Sumith Prasad
The second half of NBC’s action series ‘Chicago Fire’ season 11 depicts the return of Matthew Casey to Chicago as he becomes a part of a task force that aims to prevent nationwide domestic terrorist attacks. He teams up with Stella Kidd to investigate the possibility of such attacks happening in the city of Chicago. In the eleventh-season finale, Stella discovers a pivotal piece of evidence concerning the impending attacks, only for Firehouse 51 to become a part of the mission to protect the city. During the firefighters’ efforts to save their city from an attack, Senior Firefighter Randall “Mouch” McHolland’s life gets threatened, making the viewers concerned about Christian Stolte’s future in the series. Well, here’s what we can share about the same! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Did Mouch Die?
In the eleventh season finale, the firefighters and paramedics of Firehouse 51 are called to an accident site. While taking care of the people involved in the accident, Stella learns that the driver of one of the vehicles that got crashed ran away from the scene before the first responders’ arrival. Stella inspects the abandoned vehicle, only to find a heavily dangerous bullet. She reaches out to Casey and together, they keep an eye on attacks on electrical stations. When they learn about an attack on such a station, the duo leads the firefighters to the same. After arriving at the scene, they are welcomed by gunshots, fired by a couple of the aforementioned domestic terrorists.
The terrorists rain bullets at the firefighters, only for Casey to spot them. He joins hands with Stella, Blake Gallo, and Sam Carver to bring them down. By the time police officers arrive, Casey and others manage to hand over one of the two terrorists to the officials. Meanwhile, Mouch realizes that he got shot during the shootout. Chief Boden and others make sure that he receives immediate medical attention as he gets transported to Chicago Med. After a while, Boden reveals to his squad that the doctors removed the bullet from Mouch and that he is recovering from the life-threatening incident.
Towards the end of the episode, Christopher Herrmann visits the recovering Mouch at the hospital. While the injured firefighter talks to his colleague, the former bleeds heavily. Does that mean Mouch is dead? Is Christian Stolte really leaving the action drama? Let’s find out.
Is Christian Stolte Leaving Chicago Fire?
As of yet, neither NBC nor Christian Stolte has released an official statement concerning the actor’s exit from ‘Chicago Fire.’ First of all, the chances of Mouch dying in the series are extremely low. The life-threatening incident can be a cliffhanger conceived to raise the stakes and tension in the narrative, especially to compensate for the absence of Kelly Severide. Since Mouch’s injury is not highly critical, we can expect him to survive the same under the supervision of the doctors at Med. Although the writers of ‘Chicago Fire’ has never hesitated to kill a character off for the sake of the narrative, especially considering the example of Brian “Otis” Zvonecek, it may not be the right time for the show to part ways with Stolte.
Since Taylor Kinney’s future in the series is still uncertain, the show may not be in a hurry to part ways with an original cast member, especially considering the importance of Mouch in the “One Chicago” universe. The firefighter is not just an integral part of ‘Chicago Fire’ but also a significant presence in the life of ‘Chicago P.D.’ character Sergeant Trudy Platt as her husband. Due to these reasons, the creative heads behind the series may want to make sure that Mouch remains to be a significant part of the narrative of the action drama. If that’s the case, we can expect Stolte to continue featuring in the show.
Ahead of the broadcast of the eleventh season finale, Stolte expressed his gratitude towards the fans of the show. “Our 11th Season Finale airs tonight. No spoilers, I just want to say it’s been an extraordinary 11 years, and I am so very grateful for the experience. Truck on, Chi-Hards,” the actor shared. Even though the same sounds like a goodbye message, it can also be the actor piquing the curiosity of the viewers by expressing his love for the admirers of the action drama.
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