Chicago Fire returned from its winter break on January 7 with an intense episode that saw Severide racing to find the individual responsible for setting the fire that left Van Meter in the hospital fighting for his life.
After learning that Severide had been taken to Med along with Van Meter, the 51 team quickly gathered at Med to show support. When the team came together, there was one member notably missing, as fans clocked that Cruz was not present at the hospital. It was odd to not see Cruz joining the rest of Squad 20 at the hospital to support Severide, and fans were quick to take notice.
We’d later find out that the reason Cruz did not join the rest of the team at the hospital was because he was out of town.
“Cruz just called checking on you, said he wanted to leave his anniversary weekend to come back,” Kidd informed Severide later in the episode.
“Tell him not to,” Severide responded, to which Kidd assured him she had already passed along that message.
The conversation quickly moved on as Severide raced into action after someone posted to the Facebook page at the heart of the investigation, and Cruz’s name did not come up further in the episode. Because of how quickly the conversation took place, some fans missed the fact that it was inserted to quickly explain Cruz’s absence – an absence connected to the ongoing cast reductions which result in series regulars missing a few episodes each season.
While it was unfortunate not to see Cruz present in the winter premiere and able to support his Lieutenant, the good news is that Cruz will be back in episode 9. Not only will he be back, but it seems Cruz will quickly step up to help his Lieutenant and friend!
The promo for the episode sees Cruz working alongside Severide chasing a lead in hopes of bringing the individual responsible for the fire to justice, and we can’t wait to see the pair teaming up to work the case! Given that Severide usually turns to Van Meter in instances such as this when he's stuck on a case, it's going to be really great seeing Cruz step up to be there for Severide.
We know that Severide won't rest until the person responsible for setting the fire that left Van Meter in the hospital fighting for his life is brought to justice. We also know that he's likely going to stop at nothing to achieve this, so here's hoping Cruz will not only be a shoulder for him to lean on but also a voice of reason that will stop Severide from doing anything he might later regret.