Warning! SPOILERS ahead for the 2025 One Chicago crossover, "In The Trenches."
Several characters were missing from the 2025 One Chicago crossover in five years, which aired on January 29, 2025, revolves around the fallout from a gas explosion in a federal building. Firehouse 51 answers the call and the police department is called in when they suspect someone deliberately caused the explosion. However, the search for perps soon threatens to turn deadly when Trudy (Amy Morton) is shot in the back while trying to arrest a suspect.
"In the Trenches" is one of the best One Chicago crossovers because it uses the police, fire, and hospital personnel to their fullest throughout this story. Mouch, Severide, and Burgess all worry about their partners' safety after Trudy goes into emergency surgery and Ruzek (John Patrick Flueger) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) get trapped on a train after a subway collapse. Meanwhile, Chicago Med's Lenox (Sarah Ramos) butts heads with Chicago PD's Voight (Jason Beghe) when he wants her to prematurely extubate a patient who is wanted for questioning.
8 Joe Cruz (Joe Miñoso)
Chicago Fire
Cruz is one of the most recognizable faces in Chicago Fire, which makes his exclusion from the One Chicago crossover disappointing even though there is a good reason for it. When Cruz got shot during the robbery he was forced to take part in, it led to widespread speculation that Cruz was leaving Chicago Fire.
Why 2025's One Chicago Crossover Starts With Fire Instead of Med
NBC has a very important reason for changing the schedule and starting the One Chicago crossover with Chicago Fire instead of Chicago Med.
Instead, after he confessed, Cruz was suspended for two weeks for his inappropriate behavior. It wouldn't have made sense to make an exception to his punishment so that he could appear in the One Chicago crossover, so Cruz remained off-screen during the special event.
7 Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett)
Chicago Fire
No real explanation is given for Kylie's absence. However, it's unsurprising she isn't included since she appears only sporadically in Chicago Fire season 13. That said, when Kylie was missing from Chicago Fire season 13, episode 6, it could be explained by Engine 51 not being featured, while her absence from the One Chicago crossover makes far less sense.
Hermann's most prominent team member is missing without explanation.
Hermann (David Eigenberg) has a fairly large role in the crossover, as he tells Pascal that he won't be able to live with himself if he stays above ground leading his team instead of helping with the rescue effort after Kidd is trapped. Still, Hermann's most prominent team member is missing without explanation. One can only presume that Kylie is part of the rescue team despite not being seen on-screen.
6 Jack Damon (Michael Bradway)
Chicago Fire
Jack Damon's recent return to Chicago Fire helped make up for his unnecessary exit earlier in season 13, but it would have been nice for him to have a cameo during "In the Trenches." While he doesn't work for Firehouse 51 anymore, Damon is still in the area.
It would have been fitting for him to offer Severide while Severide was waiting anxiously for news about Kidd's status. Unfortunately, Damon is not even mentioned during the One Chicago crossover, so there is no explanation for where he is or why he didn't reach out to his half-brother.
5 Deputy Chief Charlie Reid (Shawn Hatosy)
Chicago PD
Although there was no real reason to include Deputy Chief Reid in the One Chicago crossover, he is an interesting character whose presence would have added something to the story. He might have involved himself in the crisis, especially the conflict with Chicago Med's Lenox, as part of his plan to undermine Voight at every turn. There likely wasn't room in the action-packed episode for him to insert himself. That said, Dick Wolf Entertainment and NBC have not given any official reason for his absence.
4 Naomi Howard (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut)
Chicago Med
Naomi often shadows Lenox, who has to encourage the medical student to be more assertive and take risks so that she'll succeed in the fast-paced world of emergency medicine. However, she is conspicuously absent from the One Chicago crossover.
No explanation is given for Naomi's absence. However, it's easy to imagine that she is shadowing someone in another department or at her medical school classes during the crisis.
3 Sam Abrams (Brennan Brown)
Chicago Med
Amazingly, nobody hits their head or has any other reason to need a neurosurgical consult during "In the Trenches," so Abrams remains off-screen. This is disappointing, considering that the acid-tongued neurosurgeon has some of Chicago Med's funniest lines. The One Chicago crossover dealt with heavy topics, so it could have used some of Abrams' cutting, yet hilarious, remarks to break up the tension.
2 Nina Chapman (Sara Bues)
Chicago PD
Assistant State Attorney Nina Chapman is the perfect Chicago PD character to calm Voight down when he goes too far. Her presence might have helped Voight deal with his conflict with Lenox without resorting to empty threats. However, Nina left town after episode 4, and she's not set to come back until Chicago PD episode 15.
it would have been a nice bonus if Nina appeared during the crossover to Voight and keep him from getting out of line in his efforts to close the case.
Nina's absence is frustrating because her story with Voight is unfinished. Of course, this will be continued when she returns to Chicago. Still, it would have been a nice bonus if Nina appeared during the crossover to Voight and keep him from getting out of line in his efforts to close the case.
1 Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker)
Chicago Fire
Boden left Chicago Fire at the end of season 12. However, he supposedly took a promotion and is now the Deputy Fire Chief, so it's ridiculous that he isn't involved in the gas explosion crisis. The crisis should be concerning not only to ordinary people, but to everyone who runs the city of Chicago, including the Fire Commissioner's office.
Why Chief Boden Didn't Return In The 2025 One Chicago Crossover
Firehouse 51 responded to a major emergency that put some notable characters at risk, and despite that, Chief Wallace Boden still didn't appear.
Boden's absence is more understandable than most, however, Pascal is running Firehouse 51 in Chicago Fire. Thus, Boden probably wouldn't want to step on Pascal's toes by taking over, especially since Pascal is still a relatively new chief. That said, it is a big loss for the One Chicago franchise to have to do a crossover without bringing back its most popular former character.
- Created by
- Derek Haas, Michael Brandt
- First TV Show
- Chicago Fire
- First Episode Air Date
- October 10, 2012
- Cast
- Jesse Spencer, Taylor Kinney, Monica Raymund, Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Sophia Bush, Jesse Lee Soffer, Nick Gehlfuss, Yaya DaCosta, Torrey DeVitto, Rachel DiPillo, Philip Winchester, Joelle Carter, Monica Barbaro, Carl Weathers, Yuri Sardarov
- TV Show(s)
- Chicago Justice
