The 2025 One Chicago crossover starts with Chicago Fire when Firehouse 51 responds to a call downtown. As it turns out, what appears to be a regular emergency turns out to be far more complicated than they can handle. Aside from the ongoing danger posed by the building in question, there are already so many injured people who need medical attention. To make matters worse, the incident is apparently the result of a crime gone wrong. Suffice it to say, Chief Dom Pascal’s crew is in its A-game, although they could have used some assistance from a veteran member.
Cruz Is Absent In The 2025 One Chicago Crossover
Chief Pascal Suspended Cruz
Staging a One Chicago crossover is always tricky because the writers need to make sure that every show gets their respective time in the spotlight. While Chicago Fire dominates this year’s storytelling, it has some absences in its roster, but there’s one major character missing — Squad 3’s Joe Cruz. The veteran Firehouse 51 member is currently on a two-week suspension following his recent snafu, and as part of his punishment, he is shelved for a period. The 2025 One Chicago crossover fully forgets about Cruz, as his teammates take on a dangerous mission.
NBC Could Have Easily Included Cruz In The Chicago Crossover Without Changing His Story
Cruz’s Suspension Could Have Been Delayed
In terms of narrative, Chicago Fire properly justifies Cruz’s absence. Unlike him, Chief Wallace Boden’s replacement isn’t as understanding when it comes to the team’s transgressions, and that’s only fair. The issue comes from the way this is all setup. NBC and Wolf Entertainment could have easily delayed the fallout of Cruz’s B-plot until after the crossover so he could join. The character is one of the few original players who are still in the universe. It could have been much more special to see him beside Kelly Severide, especially as the Squad 3 leader deals with Stella Kidd’s predicament.
What makes this worse is that this is after Cruz had to give up his dream of moving up the ladder in the Fire Department. For context, he stepped up when Severide unexpectedly went on an OFI training camp that went longer than initially discussed. This resulted in an argument since Kidd’s husband didn’t even acknowledge the effort that his subordinate put on to cover for him. Cruz got so mad that he decided that he would take the lieutenant’s exam and move to a different firehouse. However, that storyline was eventually dropped, meaning Cruz is stuck in his position with the way One Chicago is currently set up.
