Chicago Fire is notorious for life-threatening situations. Every season has put at least one main cast member in peril, to the point where potential death is a running theme for certain characters. Kelly Severide can't seem to go more than a few weeks without getting into a hair-raising predicament, while all of Squad 3 was nearly axed in the Season 10 premiere. With Joe Cruz barely having gotten over that latest close call, there's no way the show will add to its body count this year.
Cliffhangers have historically been big business for Chicago Fire. Audiences have seen them in finales, premieres and even at midseason, with most of them involving someone living or dying. Nearly all of the series regulars have been on the chopping block at some point. It's part of the process, because co-creator and showrunner Derek Haas likes to shake up Firehouse 51's roster on a regular basis and having someone go out in a hero moment is more dramatic than their moving away. This procedural's mortality rate is on par with fantasy epics.
However, a character death makes no sense in Chicago Fire Season 10. This season already had a major departure when Jesse Spencer left the series in the 200th episode. That was shocking enough that fans are still talking about his character, Matthew Casey, three months later. His exit storyline was also its own kind of hero moment -- Casey sacrificed his home at Firehouse 51 so he could give the sons of his deceased best friend a home of their own. No death could be as emotional as that selfless act.
Cruz's storyline makes a further argument to spare everyone else. Cruz struggled with the mental and emotional aftereffects of almost drowning over several episodes this season. His potential death hovered over him and the audience for weeks. With the writers having taken that time to explore the fear of death, actually killing someone would feel like a "gotcha" moment. Viewers have just gotten over the idea of losing Cruz and his squad so why pull the rug out from under them by getting rid of somebody else?
There's also not a viable candidate to get rid of. The current Chicago Fire cast doesn't have anyone whose story is running out or whose death would serve any purpose. Losing Severide would cause fans to riot, especially since he's finally going to marry longtime girlfriend Stella Kidd after years of anticipation. Their wedding is more likely to be a finale surprise than his death. Mouch has already been technically deceased once and choosing him would create a precedent that the supporting characters are just cannon fodder. While Casey's replacement Jason Pelham, played by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum Brett Dalton, has risked his neck a few times already, it's not practical to eliminate him when he's barely settled in.
Most importantly, Chicago Fire Season 10 needs to spend its time focusing on the characters it's recently added rather than asking who else it can subtract. Pelham, Violet Mikami, Blake Gallo and Darren Ritter all deserve more development before the season ends. Pelham has his difficult reputation that's getting worse by the week and the series continues to toy with a potential love triangle between Violet, Gallo and Chief Hawkins that's put them all in emotional purgatory. Ritter had a poignant episode where he was harassed for being gay, but his relationship ended soon afterward. With half the season left, these characters can still reach their full potential.
A character death would be a better idea for another Dick Wolf series. The pending Law & Order revival is preparing for its own major cast change with Anthony Anderson the only cast member officially returning in Season 21. With S. Epatha Merkerson busy on Chicago Med, it'd be no surprise if her Law & Order character Anita Van Buren had her cancer return and died between seasons. That would be an emotional reveal and make more sense than one more loss on Chicago Fire.