Chicago Fire Review: Sacred Ground (Season 8 Episode 1)

If you’re feeling emotionally victimized by Chicago Fire right now, you’re not alone. I am too.

A lot of fans guessed that this premiere would reveal a casualty from that major cliffhanger at the end of Chicago Fire Season 7, but somehow, I didn’t think the casualty was going to hurt this much. (Major spoilers ahead, obviously.)

Chicago Fire Season 8 Episode 1, “Sacred Ground,” picks up where we left off during the mattress factory fire, with all of our firefighters and our paramedics in danger. As you’d expect, it’s an intense opening. It’s full of chaos, and we do see that boiler finally blow.

And not everyone makes it out okay. Honestly, I don’t think I’d respect the storytelling very much if they had. Everyone’s life was in danger at that cliffhanger, and we’ve seen these firefighters have a lot of close calls. In fact, more often than not, when things look grave, they make full recoveries and everything is fine and dandy.

Not this time.

It’s almost a split second, but we see our beloved Otis fall behind and get caught in the blast. It’s Cruz who finds him, and there’s little hope for him considering what we just saw happen. 

The firefighters get him on to the ambulance and Cruz rides with him. His injuries look terrible as it is, but then the paramedics open up his shirt and Cruz is horrified to see his friend so badly burned. 

It’s like something from a horror movie, and it’s one of many emotional moments for Cruz when he hangs his head and screams, knowing that there’s little chance his friend is going to be alright after this. 

The next several minutes of the episode remains dedicated to this, as is should. Everyone from the firehouse gathers at the hospital as we’ve seen them do so many times before. It’s a regular occurrence, but this time already feels particularly grim. 

What Chicago Fire does right with this, which it doesn’t always master, is to spend the time it needs on the character’s exit. Cruz’s goodbye to his dying friend is beautiful and painful and real. And I think we’ll all be haunted by seeing Otis die after uttering those final words.

It is, quite frankly, one of the most powerful scenes Chicago Fire has ever had.

Please buy me a new box of tissues, because I need some more. 

Otis’s final words aren’t just throw away words, either. He says a Russian phrase to Cruz before he takes his last breath. The audience is left to wonder what it means, and it turns out, Cruz doesn’t know either. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

We move on to a time jump, and that works well enough, though it’s too bad we don’t sit with Otis’s immediate death just a little longer before it happens. Sure, doing so would have meant the need for a few extra tissues, but I’d have traded the kid trapped in the prize machine for a few more Otis moments, personally.

Still, the jump serves to show how different things feel without Otis around and how much this loss is affecting everyone at the firehouse. The weight of it is heavy.

It’s obvious that Cruz is struggling with it, but the way he’s handling the loss is positive. He’s working on a fundraiser, he’s becoming more involved in his church, he’s still got Chloe. He’s solemn, but he’s moving forward in productive ways.

As for Casey, he’s carrying that heavy weight right on his shoulders. He’s been doing a lot of that lately.

Of course he feels responsible. He’s distraught over having brought in Brett and Foster and putting them in danger. He feels responsible for Brett’s injured arm (and holy hell, that injured arm is upsetting). And he feels responsible for losing a firefighter that day. 

He’s not — but it happened on his watch, and this loss is clearly taking a toll on him. Add to that, the whole thing is under investigation, which is honestly becoming a tired idea. At least this isn’t drawn out, and I love nothing more than a scene with Boden standing up and defending his team. 

Well, maybe I love one thing more. I love him supporting his team and honoring Otis.

Cruz opens up to Boden about the fear that Otis — or any of them after they die — will eventually be forgotten. They’d just be a picture on a wall, and no one would be there to actually remember them. Then he tells Boden about Otis’s last words and how he’s been afraid to look them up.

The episode ends with a scene that’s even more of a tearjerker than watching Otis die. Boden reveals a memorial to everyone at the firehouse, and he reveals to Joe that he looked up that phrase.

Brother, I will be with you always.

If that doesn’t sum up Chicago Fire as a whole, I don’t know what else does.

Cruz falls to his knees in front of the memorial in a way that feels involuntary, and yet another powerful moment from his character. I’m always blown away by how Joe Minoso is able to portray that kind of intense emotion. 

The whole thing is a lovely tribute to Otis, and I’d accept nothing less. This is really the biggest death we’ve seen on the show considering how long it’s run and the fact that he’s been a part of it since the beginning. 

I do have to complain about one unresolved issue that I wish had been addressed a long time ago. Otis was suffering from very real PTSD, but after being addressed, it was never something we returned to. I find it disappointing that we never got the chance to see that character development.

Otis has had so many close calls, though, and he always comes out okay. He’s such a sweet, fun character, that this stings. A lot. But it’s also beautiful how much attention is devoted to honoring him, and it was honestly time for someone from the main cast to die. (Yeah, I know that sounds heartless and I’m sorry.)

While the bulk of this episode is about Otis, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also spend some time talking about Brett’s storyline. 

Her injured arm, which again, is not as hard to watch as Otis’s burns, but still pretty gruesome, means she’s out of work for a few months. 

She’s also back in Fowlerton after agreeing to marry Kyle, and it’s… not good. For one thing, it’s basically too easy for her to get a job there once she’s recovered. And because it’s such a small town, she naturally runs into Hope at that firehouse. 

Remember Hope? Remember how she was the worst? 

Of course, she chastises Brett for being back in the small town of Fowlerton and being engaged “again.” But the fact is that Chicago isn’t too “fast” for Sylvie Brett. It’s quite the opposite.

And when Brett tells Kyle she’s not necessarily thrilled about that job at a quiet firehouse where Hope will be hanging around, he says something that makes it clear to me this relationship isn’t going to last.

He knows to be careful about how he says it, but still… he tells her she doesn’t have to work. She can instead be “a chaplain’s wife.”

I have a feeling that means Brett will be headed back to Chicago sooner than she planned.

Let’s also not forget that there was something sparking between Brett and Casey, and if you’ve followed my reviews, you might remember that I’ve said a few times how I really can see the two of them together as long as it’s a slow burn.

Now prove to us that Kyle doesn’t fully understand his fiance, and I’m a little closer to thinking Brett and Casey are a good idea.  

A few stray thoughts:

• It’s hard to trust anyone new who comes into the firehouse, but I do like Chad the paramedic’s positive attitude. Foster is clearly not a fan, but this could make for some interesting storytelling.
• I remain pretty apathetic about Ritter, but I do enjoy seeing Herrmann as his mentor. I’m glad those two have things worked out by the end of the episode.
• Stella and Severide are in a good place, thankfully. There’s a new comfort between them, and Stella is even bringing out Severide’s romantic side. Heart eyes all around.

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and read our interviews with Yuriy Sardarov and Joe Minoso about Otis’s exit from the show.

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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