For the first time in 12 seasons, Squad 3 is going to be welcoming a new member to its rankings, though its newest addition is not someone new to the Firehouse 51 family.
Warning, there are spoilers ahead, so if you don’t want to spoil the identity of Cruz’s replacement, this is where you might want to leave us.
From the moment it was revealed in the Chicago Fire season 15 premiere that Cruz would be unable to return to work as a firefighter following his injury on the job, fans have been eager to know how the show would address the sudden vacancy on Squad 3. Through the first several episodes of the season, the topic has somehow not come up on the show with Squad 3 operating with a three-man team comprised of Severide, Capp, and Tony. Knowing that Cruz won’t be coming back and that Joe Minoso’s time on the show will come to a close, at least for now, in the 300th episode, we had accepted that Cruz would eventually be replaced. The question then became who would take the spot.
Last week, Chicago Fire showrunner Victor Teran confirmed that the show would be replacing Cruz on Squad 3 and teased that it would be a “cool and surprising” pick. Well, that promise has certainly been fulfilled, as the show will not be bringing in a new character to take the vacant spot on Squad 3 and instead will be promoting from within Firehouse 51, though the firefighter taking the spot might surprise some.
Rather than bringing in a new character to take over Cruz’s place on Squad 3, it seems that Chicago Fire will promote from within and will be adding a fresh-faced member of the CFD to the team. For the first time in the show’s history, we’re going to see a candidate firefighter called up to Squad 3, with Da’Vinchi’s Marcus Burke securing a place on the elite unit after his rotation at Firehouse 51 comes to an end.
In a series of newly released photos taken from the set, Da’Vinchi poses alongside his co-stars Brandon Larracuente and Miranda Rae Mayo with a pair of fans outside the firehouse used as the backdrop for Firehouse 51, but it was not a candidate shirt he was sporting this time. Instead, Da’Vinchi is seen wearing a CFD-issued jacket adorned with “Squad 3” and the Squad 3 logo, a jacket his character would only be wearing as a member of Squad 3, thus confirming he’ll be called up to join the team in the episodes ahead.
Burke joining Squad 3 is certainly unexpected, as we’ve never seen a character join Squad 3 fresh out of the academy, but there is clearly something Severide sees in Burke that convinces him to give him Cruz’s place on the team. It’s going to be fun to get to see how Severide adapts to having such a green addition on his team, and we’re sure there are going to be ups and downs as Burke settles in on Squad, but it’s going to be fun to see what storylines come from these new dynamics. It’s also nice to see that Cruz’s place is going to someone that we’ll have already had time to get to know rather than someone new.
The fun thing about putting Burke on Squad is that it will also allow the show to really tap into those throwback dynamics between Casey and Severide when there was a friendly rivalry between Truck and Squad. This is something we’ve already seen explored via Vasquez and Burke, with the pair not seeing eye to eye and butting heads on calls.
Now that they’ll be working on rival units within the firehouse, we’re sure the show is going to have some fun with that dynamic, and we’re excited to see what they come up with! In fact, we’re sure Vasquez is going to have some thoughts on Burke landing that role on Squad 3 when the time comes.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC!
Add us as a preferred source on Google