Chicago Fire season 13, episode 13 revisited a long forgotten storyline connected to Otis.

If there is one thing that Chicago Fire has always done well, it’s finding ways to keep the spirit of former characters alive on the show regardless of how much time has passed since their last appearance. This applies both to characters who passed away and characters who simply left town, which is part of the brilliance of the show.

These characters were key parts of the show’s journey and the lives of the characters on the show, so it makes sense for the characters to reference both their fallen friends and to keep in touch with the members of their 51 family who have since left the show.

Sometimes these mentions come in mentioning catching up with former members of the show such as Brett, Casey, and Boden via conversations such as how Kidd mentioned talking with Brett about her and Severide’s plans to adopt. Others, the references come up in one-off lines reflecting on the firefighters lost along the way which was the case in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 13, “Born of Fire,” when a brief conversation revisited a major storyline that fizzled out following the unexpected death of a major character on the show: Brian “Otis” Zvonecek.

Chicago Fire continues to pay homage to Otis, keeping his spirit alive

At the top of Chicago Fire season 13, episode 13, “Born of Fire,” Mouch mentions to the group during breakfast that he heard a fellow firefighter retired to Florida to raise sugar gliders which sparks a conversation about what the members of 51 have in mind for their own retirements. During the conversation, Herrmann mentions that when he retires he wants to expand Molly’s into the Ditka’s of Chicago pubs.

The retirement talk gets Herrmann thinking and he realizes that if he wants to expand Molly’s he has to start building it now and building the brand name. This inspires him to create a signature cocktail for Molly’s to help with the branding, which leads to some fun hijinks as he tries out recipes.