Chicago Fire's Most Heartbreaking Death Happened Just Because Somebody Had To
Fans are still outraged about this, no matter how many years have gone by.
Like any show that lasts as long as Chicago Fire, it has an extensive list of ups and downs, recorded by both the fans and the creators themselves. While it would be incredible if every show could stay consistently good throughout the years, sometimes the writers and showrunners make mistakes.
Whether or not they're able to overcome the consequences of their mistakes and keep the show going depends on their professionalism.
Chicago Fire made the mistake that could've cost it the majority of its fans relatively early on and has managed to recover from it. The death of Leslie Shay shook viewers to the core and left them speechless until they were able to move from initial shock to true outrage.
To this day, many believe that the season two finale was one of the worst decisions ever made by the producers of Chicago Fire.
Executive producer Matt Olmstead, however, never saw that moment as something as monumental as it ended up being. If anything, he tried to downplay Shay's death in his interview with TVLine, basically saying that she was chosen because they knew her death would have an impact on the audience.
"Going into it, we knew if we were going to do it, it had to be someone who was going to give us a big impact, as opposed to going for a lesser-known character, which would equate to a pulled punch. So, as opposed to approaching it with timidity, we thought we'd go for it," he said.
Not only did fans feel used after finding out they had been baited by the shock factor, but they also felt that the character was chosen completely wrong.
Not only was Leslie Shay one of the few female characters on the show, but she was also a canonical lesbian, making her death part of the "bury your gays" trope. And that is not a good look for any show.
Fortunately for Chicago Fire fans, no matter how big the outrage was, the show managed to move on from the controversy and is still on the air today. If you want to find out what awaits the Chicago Fire Department in the future, keep an eye out for more news from NBC so you don't miss out on a season 12 release date announcement.
Source: TVLine