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'Chicago Fire' Season 8 Midseason Finale gives us the 'CrOtis' moment we did not know we needed

It was a nice tribute to a character that had been a part of the show since its first season, and still is after his death, having affected everyone at Firehouse 51

We have been reeling with Otis' death ever since the character was killed in the line of duty in the Season 8 premiere of 'Chicago Fire'. It has been a few months, but no one is taking it harder than Joe Cruz, Otis' best friend and roommate.

Certainly, when Cruz got engaged in this season and asked Kelly Severide to be his best man, it was just another reminder that had Otis still being alive, Cruz would be asking him.

Over seven seasons, we got many beautiful "CrOtis" moments, but none as heartbreaking as what the midseason finale gave us this week. During a routine cleanout, the firefighters come across an old drone and that's when Ritter and Gallo (the new recruits) learn that the drone belonged to Otis.

While Ritter was lucky enough to have worked alongside Otis, Gallo has never met him and the episode felt like a nice way to integrate the new boys along with the old ones.

Cruz is determined to fix the drone, which he says has a broken rotor blade and while he and Otis discussed getting it fixed, they never got around to it.

He tries getting replacements but fails and Ritter suggests to contact the manufacturer directly to get replacement blades. As Cruz struggles with the manufacturer's website, Ritter and Gallo help him navigate it and find the blades he was looking for.

It is then that he tells Gallo and Ritter that Cruz was the one responsible for the original blade breaking, and how whenever Otis would bring up the drone, Cruz would change the subject. It also explains why Cruz is determined to fix the drone — to bring back a piece of Otis.

And so, Gallo and Ritter help Cruz fix the drone when they find a video that was recorded before — of when Otis and Cruz first launched it. The two recruits leave Cruz alone as he watches with tears the video celebrating the CrOtis friendship — one sure to make the fans tear up as well.

It was a nice tribute to a character that had been a part of the show since its first season, and still is after his death, having affected everyone at Firehouse 51. It also felt like Gallo and Ritter could hopefully one day share the kind of friendship Cruz and Otis did.

'Chicago Fire' will return to NBC for episodes every Wednesday night in January 2020.