Chicago Fire's winter premiere is almost upon us, and with it the resolution to a major cliffhanger. Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) spent the bulk of the season 13 fall finale struggling to determine if someone was threatening him on the job.
There was a bullet left in his Firehouse 51 locker, and a climactic reveal in which a man named Junior Polanco (Richard Cabral) confronted him in a local church. Junior is the cousin of Flaco (Jose Antonio Garcia), a gang leader who threatened to kill Cruz's brother before he perished in a house fire.
Joe Cruz's past has come back to haunt him
Here's the thing, Cruz was on the scene during the fire, and purposely left Flaco to die. He knew that his brother would never be safe if Flaco was still alive, so he made an extreme, albeit understandable, decision.
Junior witnessed this act of neglect, however, and has returned to get revenge for his cousin. He has recently been released from prison, and the synopsis for the season 13 winter premiere, "A Favor," is going to focus on this concept of payback and retribution.
The first line in the synopsis confirms that Cruz's "past comes back to haunt him." It's the most action that the character has been involved in in quite some time. The last few seasons have seen Cruz take more of a domestic turn in terms of his subplots.
There's been family strife, marital problems, and even attempts on the part of outsiders to extort Cruz over his adopted son, Javi. He's at a different point in his life than he was during season 1, so its going to be fascinating to see how he contends with such a grave threat.
The character must protect his career and family
While it will undoubtedly be a stressful hour of television for Cruz, it's a welcome change of pace for the character. Nobody expected a subplot from season 1 to rear its ugly head, but it means he will be forced to turn his survival instinct back on and handle a situation that could very easily get ouf of hand if mishandled.
There's also the fact that Cruz avoided saving Junior's cousin. The character made a decision that, if proven by eyewitness testimony, could spell bad news for his career. He has a family to think of now, which means there is more on the line than ever in his dealings with Junior.
We're not sure how long the Cruz and Junior conflict will last, but we are absolutely here for it. "A Favor" airs Wednesday, January 8 on NBC.