Eamonn Walker’s return as Chicago Fire’s Wallace Boden is the episode fans have been waiting to watch for nearly one year — and according to actress Jocelyn Hudon, it shouldn’t be missed.
“It’s a very powerful episode,” Hudon, who plays paramedic Lyla Novak, exclusively told Us Weekly of the Wednesday, April 16, episode of the drama series.
While Hudon, 30, revealed she’s not actually in the highly anticipated episode (it’s one of her two episodes off per season) she knows what goes down on screen.
“When I read the episode, I was like, ‘F***, I wish I was in this.’ It’s really good,” Hudon teased. “I cried reading that episode. It’s suspenseful. It’s just very suspenseful.”
After playing Chief Boden for 12 seasons, Walker, 62, exited Chicago Fire in May 2024. Although he would no longer be a series regular on season 13, which premiered that fall, he promised fans they hadn’t seen the last of Boden.
During Boden’s last appearance on season 12, he was promoted to deputy commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department. While he was vocal about wanting Lieutenant Christopher Hermann (David Eigenberg) to serve as his replacement, Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) joined the show for season 13 as Firehouse 51’s newest leader.
Jocelyn Hudon as Lyla Novak. Peter Gordon/NBC
News broke in March that Eamonn would reprise his role as Boden in Wednesday’s episode, titled “Post-Mortem.”
“[We are] so excited to have our beloved Chief Boden back, and the episode, titled Post-Mortem, is a thrill ride unlike any we’ve done before,” showrunner Andrea Newman revealed via a press release last month. “Told with flashbacks and unique POVs, Chief Boden leads our team on a search to discover the how, who, and why of a fierce firefight that ended in disaster.”
When Boden comes back, he is “tasked by Commissioner Grissom (Gary Cole) to run a post-incident analysis following a house fire that collapsed with a firefighter inside,” according to the official log line.
While Boden’s comeback will be bittersweet for viewers — he will on appear on the one episode this season — Hudon’s Novak isn’t going anywhere.
“She’s evolved greatly. When she first joined, she was a little flaky. She loved being a floater. She was used to popping in and out,” Hudon told Us of the sassy paramedic. “Now she’s just committed fully to being at 51 and she’s just kind of accepted them as her family and she feels safe there. She’s just really put down roots at 51.”
Part of that feeling of home is thanks to Novak’s bond with current chief Pascal. “Novak and Pascal work so well together because we’re both in real life, actually new,” the actress explained. “We’re like work besties. It’s a shared experience we both have.”
Hudon joined Chicago Fire as Novak during season 12 in 2024, while Mulroney’s Pascal was the newcomer to start season 13. That freshness is something both actors have come to enjoy.
“When we do scenes together, I don’t know, we just kind of get each other,” Hudon said. “We both know it’s a huge responsibility to take over those two roles. We try to do a really great job.”
Hudon also revealed that both she and the Wedding Date actor, 61, have connected over their shared love of rock band Pierce the Veil.
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
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