Many spoilers forward for the Season Eight premiere of Chicago Hearth on NBC, referred to as “Sacred Floor.”
Chicago Hearth is understood for its blazing cliffhangers, and the Season 7 finale wasn’t the primary to finish with the lives of a number of of the Firehouse 51 heroes in very actual jeopardy. Arguably probably the most well-known cliffhanger (earlier than the mattress manufacturing facility hearth, anyway) left Casey, Herrmann, and Mouch dealing with nearly sure demise, however all of them miraculously survived. Sadly, not the entire firefighters of 51 have been so fortunate within the Season Eight premiere, and one hero misplaced his life: Otis. Showrunner Derek Haas defined why.
However first, the heartbreaking twist made for arguably the most important demise since Shae all the way in which again in Season 3. Chicago Hearth showrunner Derek Haas spoke with CinemaBlend concerning the Season Eight premiere. In case you’ve recovered from the top of “Sacred Floor” with the emotional tribute to Otis from his mates and located household at Firehouse 51, learn on for Haas’ rationalization for why Hearth determined to kill a personality after this specific cliffhanger:
I believe the explanation was born out of the concept we do epic cliffhangers after which numerous instances, miraculously, get out of no matter harmful state of affairs we’re in. And should you do this sufficient instances, the viewers stops respecting the hazard of the state of affairs. And we hadn’t determined on the finish of the yr.
It wasn’t till we began speaking within the hiatus we determined we would have liked to place some enamel into the present and to remind our audiences that when our characters are out in these conditions, as is true of any first responders who exit, [they don’t] know what they’re strolling into.
Not everybody walks away. That is the place it began and I believe the life blood of any present like ours is shock. You need to shock the viewers. You need to shock even inside scenes what the viewers is anticipating after which actually pull the rug out from underneath them. That was it.
As expert and hard-working because the firefighters and EMTs of Firehouse 51 could also be, even they cannot all escape from probably the most dire of conditions. Truthfully, 51 could also be fortunate that Otis’ demise and Brett’s damaged arm are the one main losses sustained within the mattress manufacturing facility hearth, though it is troublesome to name something involving poor Otis’ demise “fortunate.”
Curiously, Otis’ demise wasn’t deliberate again when the Season 7 finale aired, which is not less than a part of why followers had so many guesses about which firefighter may be killed at first of Season 8. There weren’t any clues in that episode as a result of a giant demise hadn’t been determined but! I believe it is protected to say that the demise of Otis — who has been a part of Chicago Hearth from the very starting — ensures followers shall be on edge relating to cliffhangers sooner or later.
So, why did Derek Haas and the Chicago Hearth workforce determine that poor Otis can be the one to go? He defined:
I used to be speaking to Andrea Newman and Michael Gilvary, my two head writers, about three weeks into the hiatus. A pair weeks after the present aired. And we simply stated, ‘What if? What if we did this?’ We sort of settled on Otis shortly as a result of we simply knew how a lot it could have an effect on all of our forged since they’ve all been the present. Most of them have been on the present from the start and have identified him for years. The characters have all identified one another, he lives with two of the characters. That is simply the place we began.
Otis was such a beloved and lovable character that his demise would impression the present in big methods, and the Season Eight premiere undoubtedly proved this to be true. In fact Cruz took the demise the toughest, and he was nonetheless struggling very a lot with the lack of his finest buddy after the time soar. That they had been shut for thus lengthy, and roommates, and Cruz was the final particular person with Otis earlier than he died. Who else began crying when Cruz advised they might have a spot to reside collectively in heaven?
Brett had moved away from Chicago with Chaplain Kyle by the point soar, so we did not get to see an excessive amount of of the response from Otis’ different roommate, however her worry when she noticed him being tended to by the opposite EMTs was placing. Throw in Casey dragging his ft in making the massive transfer of changing Otis on Truck, Boden battling the identical questions as Cruz, and everyone’s reactions on the reveal of the memorial, and it is clear Otis was an emotional choose for the massive demise.
