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Chicago Fire Season 15 premiere resolves warehouse-fire cliffhanger; Mulroney exits, Cruz injured

NBC's Chicago Fire returned for Season 15 and resolved last season's warehouse-fire cliffhanger. Dermot Mulroney's Chief Pascal made his final appearance, and Joe Cruz's exit storyline began.

3 outlets · 0L · 3C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Screen Rant
Image: TVLine
Image: Deadline

1 / 3

The story, neutrally told

Centre · 2NBC's Chicago Fire opened its fifteenth season on Wednesday, picking up after the Season 14 finale's structure-fire cliffhanger. Centre · 1According to TVLine, all members of Firehouse 51 survived the West Pershing warehouse fire, but Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso) stayed behind to help two civilians, a beam fell, both civilians died, and Cruz badly fractured his spine; MRI results suggest he will likely never fight fires again. Centre · 1Miñoso's departure was reported in July, and showrunner Victor Teran told TVLine that Cruz will grapple with the fallout for the first five episodes.

Centre · 2Dermot Mulroney made his final appearance as Battalion Chief Dom Pascal in the premiere; Deadline confirmed this, noting Mulroney's exit was reported at the end of July after two seasons. Centre · 1Teran said Pascal was meant to be closed out at the end of last season and was brought back to act as the conscience in Severide's head, urging him toward becoming a chief. Centre · 1Teran told Deadline that for the first time in 15 seasons there will be no Chief in the house and that Severide (Taylor Kinney) will lead; Deadline said Severide chose the Chief of Firehouse 51 job over an inspector job.

Centre · 1Other storylines include awkwardness between Novak and Vasquez after last season's romantic miscommunication, which Teran said will build for the first half of the season, a hint of interest between Novak and new probie Burke (Da'Vinchi), and the wrapping up of the Isaiah storyline, who now lives with his mother. Centre · 1Screen Rant's review was mixed: it said the premiere addressed viewers' burning questions quickly but not always the stories that mattered most, and that the new probies Burke and McCaffrey (Matthew Daddario) did not feel like a solid fit, while still calling the opener a "sizzling season opener" that could lead to an intriguing season. Centre · 1The outlets differ on one plot detail: Deadline says the team survived "mostly unscathed" and that Severide is helping Joe prove his innocence after accusations he played a role in the fire, which TVLine's account of Cruz's injury and exit does not mention.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre3 outlets

Framing
Entertainment trade and fan outlets treat the premiere as a cast-change story: a showrunner Q&A (TVLine), a departure explainer (Deadline) and an episode review (Screen Rant).
Emphasis
Departures of Mulroney and Miñoso, Severide's new leadership, new probies and Teran's comments.
Leaves out or plays down
Deadline omits Cruz's spinal injury; TVLine and Screen Rant omit Deadline's account of Joe being accused over the fire.
Charged language
“sizzling season opener”“Explosive Cliffhanger Resolution”
For example
“showrunner Victor Teran breaks down the Season 15 premiere for TVLine” — TVLine
“Chicago Fire season 15's premiere episode features the fallout of the tragic structure fire” — Screen Rant
“I can confirm Mulroney’s final episode was tonight’s premiere” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.