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Dermot Mulroney: Is Chief Pascal leaving Chicago Fire?
Chicago Fire season 14, episode 14 has set up a storyline intended to accommodate Dermot Mulroney's exit from his Chief Pascal role.
Dermot Mulroney, who plays Chief Dom Pascal on Chicago Fire, is set to leave the show. Season 14 episode 14 has set up a storyline intended to accommodate his exit from the role.
The episode Hit and Run sets up the storyline after news had broken in January that Mulroney would be taking a ‘hiatus’ from the show. Fans can rest easy because Mulroney's exit is not a permanent one. He will be away from the series for a bit but his return is confirmed. However, it is not exactly clear when he is coming back and whether it will be before the finale of season 14.
As Mulroney takes a step back, Rob Morgan will fill in as Battalion Chief Hopkins who will be overseeing Firehouse 51.
How is Chief Pascal exiting Chicago Fire?
Chief Pascal's actions during the One Chicago crossover will pave the way for the character's temporary exit.
The crossover event with Chicago Med and Chicago PD saw the first responders join forces after an entire commercial flight was killed by a deadly nerve agent that was released by accident by a drug mule who was on board.
They found a link to a Chicago resident – Thomas Marr – after which Pascal teamed up with FBI Agent Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiradakos) and Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) to give backup on the high-stakes arrest.
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However, on discovering that the perp had fled, it was Pascal who was in handcuffs. When they arrived at Marr's place, they found he'd boobytrapped it with explosives. Soon, the house was on fire and evidence stood the risk of getting destroyed.
Pascal was ready to jump in but FBI Special Agent Conway didn't want him or his team entering before the superiors arrived. However, Pascal ignored the direct order and decided to throw on his firefighting suit to enter the house and salvage what evidence he could.
He was subsequently arrested for obstruction of justice. As Pascal was being taken away, Mouch found a burned router inside Pascal’s gear and gave it to Voight so his unit could work without more complications from the FBI.
Showrunner on Pascal's exit
Chicago Fire Fire showrunner Andrea Newman spoke to NBC Insider about Pascal's exit from the show.
“He's been on the ropes. [The arrest] puts him in a situation, it's kind of a journey for him from the beginning, where he really wasn't connected to 51 as closely as the Chiefs obviously we've seen in the past, like Boden. So he makes the ultimate sacrifice for his team, for all the teams really in this episode, and it sends him in a totally different and new direction at the end here. And he's gonna have to figure out if he's going to fight and claw to get back to 51, or if he's now going to be on a new path altogether,” she said.
