It was a bittersweet goodbye for Chicago Fire’s Joe Cruz, but actor Joe Miñoso feels content with how his story was wrapped up.
Warning: Spoilers below from season 15, episode 15 of Chicago Fire.
“What’s great about what we did with the character was, you know, I never imagined him becoming such a leader, or really even a father,” Miñoso, 48, exclusively tells Us of Cruz’s final episode of the NBC series. “The arc, whether or not by design from the very beginning, really felt like a really fulfilling arc. And we did it in such a positive way. So I’m super proud of it.”
During the Wednesday, November 4, episode of Chicago Fire, fans learned that Cruz was getting better by the day following his spinal injury, which he sustained during a warehouse fire earlier this season.
After initially thinking he might not walk again, Cruz got out of his wheelchair, and by the end of the episode, he was only using one cane. With his improvement, he was excited that he could be back on Squad 3 sooner than later, but his wife, Chloe (Kristen Lee Gutoskie), wasn’t thrilled about the idea as she went into labor with their twins.
As Captain Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) worked behind the scenes to get an extension for Cruz’s return to Squad 3, Cruz took a hard look at his life after welcoming two baby girls — making him a father of four.
Cruz ultimately told Severide that he wasn’t going to be coming back to Firehouse 51. Instead, he planned to move to Minnesota to work at a special rehab center and be closer to his in-laws.
“I think the great news about that episode is that the low [Cruz] experiences is ultimately just the disappointment in his family’s face when they see that he actually has the opportunity to return to the fire service,” Miñoso explains to Us. “And I think when you have a family that loves you that much and cares for you that much, the decision sort of isn’t as difficult as it might seem.”
The actor points out that Cruz has always been a family man. “It just so happened that his first family was the one at Firehouse 51,” he says. “And then becoming sort of the head of a family feels like exactly where he should be.”
Miñoso adds, “I think we really kind of nailed where he is in his life …and why he would leave. It would take a lot for Cruz to say goodbye to this job, and I think that we handled that with care.”
During a pivotal moment in the episode, Severide admitted that he was very sad to see Cruz go, telling him, “We’ve been riding beside each other for 12 years. I need you beside me.”
Cruz, however, stood his ground. “They need me more,” he replied, referring to his family. “Besides, you taught me everything you know. You’ll teach the new guy, too.”
“The conflict here is letting go of one family for another, instead of being able to have both, it’s a real, like, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it, too,’ moment in Cruz’s life,” Miñoso tells Us. “But I really respect the fact that he’s just so loyal that he’s prepared to give up the thing he feels at home in for the sake of the people that love him the most.”
Miñoso says being able to have a heart-to-heart with Severide was a “real testament to the dynamic that the two of us built together,” which he’ll “forever be proud of,” even though it was heartbreaking for fans.
“It was a real honor for that to be the last scene that we shot. It felt right,” he shares.
Viewers got another sweet moment before the credits rolled as Cruz spoke to his late best friend Brian “Otis” Zvonecek’s (Yuriy Sardarov) monument outside of the firehouse. (Otis died during season 8 in 2019.)
“I’ll be with you always, brother,” Cruz said, promising to return Otis’ cane once he was fully recovered.
Looking back at the poignant scene, Miñoso says, “I think so much of the character of Cruz is in the character of Otis, and vice versa. I don’t think there was a way to really say goodbye to Cruz without really sort of putting a bookmark on that relationship.”
The actor continues, “It felt like not only the appropriate way to say goodbye to the character, but also the appropriate way for the character to say goodbye to the show.”
After bidding farewell to Otis, Severide congratulated Cruz on becoming a father again and told him the crew was waiting for him.
Cruz proceeded to take one last photo with his Firehouse 51 family, standing in the center of the bunch as he held back tears and smiled.
“I take the memories and the friendships and the family,” Miñoso tells Us of what he’ll remember most after playing Cruz for 15 seasons. “I’ve loved it all, and I will continue to always love it. The memories will forever be a warm place in my heart.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
