Chicago Fire went into the episode “Post Mortem” promising blood. It was heavily implied that 51 would be losing one of their own after a tragic accident occurs on the job. And it did, albeit, not in the way we expected. Nobody died in “Post Mortem,” contrary to its title. But we did see Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) nearly die after a building collapse left him with internal bleeding.
Damon’s identity is kept a secret for the majority of the episode, and even when its confirmed that he was the firefighter who sparked the entire 51 investigation, there’s uncertainty as to whether he will survive. Thankfully, he pulls through, and gets through his surgery intact. It’s possible that Damon will never put out another fire. Which leads us to ask: what has the point of his entire season 13 arc been?
Jack Damon nearly died on the job in “Post Mortem”
Damon was introduced at the tail end of Chicago Fire‘s 12 season. His obsession with Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) was confusing, but it was eventually revealed that he was the firefighter’s half-brother, and wanted to get to know him better. It seemed like he was going to be around for a long time, and then, he was written off the show in the third episode of season 13, “All Kinds of Crazy.”
Hey, we’ve seen new characters come and go, no big deal. Unfortunate, but no big deal. But Chicago Fire decided they wanted to bring Damon back in the episode “Bar Time.” Damon popped up, and he eventually made a plea to Severide to help him out with a tense situation at a nearby firehouse. Kelly Severide just that, and arranged for his little brother to return to 51.
Okay, we thought. Now Damon is going to be sticking around. Things got bumpy for a little beat, and he had a detour at another firehouse, but Damon is where he belongs, and he’s so committed that he actually put an end to a potential romance with medic Lizzie Novak (Jocelyn Hudon). Then, within the span of a single episode, his firefighting career has come to a halt.
Jack Damon’s future at 51 is now in question
Chicago Fire brought Damon back just to write him off even faster than they did the first time around, and it’s been baffling to watch play out. We seriously thought Damon was being positioned to assume the role that was left behind by Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer), but it looks like he may not even be here long enough to fill the Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) role.
There’s a chance Damon could return. At the end of “Post Mortem,” it’s noted that he has a chance to regain his 51 position if he manages to pass various department tests. He does, however, have some pretty serious lung damage after his ordeal.
We’ve seen a similar fate befall Jimmy Borelli (Steven R. McQueen) when he suffered injuries on the job. We wish we had gotten a chance to see more of Damon at 51, and we hope he returns in some form in the future. We’re curious how Novak is going to react when she learns what happens.
