Going into Chicago Fire season 15, we knew that Joe Minoso would be leaving the series. The actor, who has been a member of the cast since the first season as Joe Cruz, was announced to be departing the show following the conclusion of season 14, leaving fans to wonder whether Cruz would be killed off in the warehouse fire cliffhanger that left the team in danger.
Before Chicago Fire season 15 premiered, fans began to piece together the actual path ahead for Cruz's sendoff, which didn't seem to include a tragic death but rather a celebration in the show's 300th episode. After all, killing off a character that fans have loved for 14 seasons and counting wouldn't sit right or feel like the right move. Well, what's actually happening isn't much better.
In the Chicago Fire season 15 premiere episode, the series revealed Cruz's fate. While he survived the warehouse fire, he ended up risking his life to save others trapped inside the building, resulting in him sustaining a serious injury. The victims he attempted to save didn't make it after he broke the wall, causing the collapse that ultimately left Cruz paralyzed and in hot water.
After the dust has settled with the warehouse fire, the Chicago Fire Department goes under the microscope in the investigation about what went wrong and what caused the deaths of the civilians. Right away, Cruz appears to be taking the brunt of the blame for breaking the wall that seemingly created the collapse. For much of the premiere, it's not looking good for Cruz.
Knowing that Minoso will be leaving Chicago Fire and the season 15 premiere was beginning to set up the on-ramp for his departure, the twists that were thrown at our feet left a strange taste in our mouths. Cruz has already been given an incredibly emotional exit storyline, between being accused of causing the deaths of two people and becoming paralyzed during a dangerous call.
It's hard to watch a long-time character sustain this kind of injury, much less receiving such an injury mere episodes before they're set to be written out of the show. The premiere episode doesn't leave Cruz with much hope for the future, even after Severide cleared his name of any wrongdoing in the warehouse fire and the fact that he and his wife are expecting twins.
Cruz might not have caused the deaths of those civilians, as the fire caused the collapse not Cruz breaking down the wall as had been previously posited, but there's still a big "but." Even with his name cleared, Cruz's health will keep him from working as a firefighter ever again. Preliminary results from MRI testing suggests that with only a sliver of healthy tissue, his mobility could be limited.
Of course, we still have plenty more episodes with Cruz for things to change. If the 300th episode is his last, there are four more episodes for Cruz's condition to impove. He could possibly even be walking again before the last time we see him and leaving firefighting could be his own choice, not one that was made for him but an unfortunate twist of fate.
However, none of this changes the fact that Cruz has been given one of Chicago Fire's most poignant but polarizing exits in the show's history. A potentially career-ending injury on top of a nearly career-ending accusation is a double whammy we couldn't have seen coming for the character. There's no doubt that no matter how Cruz's story turns out, there won't be a dry eye in the firehouse.
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