Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) has been the central focus of Chicago Fire over the last few episodes. It's easy to see why. The character has broken lots of rules, dating back to season one, and his past caught up with him in a big way.
Cruz was able to come clean about his mistakes with minimal punishment. Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) gave him a slap on the wrist, aka two week suspension without pay. The peace that's been made with 51 superiors does not mean that Cruz is out of the woods, though.
Leon Cruz will play a big role in season 13
There's still going to be personal repercussions for what happened between him and former Insane Kings members Flaco (Jose Antonio Garcia) and Junior (Rafael Cabral). This will be most evident in the relationship between Cruz and his little brother, Leon (Jeff Lima).
Cruz's decision to let Flaco die in a building fire in season one was born out of a desire to keep Leon safe. It worked, and the younger Cruz was able to walk away from the gang lifestyle, but Junior being in the picture meant the old problems resurfaced.
Cruz has always done what he needed to do to protect Leon. Joe Minoso suggested that roles will be reversed, however, in upcoming season 13 episodes. For starters, he told CBR that Leon is going to play an important role in the second half of the season. The part that has us fascinated, though, is when the actor alluded to Leon stepping up to support Cruz.
The brothers will grow closer after the Junior incident
"We will get to see Leon again, Jeff Lima again, and I think it'll end up being a situation that's more of a role reversal," the star explained. "Leon has leaned on Cruz so heavily for so long, and we might find a little bit of that going the opposite way this time."
It'll be nice to see, and it'll be necessary. Cruz and his brother have already had an imbalanced dynamic as a result of the Insane Kings situation, but Leon stepping up suggests a maturity that he has previously been incapable of. We could be looking at a sibling relationship that finally reaches a semblance of balance, in which both men support and look out for each other.
It would be a wonderful capper to a storyline that has easily been the most tense and dangerous to involve Cruz in years. Getting a better relationship with his brother would be an unexpected but very welcome silver lining.