Chicago Fire season 5 finale: Is Jesse Spencer or Christian Stolte leaving?

Of course, this Chicago Fire article carries with it a massive SPOILER ALERT, given that the main discussion points are the course of events that JUST unfolded on the finale.

Now, the time has come to beg the question: Is Christian Stolte or Jesse Spencer leaving the show after being such a huge part of the universe? It’s a question that you do have to wonder, and it’s unfortunately one that there may not be an answer to for some time. (Producers aren’t in the business of giving away their secrets.)

At the moment, though, it appears as though it’s bad news for Stolte and his character of Mouch. He decided that he was going to retire over the course of the finale, and pursue a career that would give him new opportunities. He went out for one last shift … and that was it. It’s hard to believe that any death is for sure going to stick because it’s a cliffhanger, but this one certainly does give you a reason to be concerned. (His fate should be revealed early next season.)

As for Spencer, the good news about Matthew Casey is that he was still breathing in the closing seconds of the finale. Is there still hope? There always is. Maybe someone found a way out for him, and he can get back to Dawson and continue to work on giving his family a better life.

If you’re freaking about this finale thinking that this is the first time that the show’s done anything THIS crazy, it’s really not. Much of this harkens back to the death of Leslie Shay, when there were multiple characters in jeopardy and we were stuck waiting over the course of many months in order to figure out what happened. There was a major death that took place, but there were many people who survived. It’s possible that something similar is going to happen here given that this is a show that does love to carve out a certain degree of authenticity. People do die in the world of firefighters, and it’s just an unfortunate consequence of this world.

For now, the definitive answer to if ANY actor is leaving is this: Nothing is set in stone.

Do you think some of the characters can come back for another season of Chicago Fire? Be sure to share some of your thoughts in the comments!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here for some further news regarding the Chicago Fire finale, including a review for everything that transpired. (Photo: NBC.)