Chicago Fire's Season 13 premiere introduced fans to Firehouse 51's new chief, and many aren't welcoming him with open arms.
Eamonn Walker's Chief Wallace Boden had been a main character of Chicago Fire since its inception in 2012. However, it was revealed in Season 12 that his character would no longer be chief and that Walker would not be featured in Chicago Fire as prominently moving forward.
Since Walker and his character were both fan favorites, Chicago Fire diehards knew seeing someone else as the Firehouse 51 chief would be tough.
No Love for Chicago Fire's New Chief
After Eamonn Walker's Chief Boden left Chicago Fire in Season 12, Season 13 introduced fans to the new Firehouse 51 chief: Dermot Mulroney's Dom Pascal.
Pascal was described as having a different leadership style than Boden, and fans couldn't agree more. After only being introduced in the Season 13 premiere, many fans took to social media to express their disapproval of Chief Pascal and voice their frustrations with the character.
It is important to note that fans were not commenting on the actor or his portrayal but rather just the character of Dom Pascal.
A popular One Chicago fan account on X (formerly Twitter) that goes by @OneChicagoCtr shared a post following the Chicago Fire Season 13 premiere asking fans what they thought about Pascal.
The replies were split, with some saying they were interested in him, some saying they liked him, and others saying they hated him, but most of the replies fit into that latter category. However, some fans weren't as kind regarding Pascal and his introduction.
For example, X user @httpsbriefx stated that they "already hate the new chief." That post was shared at 9 p.m. ET on the hour, meaning Chicago Fire Season 13 had only begun seconds before the post was made:
"'Chicago Fire' hasn't even started and i already hate the new chief."
Another post from X user @jayvee1293 asked the new chief to know his place in Firehouse 51, stating, "Chief Pascal, don't come in here disrupting things." It also included a gif of Ice Cube from Friday where he says, "Sit yo ass down!"
These fan reactions likely came from fans who had a strong connection with Chief Boden. Since he was being replaced, it was more difficult for viewers to connect with someone new.
However, other fans gave specific reasons for not liking Chief Pascal, such as @mrandamiller517, who called him "a misogynistic twat:"
"So Pascal is a misogynistic twat. Got it."
Another fan, @hollym1289, criticized Chief Pascal for his treatment of "Stellaride," which is the relationship name given to the on-screen couple of Stella and Severide:
"Excuse me. Chief Pascal, we don’t mess with Stellaride."
Will Fans Warm up to Chief Pascal?
As mentioned, Chief Pascal didn't receive too warm of a welcome since he was taking over for a character fans had grown to know and love for over a decade.
However, it is possible that Chicago Fire likely wanted fans to initially not care for Pascal so that it could set up a better character arc for him.
Although he has only been featured in one episode, some of his backstory has already been revealed. Fans learned that he used to work in Miami, but something clearly happened there to force him to come to Chicago.
It was also revealed that Chief Pascal is now estranged from his wife, making him even more mysterious.
In the future, fans will likely learn more about him, making him more hateable or sympathetic. Many shows often introduce unlikable characters and then give them character arcs that redeem them and make them fan favorites, but viewers will have to wait and see if that is the case with Pascal.
Chief Pascal's actor, Dermot Mulroney, previously teased in an interview with US Magazine that his character wouldn't be someone other characters would get along with and that he is a true get-down-to-business firefighter:
"He’s not there to get along with everybody. By the opposite token, he’s a boots on the ground firefighter."
In another interview with Forbes, Mulroney also teased that his character is quite different from Chief Boden's and that he won't "be trying to match [Chief Boden] in any way as Chief Pascal:"
"I haven’t seen very much of Chicago Fire, so I don’t know what Boden is like. I wouldn’t be trying to match him in any way as Chief Pascal..."
So, it will definitely take some time for fans to warm up to Pascal's style and how he interacts with other characters in Chicago Fire Season 13.
New episodes of Chicago Fire air every Wednesday on NBC at 9 p.m. ET and stream the next day on Peacock.
