Okay, Chicago Fire fans, it might officially be time to worry about Joe Cruz.
From the moment word broke that Joe Minoso would be leaving Chicago Fire at the top of season 15, fans have been worried about what his exit might mean for Cruz. Like the majority of the show’s core characters, Cruz’s life was left up in the air after the events of the season 14 finale, which saw Cruz trapped alongside Tony, Capp, Severide, and Mouch inside a burning building as the roof seemed to come caving in.
When it was announced that Minoso was leaving the show, many fans went right to the worst-case scenario, fearing that news of his exit meant Cruz would perish in the fire. However, then reports began to emerge that suggested Minoso would appear in a few episodes to wrap up Cruz’s storyline. These reports seemed to hint that he would not die in the fire but perhaps would be injured and forced to retire or choose to leave the CFD after his latest brush with death.
This theory was further supported by photos from the set in which Minoso posed with fans outside of Firehouse 51 wearing civilian clothes rather than his Firehouse 51 uniform. Given everyone else from the fire was seen on set wearing their Firehouse 51 uniforms, it seemed like a reasonable assumption to make given Minoso was the only one not in his CFD uniform.
Knowing that Minoso is set to exit the show, it honestly would make sense if the writers chose to have Cruz sustain an injury during the fire, which could be used as the catalyst for his exit. It would also make sense for him not to be in uniform if Cruz had made the decision to leave the CFD and was perhaps at the firehouse to bid farewell to his Firehouse 51 family before leaving town. It’s hard enough losing Cruz, but it lessened the sting to think that the door would be left open for him to return down the line.
There is still a chance that this could be the case, but a new set photo shared by cinematographer Nenad Simic has fans fearing the worst.
“Fresh off the burn stage. Joe Cruz coming in hot,” Simic remarked in the post shared to his Instagram Stories in which he poses with Minoso on the set of season 15. The tease alone is not of concern; it's the state Cruz seems to be in.
As seen in the photo below, Cruz is in rough shape. His turnout gear is visibly dirty and soot-stained, and his face is marked with fresh injuries with blood around his mouth and on his forehead, suggesting he’s sustained some notable injuries.
Now, of course, this doesn’t immediately mean that Cruz is doomed, but it certainly seems to confirm that he’s going to at the very least sustain some serious injuries during season 14 finale fire. Hopefully, the blood on Cruz in the photo is just from minor injuries sustained when the explosion went off and caused the roof to collapse. However, the photo definitely gives us added cause to be concerned for Cruz’s life heading into the season 15 premiere.
It’s going to be hard enough to lose Cruz, and we’re really hoping the show won’t opt to kill his character off as part of his exit storyline. We can accept having to bid farewell to Minoso due to budget cuts, but losing Cruz would be gut-wrenching.
We’ll find out what the writers have in store for Cruz when Chicago Fire season 15 premieres at 9/8c on Wednesday, October 7, on NBC!
Add us as a preferred source on Google