Herrmann has been MIA in the last two episodes of Chicago Fire, but we know when exactly he’ll be back — and there’s a major storyline ahead for him!

If you’re a die-hard Chicago Fire fan, you’ve likely been among those who have noticed that the last two episodes of NBC’s hit firefighter drama have been without a beloved member of the 51 family: Christopher Herrmann.

Herrmann was surprisingly missing in action in the sixth and seventh episodes of season 13, and his exit came without any explanation at all. There was no throwaway line explaining why Herrmann was missing such as him being out of town or taking furlough for some reason. Instead, he simply didn’t appear in the episodes and it was business as usual at 51 without any hint of something being up to explain why Herrmann wasn’t on shift.

As odd as it might be, this has become a new reality for shows such as the One Chicago dramas with series regulars not appearing in every episode of the season as part of cost-cutting measures. These measures have resulted in main members of the cast missing the occasional episode or two within the season, though typically we’ll get a a brief explanation of what the character is up to when they’re not on screen. That hasn’t been the case with Herrmann which has left some wondering what happened to 51’s loveable veteran.

While the writers failed to give us any backstory explaining where Herrmann has been, the good news is that we do know when he’ll be back and fans don’t have to wait long!

Although Herrmann did not appear in the promo for the upcoming fall finale, we can confirm Herrmann will be back in episode 8, “Quickstand.” Not only will Herrmann be back for the fall finale, but he’s going to be getting a major storyline in the episode which is sure to delight fans.

As the synopsis for the episode teases, “Herrmann and Mouch prepare to take their officer exams” in the fall finale meaning the day both men have been preparing for this season is finally upon us! What’s going to be interesting is to see whether we’ll find out whether the pair pass their exams before the episode ends or whether that might be part of a planned fall finale cliffhanger.

With the exams coming so early in the season, we have to wonder whether Pascal would hand over the keys to 51 should Herrmann pass his exam or whether Pascal might be sticking around, which could cause some potential problems for both Mouch and Herrmann who won’t be able to move up the ladder at 51 until Pascal steps away as the firehouse’s Chief.

We’ve loved having Chief Pascal around and he’s won us over, but we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’re excited to see Herrmann taking over as Chief and don’t exactly want to wait to see that day come – especially after we expected it happen at the top of the season after the season 12 finale hinted a promotion was coming.

Whatever the future holds, we’re just excited to know Herrmann will be back soon and are excited to see what’s next for him!

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and streaming on Peacock!