We already knew One Chicago was going to hurt us in their finales, but Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 21 “The Bad Guy” sets the stage for even more possible exits than the ones we already expected. The show had already announced that Jake Lockett, who plays Sam Carver, and Daniel Kyri, who plays Darren Ritter, are departing the show at the end of Season 13, but with budget cuts looming and Pascal in hot water, is Chicago Fire setting up not just two but four exits in the upcoming finale?
We already know Carver and Ritter will not be returning for Season 14. But the penultimate episode of the season makes it seem like they might not be the only ones exiting the show. And though we’ve suspected Dom Pascal‘s (Dermot Mulroney) anger and his need for revenge over the death of his wife Monica Pascal would be his undoing, it was still shocking to see him get taken in by police and paraded around like a suspect at the end of this episode, setting up a bittersweet exit in the finale.
Pascal seems like the easy pick for someone to exit the show, whether he is actually responsible for the death of the man who killed Monica or not. Dermot Mulroney’s character has certainly gotten better, but he was obviously trying to fill in very big shoes with Boden (Eamonn Walker), and he hasn’t really lived up to it. Of course, he still seems to have Severide on his side, and the rest of the Firehouse is now actually rooting for him, so perhaps the show doesn’t want to rock the boat that much?Which leaves us with another devastating exit possibility: Herrmann or Mouch. We already learned that older firefighters might be the first ones on the chopping block with upcoming budget cuts by the CFD. If Pascal turns out to be innocent and doesn’t leave, what does that mean for Herrmann and Mouch’s plans? Pascal was really supportive of Herrmann this episode, even giving him the letter of recommendation he needed to take the test, and suggesting that, due to his issues, he might need to take over sooner rather than later. But does Herrmann even want to become Chief? He’s hesitated at every chance he’s had, and it almost seems like he took the Captain’s test just because Mouch wanted him to.
But if he isn’t Captain, then what is he? And what happens to Mouch if he isn’t? He’ll be forced to go to another firehouse to be Lieutenant. So it seems like the answer is clear: we cannot keep Pascal, Herrman, and Mouch. One of the three has to go. Right now, Pascal seems like the most likely option, but he certainly isn’t the only one.
That makes it four characters the show might be losing in the final episode of the season, two of them confirmed. Pascal might be the one fans would pick if they had to choose who to lose, but that might just be the thing that saves him. It would just be too simple to write out Pascal. Which brings it back to Herrmann and Mouch. Both possibilities suck. And yet, Chicago Fire is known for taking big swings when it comes to character endings. This would be a pretty big and devastating swing indeed.
