‘Chicago Fire’: Fans Do Not Like the New Guy Trying to Replace Otis

A new firefighter has joined Firehouse 51 in Thursday’s episode of Chicago Fire, and the chemistry is not quite there. The new guy, Jake Cordova, played by guest star Damon Dayoub, gave fans at home no reason to like him at first.

In “The One That Matters,” Jake came in to replace Brian “Otis” Zvonevek (Yuri Sardarov), who took a bullet in the neck during last week’s two-hour episode, “Looking for a Lifeline/The Chance to Forgive.” He was left without any feeling in his legs.

Jake had a past with Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund), which makes things with Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) a little awkward. Dawson and Jake worked together early in her career. At the end of the episode, Dawson told Jake she wanted to tell Casey about them, but Jake wants to prove himself a good firefighter before he gets on Casey’s bad side.

Everyone in the show is a little wary of Jake, especially Chris Herrmann (David Eigenberg). It’s clear he is trying to get a permanent position at Firehouse 51, especially after he saw Otis struggle to stand up. Jake even tells Casey that he is too experienced to stand on the sidelines while they respond to the calls.

Meanwhile, Otis struggles coming to terms with his injury, and possibly having to be in rehab much longer than he hoped. Even Otis is afraid about Jake taking Otis’ spot.

Tensions escalate after Jake steps on Otis’ coat by accident. Herrmann punches him, but Casey arrives before the fight really explodes.

Fans were happy to see Herrmann toss a punch at Jake.

Other fans were distracted by Jake’s good looks.

Others just did not like anything the new guy did.

Showrunner Derek Haas tried to assure fans that Jake will be a great addiction to this show.

At the end of the episode, Chief Boden delivered the news that Otis will not come back for two months. Casey tried to give an inspirational speech, but started tripping over his own words. Boden steps up, but later told Casey he did a good job.

Notably, the episode also left behind a couple of hints that Boden might be interested in leaving the firehouse. He likes Casey’s job performance and thinks the firehouse will be in good hands if he leaves.

New episodes of Chicago Fire air Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Photo credit: NBC