It’s always hard to strike the right balance when introducing new characters, and Chicago Fire has usually found it.
Look at the way Dom Pascal and his wife Monica were introduced, with reveals still coming a season and a half later, and look at how we got to know Sylvie Brett and Stella Kidd.
Yet, Chicago Fire is running the risk of copying FBI: International’s fatal flaw with the introduction of Sal Vasquez.
FBI: International Forgot About the Fly Team
Throughout the first three seasons of FBI: International, we got to know the team’s various members.
Sure, some of them left, and new team members joined, but there was a split focus to get to know each and every one of them.
There would be an episode that was more heavily focused on Scott Forresters or Cameron Vo, for example, but the team would get time to shine throughout a season.
Then, FBI: International Season 4 happened, and we lost Luke Kleintank. That led to the introduction of Jesse Lee Soffer’s Wes Mitchell, and everything changed.
Suddenly, each major storyline was focused on him.
That made sense for the first two episodes of the season, as we needed to get to know him and his background to see why he was a good fit for the team.
It would have even made sense for another episode in the middle, especially with the way he ended things with his ex-girlfriend.
However, every episode became focused on Wes, and every other character was forgotten.
To make matters worse, FBI: International got canceled, and all that time wasted on Wes meant that the other characters didn’t get the closure they deserved.
Amanda was completely forgotten about, and Vo and Raines were left in limbo with who would get the promotion. I couldn’t even tell you the names of the support team working under Amanda now!
Smitty had a little time personally, but even her storyline was cut short in favor of all the attention on Wes.
Even the series finale was a letdown, given it was the Fly Team’s last chance to work together.
Only Wes went to Japan to continue the case that the entire Fly Team started, and it felt like a missed opportunity for the team to show off their skills one last time.
While Wes’s introduction and constant focus weren’t the main reason FBI: International was canceled, it wouldn’t have helped. Viewers were getting frustrated by the lack of time for the characters they had already come to know and love.
Now, Chicago Fire is running the risk of doing the same.
There’s More to Firehouse 51 Than the New Guy
From the very beginning of Chicago Fire Season 14, the focus was on Sal Vasquez joining Firehouse 51.
Pascal wasn’t given a choice about bringing him on, either. It came from someone above as a “favor,” though we haven’t quite gotten to the bottom of what that favor really meant.
From that point on, each episode featured a storyline that heavily involved Vasquez, almost always focusing on his backstory.
We got to meet his dad. We learned that Vasquez had originally been in the Police Academy before switching to the Fire Academy.
Now there is even a look at a potential romance with Violet, which continues to cement him as a major role in the series.
While it’s helpful to get to know him quickly, it’s coming at the expense of other characters.
We’ve had little time to really explore Stella and Severide’s current relationship, with just a momentary glance of them having issues before finding their way back to each other.
If this were earlier in the series, this sort of relationship drama would have taken up at least three or four episodes.
While it is a great sign that Stella and Severide have, it just shows that there isn’t enough time in the story to really flesh out the argument.
Herrmann’s storyline has taken up some time, but I feel like there could have been more about how the fire would have affected the entire firehouse, not just Herrmann.
We’re only just scratching the surface with Mouch moving to another firehouse, and there’s been minimal time on Violet’s new firefighter program since it was first mentioned — I expected to see her working with the firefighters in the field already!
Even Novak’s romance storyline has been cut short, and part of that is the problem with it being a cross-show romance. We’ve had to watch both Chicago Fire and Chicago Med to follow her budding relationship with Dr. Frost.
Instead, the episodes have focused on Vasquez and building up his character, and while that is important, it shouldn’t be at the expense of everyone else.
The good thing for Chicago Fire is that it is still one of the top-watched shows on NBC, but if it weren’t, too much time on the newbie could lead to issues for its future.
For the love of everything Chicago Fire, let us know your thoughts about Vasquez. Does he deserve the red carpet, or are you already sick of him being front and center?
