Is Chief Pascal Leaving Chicago Fire? What the Showrunner Has to Say
Pascal isn’t afraid to twist the rules for the greater good, and it got him in trouble during the 1C crossover.
As a certified hero at the helm of Firehouse 51 on Chicago Fire, Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) never goes down without a fight. However, that infallible dedication landed him in major legal trouble during Fire‘s crossover event with Chicago Med and Chicago P.D.
During P.D.‘s “Reckoning III,” first responders across the Windy City joined forces after an entire commercial flight was killed by a deadly nerve agent accidentally released by a drug mule on board. After several firefighters and paramedics began showing worrying signs of exposure to the deadly mystery chemical, the cops were on a race against time to locate the salvaged nerve agent capsule and develop an antidote. After the investigation revealed that the nerve agent was purchased and retrieved from the morgue by a vengeful Chicago resident named Thomas Marr, Chief Pascal teamed up with FBI Agent Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiradakos) and Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) to provide backup on the high-stakes arrest.
RELATED: An Official One Chicago Podcast Is Here with Exclusive, Behind the Scenes Access
However, upon discovery that the perp had fled, Pascal was the one who ended up in handcuffs after his backup proved paramount to saving the day. Here’s what happened:
How Chief Pascal ended up arrested during the One Chicago crossover
The firefighters and officers found themselves desperate for any lead on the Marr’s whereabouts, eventually tracking down his last known hideaway house. Upton and the FBI breached Marr’s apartment and discovered a stash of evidence and hard drives, but had little time to retrieve anything after an explosion forced the feds to flee the building. Marr had rigged the place with motion-triggered bombs specifically intended to destroy the plethora of computers and other evidence.
Luckily, it didn’t take long for Chief Pascal and his firefighters to arrive on the scene. Voight encouraged them to make quick moves to contain the fire as soon as possible in hopes of preserving any evidence, but FBI Special Agent Conway turned this down, insisting on letting superiors arrive. As time began running out, Pascal ignored the order. After deliberately disobeying Conway’s command to step down, Pascal threw on his firefighting suit to retrieve whatever evidence was salvageable.
“If you don’t stand down right now, there will be consequences,” Conway barked, but Pascal wasn’t having it.
“I’m going up there,” Pascal shrugged. “If you wanna stop me, you better send every man you’ve got.”
RELATED: Chicago’s C2E2 Convention to Host a Star-Studded One Chicago Podcast Taping (DETAILS)
Conway then ordered Pascal’s arrest for the obstruction of a criminal investigation.
FBI Agent Upton argued Pascal was only trying to help, but Conway reminded them that Pascal had also interfered with her investigation. After Pascal was whisked away, Mouch discovered a burned router inside Pascal’s gear, handing the evidence over to Voight to work his Intelligence Unit magic without any further complications from the feds.
Is Chief Dom Pascal going to lose his job and leave Chicago Fire?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t straightforward
“He’s been on the ropes,” Fire showrunner Andrea Newman told NBC Insider while chatting about Pascal’s sacrifice. “[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.”
Upon catching wind of Pascal’s predicament, his former flame and City Hall hotshot Annette Davis (Annabeth Gish) pulled some strings to get the charges dropped. When he was released, Pascal checked his phone and was shocked to discover it was Annette who helped him after they recently ended things.
With a missed call and a text requesting that he call her whenever he got out of jail, Pascal realized she’d still put her neck out for him. While it’s unclear whether or not Pascal will pay any further price of his disobedience, Chihards are delighted to see that he’s no longer under the FBI’s thumb.
Find out what happens to Pascal next by watching One Chicago Wednesdays on NBC and Peacock.