The following post contains spoilers for Episode 300 of “Chicago Fire.”
Joe Cruz’s temporary absence from Firehouse 51 just became a lot more permanent.
As NBC’s “Chicago Fire” ushered in its milestone 300th episode on Wednesday, it also said a heartfelt farewell to original cast member Joe Miñoso, who has played Cruz since the first responder drama’s pilot episode. Miñoso’s departure from the cast was first reported over the summer, and Season 15 has put Cruz’s exit in motion by sidelining him with a major on-the-job injury that has called his future as a firefighter into question.
During Wednesday’s momentous hour — appropriately titled “Three Hundred” — Cruz’s many hours in physical therapy pay off hugely: He starts walking hundreds of steps at a time again, and he’s even on the precipice of returning to work at the firehouse, pending an occupational health evaluation. But Cruz can see how overwhelmed his wife, Chloe, is feeling at the prospect of losing his help around the house right when she’s about to deliver twins; the twins then arrive early (and healthy!) during the episode, and the entire Cruz family is visibly bummed by the thought of their patriarch going back to work. (“Why can’t somebody else’s dad do it?” Cruz’s younger son asks. Soul-crushing!)
Cruz later goes to Severide (Taylor Kinney) and tells him that he’s not coming back to Firehouse 51, after all: Everything is different now that the twins are here — including Cruz’s motivations for making a full physical recovery — and the family is relocating to the Minneapolis area, where Chloe’s parents can help with the new babies and Cruz can get even better care at a local recovery center. Severide tries to change his friend’s mind, but there’s no persuading Cruz to stay. “You taught me everything I know,” Cruz tells Severide. “You’ll teach the new guy, too.”
But Cruz’s fellow firefighters make sure he knows how much he’ll be missed on Rescue Squad 3, and Cruz has a sentimental moment at Otis’ memorial site before he leaves for good. “I’ll be with you always, brother,” Cruz tells his fallen friend, before taking one last photo in uniform with the other members of his squad.
Below, Miñoso — one of only four original cast members who remained on “Chicago Fire,” along with Kinney, David Eigenberg (Herrmann), and Christian Stolte (Mouch) — unpacks his exit for TVLine, including why he understood the creative choice behind his character’s departure.
Season 15 felt like ‘the right time’ to say goodbye to Cruz
TVLINE | Walk me through how your departure came about. Had you gone to the producers and said you were ready to leave? Or did you learn that this is where the show was going, creatively?
The latter. But I will say, at the same time, there was something in me that felt it was time to move on. We had done so much with the character. I remember thinking about it a lot midseason [during Season 14], just because we had explored so much. And when we got the twins storyline, I was like, “This feels like the right time.” So the news came my way, but I understood it, and they were so gracious. And literally on the heels of that, I got asked if I was interested in still directing [episodes of the show], so it was real whiplash. And since then, it’s been a journey into the world of this show in a really different way. I’ve had the great pleasure of shadowing a bunch of really amazing directors, and seeing what they do in that front office, which we don’t get to see enough as performers. Those people are working their butts off so much every day, and it gave me more joy toward the process.
TVLINE | You ended up getting a multi-episode sendoff arc, rather than being killed off in the premiere or abruptly leaving offscreen. What were your feelings on how Cruz’s exit was handled?
I loved it. In general, it was such a wonderful process working with Victor [Teran]. As soon as he took on the mantle of showrunner, he reached out to me and was very open about wanting to talk about our ideas for the show. They even took a couple of my ideas, which I’m incredibly grateful for. But I thought it was wonderful. We really haven’t had the opportunity so much to see the dark soul moment for a character on this show, and seeing whether or not he can bring himself out of it. What’s beautiful about it is of course it’s all tied into the firehouse family and the hope that they bring him. I considered it an honor and a joy, and I thank them for trusting me with the material. That was some really intense stuff that they gave me to do, and I love them for it.
Cruz’s death was originally an option for his exit storyline
TVLINE | I spoke to Victor at the start of the season, and he said that he and the writers considered a death for Cruz, but ultimately felt that would be “a little cruel” to both Cruz and the audience. Did you also feel that way? Would death have been a disservice to the character?
A lot of that is hard to pin down, because it would depend on how they navigated the story. There was some discussion about the death not happening until the fifth episode, and everything else being a flashback kind of thing. But that’s the beauty of what we do; there are so many ways to bring you in closer to the characters you already love, and have them go through something that you can relate to. I don’t know if it would have been a disservice necessarily, but I do believe what they built was a great service to the character. It allowed him to live through a pretty trying experience, but we never lost sight of just how strong he really is and what he’s capable of. At the end of the day, we learned that he just needed the right push from his people. Eventually, you see him get there, and it’s a really touching, beautiful exit. I’m so proud to have it.
TVLINE | I liked that Cruz and Herrmann got some closure, especially after their conversation in the premiere where Herrmann is feeling guilty about what happened to Cruz, and Cruz doesn’t go out of his way to absolve him of that guilt. Do you think Cruz felt any resentment toward his friend during all of this?
By the exit, he’s let go of a lot of that resentment, but in the journey there, yes, absolutely. Hurt people hurt people, and to [the writers’] credit, they didn’t shy away from that. There was definitely some resentment, and on some level, it wasn’t unearned, right? When you’re somebody who relies on his body, day in and day out, for your livelihood — and, in some ways, your identity in general — to lose that ability is literally like losing full control of yourself. You’re not able to contribute, and Cruz is all about, “How can I contribute?” For him to not be able to have that was insanely difficult, and we got to see that, especially in Episode 3. It was perfectly put by the writers: There’s a difference between giving up and accepting something, and that’s where his mind was at in the moment. He lashed out, for sure.
Miñoso ‘was crying for a week straight’ while filming his final episode
TVLINE | You had some really sweet goodbye scenes in this episode, with Severide and with Otis’ memorial. Were there any emotional moments on set while you were filming?
All of them. [Laughs] Yeah, all of them. I was crying for a week straight. And I thought I got a lot of that out of my system during the hiatus, but no, it was highly emotional. I actually told the director, when we were filming the scene with Otis’ memorial — that was a scene I actually suggested — and I said, “I want it to be hopeful, and I don’t want to be emotional here, but I don’t know that I can get through a take without crying.” [Laughs]
And then the scene with Taylor [Kinney, who plays Severide] — that was the last thing we shot. Funny story about that, actually. My wife, who was a former makeup artist on this show, came out, and she hadn’t been on set in years, but she came for my last scene. And in the very last take of coverage, when we’re in this really emotional moment, I hear a big bang in the background. And we’re professionals, we get through it, we make it happen. But I then learned from my wife that she had dropped her phone in the middle of the take, and that’s what I heard. [Laughs] It all felt very perfect. … These people are the greatest human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. They’re my family forever, and I so look forward to whatever they do in the future, and hopefully to doing more with them in the future.
TVLINE | Have there been any conversations about you popping back up on screen?
Not yet. It’s definitely out in the ether, but nothing specific.
Your turn, “Chicago Fire” fans! What did you think of Cruz’s swan song, and of Episode 300 in general? Grade it in our poll below, then hit the comments with your full reactions!
