“It’s a Very Singular Thing”: ‘Chicago Fire’s Dermot Mulroney Previews How Pascal Is Handling His Grief

Chicago Fire and the One Chicago universe at large is no stranger to dishing out heartbreaking moments. Keeping with established tradition, the acclaimed procedural drama in Season 13, Episode 15, “Too Close,” broke the hearts of viewers and Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney), as the show killed off his wife, Monica (KaDee Strickland). Since that devastating news rocked Firehouse 51, the show has been on a three-week hiatus which will end with the March 26 episode, “In the Rubble.” A previously released sneak peek finds Pascal in a dire emotional state, and understandably so, with the chief seeking someone to blame for Monica’s death.

Speaking in an interview with TV Insider, Mulroney previews how Pascal is handling the death of his wife, and the soul-shattering grief that has set in. Mulroney explains that while the chief does return to work, he is not handling his loss well. “Yeah, not well, I would say. He tries,” Mulroney previews. “He does return to work. You’d expect him to because he’s a true professional and born to do it. But yeah, he winds up making some bad decisions even and needs to kind of be reined in by his crew. So it’s an amazing depiction of traumatic grief at the workplace. Gosh, I hate to imagine — well, I did when I was shooting these scenes.”

Grief is a powerful emotion. While many might be living their lives thankfully devoid of that emotion. There are others who have to battle it on a daily basis. These people, who might very well be suffering in silence, were on Mulroney’s mind in his portrayal of Pascal’s loss. “Imagine how many people get a phone call like that or didn’t have to go to work the next day,” Mulroney adds. “The times that I’ve had to do that. It’s a very singular thing, so I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, but those of us who have this really, really feels real and it’s such a specific thing to portray. So thanks for asking.”

Grief is a Journey and Chief Pascal Has Only Just Begun

Season 13 of Chicago Fire returns with Episode 16 this Wednesday, and Firehouse 51 will not be an entirely tranquil place to be. Despite the loss of his spouse, Chief Pascal has returned to work, and his crew do not exactly know how to handle him, when his decisions being to falter, despite sympathizing with him. Chicago Fire‘s showrunner Andrea Newman describes grief as a journey, and Mulroney reveals to TV Insider that Pascal’s journey is only just beginning. He adds:

“Pascal does okay, not great, and the rest of the season is yet unknown to me, so hang in there with him. Yeah, he’s got whatever the stages of grief, he’s not very far along. I think he’s kind of stuck up on anger and can’t get past that right away.”

Tune in to NBC on Wednesday, March 26, to watch “In the Rubble” and see how Pascal begins to handle his grief. Catch up on Peacock before new episodes return.