Entertainment

Chicago Fire’s 300th Episode Fasttracks Its Death By A Thousand Cuts | Review

Nairavoice · Nov 5, 2026 · 6 min read

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For a milestone as rare as hitting 300 episodes, Chicago Fire fails to deliver a memorable celebratory episode. As NBC’s fall 2026 slate continues to rely on fully-established projects led by the Law & Order franchise, One Chicago’s inaugural series continues to build its own legacy as the third-longest-running procedural on the network. Premiering in 2012, Chicago Fire is arguably the most popular first-responder show on TV right now. Aside from paving the way for spinoffs, such as Chicago PD and Chicago Med, it also inspired a string of shows in the same sandbox, with both ABC and CBS trying to replicate its success.

After 14 years on the air, Chicago Fire celebrates its 300th episode with “Three Hundred.” Considering the ongoing trend of TV seasons getting fewer and shorter, this feat is becoming increasingly rare, which is a reminder of the show’s longevity. Throughout the last decade and a half of its run, Chicago Fire has had its fair share of celebratory episodes. 2016’s “One Hundred,” 2019’s “The Plunge,” 2021’s “Two Hundred,” and 2024’s “Inside Man” all delivered bigger and more consequential narratives that either honored the show’s past or set up its future. For “Three Hundred,” the focus is on the latter, as the outing marks a major shift in Firehouse 51.

NBC and Wolf Entertainment use Chicago Fire season 15, episode 5, as the send-off for Joe Minoso’s Joe Cruz — one of the very few cast members who have been in the series since season 1. Given that, there was an expectation that “Three Hundred” would deliver a highly-emotional swan song for the character, despite the fact that the project has been gradually building towards his exit ever since his paralysis narrative started. Unfortunately, the lack of focus, the sheer number of plots simultaneously happening, and other head scratchers result in an ultimate letdown.

Chicago Fire’s 300th Episode Is A Disappointing Milestone Offering

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    Peter Gordon/NBC</figure>

As Cruz’s final outing, there was an expectation going into the episode that the hour would put an effort into highlighting his legacy with Firehouse 51 while also laying out a justified reason for his departure. Over the years, Chicago Fire has seen its fair share of character exits, and while some are done better than others, NBC and Wolf Entertainment have done decently when it comes to sending off characters who were on the show for a considerable amount of time. Sadly, that isn’t the case for Cruz. “Three Hundred” starts with the character doing considerably better, with Chicago Med‘s Dean Archer even telling him that he would be back at Firehouse 51 soon enough. Everyone is on board with the idea, except for Chloe, who gives birth to their twins early due to overall stress about doing everything for the family. Apparently, she had been against her husband going back to work, afraid that he would be hurt again and she would be left alone.

While it makes sense for her to be worried, the way Chicago Fire establishes this reveal is so poorly-executed. It makes Chloe look unreasonable, considering how much Cruz has been working hard to get back to work. On top of that, her husband giving up his career and means of living at this point in their family life seems impractical in terms of their economic standing. Now, Cruz doesn’t have any path towards going back to work. The fact that this whole plot happens separate from anyone over at Firehouse 51 makes it worse. Firehouse 51 has always differentiated itself by being a tightly-knit team, and yet, it’s odd that there’s no effort to help Cruz’s family beyond making sure that he can return to Squad 3 — even then, Kelly Severide’s attempt to convince him to stay sounds self-serving.

Granted that it still has to move on beyond Cruz’s stint with Firehouse 51, the least Chicago Fire could have done is give him a compelling and solid swan song, not something that makes it seem like an afterthought.

Instead of focusing on Cruz’s struggle for a more emotional send-off, Chicago Fire season 15, episode 5 tackles several more stories separate from its main plot. Stella Kidd deals with a probationary struggling after a call, Christopher Herrmann has an odd arc regarding his new professional headshot, while Violet Mikami and Lyla Novak deal with personal stories. “Three Hundred” even opens with Severide working on an arson case. Granted that it still has to move on beyond Cruz’s stint with Firehouse 51, the least Chicago Fire could have done is give him a compelling and solid swan song, not something that makes it seem like an afterthought. Even the poignant tribute to Otis Zvonecek at the end of the hour doesn’t have the emotional impact that it should have.

Chicago Fire’s 300th Episode Is A Culmination Of Its Long-Running Problems

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    Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic</figure>

To better understand the failures of Chicago Fire‘s 300th episode, it’s important to remember that the outing doesn’t exist in a bubble. It’s a culmination of all the small but detrimental issues that the project has been facing in the last few years. Now, the pile has gotten so big that it’s nearly impossible to ignore. For starters, Minoso’s exit is primarily motivated by NBC’s yearly cost-cutting measures. While some actors left on their own, a handful of them, especially in more recent years, were written out of Chicago Fire and One Chicago in general to cut costs. This has resulted in sudden story shifts, as the writers scramble to find a way to write out a character in the quickest way possible.

Secondly, and still tied to the first point, the constant changing of the ensemble makes it difficult for Chicago Fire to properly establish a new overall dynamic. On a smaller scale, one-on-one relationships are also scarce outside the long-standing ones, such as Herrmann and Randall “Mouch” McHolland’s friendship, as well as Severide and Kidd’s romance. These types of pairings were the backbone of the Chicago Fire during its earliest years, as effectively emphasized by the bittersweet moment between Cruz and Otis. Now, since no new character stays long enough, any kind of personal and relationship build-up goes out of the window.

As Chicago Fire season 15 continues, hopefully, it is able to find the balance that it needs to be able to sustain another 300-episode run. The show has one of the most engaged fan communities, and it would be a shame if these problems continue to plague it until it’s eventually canceled.