The odds of Yuri Sardarov being one of the familiar faces popping up in the Chicago Fire 300th episode seem to keep increasing with each passing day.
In early September, One Chicago Center was first to report that Project Casting had posted a series of stand-in actor roles for a series of characters. Among them was a stand-in role for SI Otis, with a corresponding list of requirements, including an age range, height, and physical attributes that align directly with Yuriy Sardarov’s physical characteristics.
Just over a week later, Hanako Greensmith revealed that the 300th episode will be bringing back several adored characters who haven’t been seen on the show in a while. This seemed to further strengthen the theory that Chicago Fire would be bringing Sardarov back as Otis for the milestone episode, and our latest clue comes from Joe Minoso’s recent social media activity.
Timed to the reports of returning characters and speculation that we could be seeing Otis return for what will be Minoso’s last episode as Joe Cruz, Minoso has been posting fan-made edits celebrating the friendship of Cruz and Otis on a near-daily cadence. Minoso has been stirring the pot with the posts, conspicuously posting them on his Instagram Stories, such as the one seen in the screenshot below, without any context or explanation.
Considering the rumors of Sardarov’s return, we can’t shake the feeling that Minoso is pouring fuel on the fire and posting these fan edits of Otis and Cruz as a not-so-subtle way to confirm we’ll see the pair reunited somehow in Minoso’s final episode. After all, why would he suddenly begin sharing so many Otis and Cruz edits around the exact same time the show just happens to be filming its 300th episode?
Adding to this theory is the fact that the fan edits have been exclusively about Otis and Cruz. Minoso has not been posting random throwbacks from over the years of Cruz or of Cruz with other members of 51. No, these videos have all been about Otis and Cruz directly. This seems like Minoso’s indirect way of teasing something major is coming without confirming Sardarov’s return, which is something NBC likely is looking to keep under wraps so that the planned cameos in the 300th episode remain a surprise.
Of course, if Otis will be featured in the 300th episode via new scenes, we do have to wonder how the show would make that work given he was killed off in the season 8 premiere. The most likely scenario is that Otis will appear to Cruz via a dream, perhaps while Cruz is undergoing surgery, as we do know that Steven Weber is expected to guest star in the episode, hinting that the episode will include scenes at Chicago Med.
We’d love to see Otis serve as a spiritual guide of sorts, helping to encourage Cruz to keep fighting and make his way back to his family. That would be a fun way to bring the character back, though it could also be done via standard flashback sequences by tying events of the past to those of the present. Perhaps the team responds to an incident that reminds them of an incident they responded to in the past or is directly connected to a past incident, which allows the show to flash back and forth between past and present to weave the moments into the narrative in a way that allows for some familiar faces to pop up.
We’re definitely growing more and more excited to see what the writers have planned for the 300th episode and are more confident than ever that Sardarov will be passing through the Windy City this fall on Chicago Fire!
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