Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) was minding his own business. The character is married with two kids, and he has not be the instigator behind trouble at least a handful of seasons. Unfortunately, a past decision has come back to haunt to the Chicago Fire fan favorite.
The season 13 winter premiere saw Cruz make some of the worst decisions of his career. He not only stole equipment from his firehouse, but he helped an ex convict break into a property and attempt to commit theft. Things went even worse when they got inside. A firefight broke out, and Cruz was hit in the arm.
Joe Cruz is in a very dangerous position
The episode ended with Cruz crying and bleeding in his career. It's a low point, professionally and personally, and it spells out disaster for the character moving forward. Chicago Fire can sometimes hand wave issues that would otherwise seem very bad, and save its characters from repercussions, but that will not be the case here with Cruz.
Joe Minoso recently spoke to Us Weekly about the winter premiere, and he confirmed that the fallout of his character's decisions will be felt for the rest of the season. "[Cruz] will not unscathed," the actor stated. "It's gonna be a hard road to navigate for Cruz especially with Severide and Pascal watching."
Minoso pointed out that both Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) will be working close with Cruz to figure out what happened to the stolen equipment, especially since it was involved in a shooting. He will have to avoid giving away his involvement while maintaining his friendship with Severide and his still forming first impression on Pascal.
He's worried about betraying Severide's trust
The actor admitted that his character has not done a particularly good job of either in light of the disastrous events of the winter premiere. He claimed Cruz will become paranoid about the way that Severide and the rest of his firefighting peers perceive him as the investigation unfolds. Especially if the truth comes to light.
Pascal, on the other hand, is the man to impress. He's Cruz's new boss, and the the character feels as though he's really dropped the ball thus far. Stealing equipment and attempting to commit a robbery will do that. “[This] is a really bad first impression," Minoso admitted. "So we’re hoping that we can figure out a way to get to a better place with Pascal after the end of this whole story line."
We wish all the luck to Cruz, because he's going to need it moving forward.