‘Chicago Fire’ Fans Are Livid Over the Premiere
If you were upset when Severide’s dad died on Chicago Fire, you better grab some tissues.
The season 8 premiere of the NBC drama aired on Wednesday night and gave fans some answers after the dramatic season 7 cliffhanger that left most of Firehouse 51 in serious danger. The mattress factory blaze shown in the finale was finally extinguished—but not before it claimed one of Chicago Fire’s original characters.
Brian “Otis” Zvonecek suffered severe burns while battling the fire caused by an equipment explosion at the factory. The premiere revealed that he was unable to make it to safety with the rest of the crew, but managed to send out a distress call before falling unconscious. Cruz (Joe Minoso)—his roommate, best friend, and colleague—was the one who found Otis’s charred body and rushed him to the hospital, but he didn’t survive.
Surprisingly, the most gut-wrenching moment of the episode actually happened before the beloved firefighter died. Recognizing his friend’s fate, Cruz asked Otis to save a spot for him in heaven. Otis regained consciousness long enough to speak his final words in Russian: “Brother, I will be with you, always.”
Do you need a moment to collect yourself? Because same, along with the rest of the Chicago Fire fans in the world who are “heartbroken.”
Yuriy Sardarov, the actor who has played Otis since Chicago Fire first premiered in 2012, took to Instagram to address his departure from the series and share a touching farewell to his character.
“Thank you for the greatest 7 years of my life” Yuriy wrote alongside a poem he wrote in Otis’s honor.
