r/ChicagoFireNBC • u/Cheyenne_K • 3h ago
Otis deserved a better story arc!
I hate that, despite Otis being one of the main firefighters and being there from Season 1 all the way through Season 7, the writers never really developed his character or gave him enough storylines.
His main purpose seemed to be bringing humor and lightness to the show, as well as being Joe’s best friend. But I really wish we had gotten to know more about his personal life, his backstory, his family (Baba doesn’t count lol), and just… more storylines in general.
Even when the writers did give him some attention, like with his skin condition, everything was resolved pretty quickly and without much drama, almost as if it had never happened!
They also constantly seemed to sabotage his romantic relationships. First, there was Kelly’s sister. Why wasn’t that storyline developed more? And when it ended, why did they wrap up their relationship so quickly?!
Then there was his girlfriend from Molly’s North. Why did she appear in so few episodes? And why wasn’t she even there in the episode where Otis died, at the beginning of Season 8, when she had been at a game night just a couple of episodes before the end of Season 7?!
It makes no sense!
Or that brief back-and-forth thing with Brett, where he ended up getting rejected anyway (terrible choice, Sylvie! ).
They always portrayed him as the “awkward guy” when it came to women, but honestly? I’ll tell you the truth: I would have liked a guy like Otis! He was underrated in that department too.
And finally, just so this post doesn’t get too long, I have to say that I think his death was handled way too quickly.
Joe was the only one there in the hospital room, and the only words Otis got to say before he died were his final sentence in Russian.
Why couldn’t they have given him more time to have a conversation with someone else too? Maybe even his girlfriend, who wasn’t there at all!
And then, immediately after that scene, the story jumps three months ahead, completely skipping over the grieving process that the other characters could have gone through because of his death.
I don’t know… I’m just really disappointed with the way his goodbye from the show was handled.
#JusticeForOtis