After watching Chicago Fire season 14, episode 15, I’m officially afraid that Chicago Fire is about to write out yet another key character. And I’m certain that I am not the only fan who has this fear.
Across the episode, we see Vasquez and Kidd teaming up to solve the mystery surrounding a suspicious car accident they responded to early in the episode. When they arrived on the scene, there was only one individual in the vehicle; however, Vasquez was quick to notice subtle signs on the scene that suggested there was another person present at the time of the accident.
His suspicions would prove correct as he and Kidd came to discover that there was indeed another person in the car, who had fled the scene out of fear that the accident would take away her dream of attending a prestigious school. The conversation weighed heavily on Vasquez as he admitted to Kidd that the girl reminded him of his younger self, as he spent his whole life dreaming of becoming a cop only for a twist of fate to take that dream away. He even goes as far as to say he would have killed for a second chance, hinting that perhaps he still has dreams of becoming a cop.
Later, they come to find out that they were wrong about the girl, as she had been lying the entire time, but the storyline led to an unexpected conversation in which Kidd reminded Vasquez that it’s not too late for him to join the police academy, as he clearly has the skills to be a great cop. In the moment, Vasquez thanked her for the kind words but assured her he’s a firefighter now and that’s where he’s meant to be.
If the storyline had ended there, it would have felt like him putting the idea of becoming a cop to bed. However, it did not end there.
As the episode came to an end, Vasquez decided to skip meeting up with the rest of the team at Molly’s and instead head to the gun range. After firing off a series of shots at the silhouette target, he packed up his gun and prepared to leave. As he turned to leave, he saw a large poster about joining the police academy, which gave him a moment of pause as the episode concluded.
The closing scene seemed to hint that perhaps Vasquez hasn’t truly given up on his dreams of becoming a cop and that it’s still something he hopes to pursue. While he might have told Kidd he’s where he’s meant to be, I can’t help but worry he’s going to walk away from 51 at the end of the season to enroll in the police academy.
If that storyline indeed comes to fruition, this would likely lead to his exit from the show, as there would be no point in keeping the character around full-time if he’s no longer a firefighter. Of course, it would be fun to see Vasquez potentially moved over to Chicago PD, but we’re not quite sure the show would look to bring him into the mix, as we’ve already explored a similar storyline of a rookie being fresh out of the academy and joining the unit via Torres. That’s not to say it’s not a possibility; it just seems unlikely.
We’ve got a handful of episodes still coming our way this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if the show continues to drop subtle hints about Vasquez leaving the CFD to become a cop. Vasquez has been a great addition to Chicago Fire, and it feels like he’s just hitting his stride, so let’s hope his journey isn’t cut short with the writers deciding to have the character leave the CFD by the end of season 14.