen replace Pascal, but instead it seems like the show is about to toss in a Chief who likes to throw their authority around. We love a villain, but after all that has been going down this season, we’re not sure if we’re ready for 51 to be taken over by a Chief who is difficult to work with… and honestly, that storyline has already been done.
It’s easy to forget that Pascal wasn’t exactly the easiest person to work with when he arrived at 51. It took him a bit of time to warm up to the team at 51, and for them to do the same. Pascal has since proven to be a strong defender of the men and women of 51, and we’ve come to really appreciate his unique leadership style.
We’d also have appreciated it if the writers hadn’t killed off Cranston and given the character the chance to play a bigger role. But hey, we’re grateful for the time we had with the character, and it’s a testament to the writers that his death left the mark it did on us given his limited role in the show.