It was not a fun week to Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso). The character was thrust back into the Chicago Fire spotlight in the worst possible way. It’s been a joy to watch Cruz blossom into a family man over the last two seasons, but the episode “The Wrong Guy” threw his future as a parent AND as a husband into question. How? well, true to the title, the “wrong guy” enters his life.
Cruz was approached by Denis, the biological uncle of his adopted son, Javi. The man spends some time getting to know Cruz, and the two men get along fine at first, but the longer the episode wears on, the more evident it becomes that Denis has an ulterior motive. He decides that he wants to take over parental duties for Javi, despite the fact that the boy is happy with the Cruz family.
Cruz tries to make this clear, but Denis AND the social worker that Denis has enlisted play dirty pool. They actually go as far as to blackmail Cruz for $50K, otherwise they will see to it that Javi gets taken away from him. It’s a nightmare situation, and one that visibly upset Cruz throughout “The Wrong Guy.”
Thankfully, Cruz is able to outsmart Denis and ensure that his family remains intact. Not only was Denis NOT Javi’s uncle, he wasn’t even related to the kid! This is not really going to be an episode that’s fun to rewatch, given how emotional the stakes are and how fragile the fan favorite Cruz appears, but it will prove to be an important pivot point for season 12.
Cruz may have have kept his family intact, but we know from the synopsis of the upcoming episode, “Under Pressure.” The episode will focus on Firehouse 51 as an ensemble, but the underlining conflict of the episode will be the marital struggles between Cruz and his wife, Chloe (Kristen Gutoskie).
Cruz definitely deserves a break. He’s been forced to deal with personal and professional setbacks throughout season 12, so we’re going to keep our fingers crossed that he ends the season on a high note!
