Chicago Fire Season 14 Finale Twist: [Spoiler] Blazes Back After Surprise Hiatus

Chicago Fire is pulling one of its classic end-of-season moves: just when you think someone is gone for good, they pop back up. The season 14 finale on May 13 brings Dermot Mulroney back as Pascal after that abrupt, messy exit earlier this spring.

The quick catch-up on Pascal

• Back in March, Pascal blew off a federal agent’s order to stand down while collecting evidence at a house fire. He was arrested, the federal charges were dropped, but the damage was done.
• He was told to vacate his role at Firehouse 51 immediately. He even kicked around the idea of retiring, then mentioned a former colleague in Phoenix who could connect him with a firehouse in Arizona.
• Before the dust settled, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) discovered Pascal had cleared out and left him a captain handbook — basically passing Severide the interim commanding officer gig.
• In January, Deadline reported the character would be written off the rest of season 14 — not permanently, but via a storyline that kept him off screen. Mulroney, 62, stayed on until Rob Morgan stepped into the position at 51.
• Now NBC’s first-look promo for the May 13 finale confirms Pascal shows up again. Surprise return unlocked.

What the show was signaling

Showrunner Andrea Newman said at the time that Pascal had been on the ropes and never quite clicked with 51 the way past chiefs, like Boden, did. In that episode, he basically put the team — honestly, the whole city’s houses — ahead of his own job, which shoved him onto a new track. The big question Newman floated was whether he would fight to make it back to 51 or head off in a totally different direction. With this finale reappearance, that fork in the road is still very much the point.

About those revolving doors

"Cast comes in, cast goes out," NBC program planning president Jeff Bader told TVLine in July 2024. "Every year there are cast changes... But [those shows] just keep going on."

Translation: the One Chicago shows lose favorites all the time, and the machine keeps humming. Mulroney can return, but nothing past this finale is locked in.

When and where to watch

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. Finale’s May 13. Pascal’s back. Bring snacks.