Chicago Fire: The Real Reason Behind Leslie Shay's Death Will Leave You Frustrated

Oh, by the way, did you know the real reason behind Leslie Shay's death?

No matter what franchise or show you pick, if it's been running for a few years, there's always at least one character who was written off on the fly.

It often happens because of something the general audience doesn't necessarily know: an internal conflict, a new offer the actor received, or some personal matters they must handle.

Chicago Fire is no exception to this rule. Over the years, and especially lately, the show has written off several fan-favorite characters.

The fans still can't get over the fact that Casey's out of Firehouse 51 and pester burning hope that one day, Kelly Severide will come back from his trip that's taken all too long.

Despite this, the show's not famous for literally killing off its most beloved characters in these situations: usually, they just leave Firehouse 51 and their lives go on. But there was one exception and a rather painful one at that.

Leslie Shay has been an important character since day one, with her energy almost literally powering the entire Firehouse.

A strong and independent woman, she always kept her chin up and was never afraid to stand up for herself. She was a true friend to all of her colleagues… And her sudden death hit everyone really badly.

Leslie died on one of the calls, tending to an injured man. An explosion caused a pipe to fall on her, pretty much killing her on the spot.

Despite her colleagues' best attempts to resuscitate her, Shay was beyond saving at that point.

This was a massive blow for the Firehouse 51's team — and for the fans, of course. Leslie's death was so swift and unexpected, it left all of us shocked.

It had no apparent reason to be this way and seemed like a random act of writers' brutality.

Remember, we talked about behind-the-scenes reasons for such deaths? This would've kind of justified Leslie's sudden passing, but guess what: there was none.

According to the show's executive producer Matt Olmstead, Leslie Shay was killed off purely for the shock factor, with no hidden reasoning involved.

"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. <...> We came back to Shay because it affected the most people," revealed Matt in his interview with TV Line.

So there you have it. If you loved Leslie as much as we did, you're likely feeling frustrated, but that's OK. It means that the Chicago Fire team succeeded in shocking you, too.

It just would've been nice if they didn't achieve it at the expense of Leslie Shay's life, don't you think?

Source: TV Line