Chicago Fire - You Know Where To Find Me - Review
Apr 24, 2015
Chicago Fire MR ReviewsPeter Mills is back on Squad duty! With Severide still recovering, a spot opens as Rice steps up as acting Lieutenant. When Peter moves over to Squad, Dawson volunteers for paramedic duty to keep McCauley, Mr. Doom and Gloom, out of the house. Yes! Dawson is back on Ambo (albeit temporary…or so they say), Peter’s back on Squad, and all feels right-ish in the Chicago Fire world.
But of course, the writers couldn’t just leave things like that, now could they? In the previous episode, Peter’s sister wanted to move the family to North Carolina to re-open the restaurant left to them by their grandfather. Peter declined, initially. But after an eye-opening dinner with Rice and his family, Peter rethinks everything and decides to move to North Carolina.
NO.
I didn’t see this coming and what should be to no one’s surprise, I’m absolutely, positively, NOT okay with it. Peter? The writers are getting rid of Peter?
I was convinced the writers just wanted to make us nervous but as the episode went on, it became very clear that this was Peter’s swan song. We were able to see Peter shine as a firefighter, paramedic, and just a person in general. He’s grown exponentially since the show’s beginning, and while I hate that he’s leaving, his sendoff couldn’t have been better. The best part about it? The writers didn’t kill him, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him turn up every now and then, especially with that last scene (the BEST scene). More on that later…
Elsewhere…
Casey is still working on the construction for the strip club, and I’m still not sure how this fits in to the story moving forward, but it’s comical, so I’ll go with it. Casey has no interest in the girls at the club, while Cruz, Otis, and Capp can’t exactly say the same. I’m glad Capp’s getting more screen time, he’s not so bad!
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed with how quickly things cooled off between Casey and Dawson after their all-too-brief reunion in the last episode. But at the same time, I finally feel like Dawson is growing and learning and perhaps this will put her in a better place for a relationship in the future. But a relationship with who…?
After a remarkably quick recovery from his near death experience, Severide is released from the hospital and immediately goes searching for April. When he’s told she’s not working her usual shift, he goes to her apartment, where she tells him she’s taking paid leave to travel the world. Lucky girl!
For me, the chemistry between these two has been a slow build. And while I can’t deny that April and Severide’s long-anticipated hook-up was full of chemistry, I still don’t see how these two will have a successful future. The back-door pilot for Chicago Med was well-received to say the least, so it’s pretty much a certainty that April and Severide will be on different shows come next season. If the writers can find a way to make a cross-show romance work, I’d love to see it! But after all the build-up (much like Severide and Lindsay, which was also planned to last longer than it did), I’m afraid this romance may fizzle out as both leads will (and should) find romance with characters on their respective shows.
The hockey team coached by half of Truck 81 and Chaplain Orlovsky is off to the championship game! No thanks to Herrmann’s son though, sadly, who is not the most gifted hockey player. When Cruz and Otis approach Herrmann with the idea to bench Luke, Herrmann doesn’t take it well. At all. But in a funny twist, Herrmann does end up benching Luke, who is thrilled he doesn’t have to play!
The ending…
Leave it to Peter Mills to go out with no regrets! I said this months ago, but there’s still something between (as there has always been) Dawson and Mills. These two have had a chemistry since the very beginning, you can’t deny it (no, not even you Casey lovers, myself included). I’ve been torn too, because I love Dawson and Mills together. They work so well!
So naturally, I just about lost it when Dawson told Peter she’d miss him and he responded with, “So come with me,” without missing a beat! Fast forward to Peter’s last scene – Peter leaves Molly’s and Dawson runs out after him to give him a goodbye present. Peter grabs her, kisses her, and tells her, “You know where to find me.” I can’t believe I’m saying it, but I might be team Peter. This just could not have been better, and I sincerely believe that because the writers 1) left Peter alive and 2) gave him those wonderful parting words that we have not seen the last of Peter Mills.
Charlie Barnett apparently did not leave the show by choice, so while the Peter Mills sendoff was amazing, I’m left wondering why there was a sendoff at all. Why, when there are other secondary characters whose stories don’t pull nearly as much weight, would they send off Peter?
What did you think of the episode? Should Rice stick around? Will Dawson stay on Ambo? Have we seen the last of Peter Mills?
Great review! I can't believe they've written off Mills. They said they want to stay "fresh" and be realistic about turnovers in firehouses, but I think it's a mistake to write off such a loved character. There are plenty of other characters they could have written off. It just seems like they don't know how to balance their leads, so they're trading them /sigh/. I really hope they'll bring him back.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was never a great fan of Peter Mills (don't like the type -- the youngest of the cast, a prodigy, brilliant at everything -- just not my thing) I have to say that this send off was really touching and absolutely caught me off guard. Frankly, I didn't believe it was for real until I read the post-episode interviews with the showrunners.
ReplyDeleteWhy they did it, why him? I think that's because he's a popular character and had Otis or Cruz left, it wouldn't have nearly as much impact. He means a lot to the other main characters too -- to Gabby, as you said, but also to both Matt and Kelly. He served under both of them and they were proud of him. And he's important to Chief Boden through Boden's history with his father, as well as because Peter was Peter, someone Boden learned to really care about, almost like a son.
So, his leaving mattered. But it was beautiful and positive from every angle. As you said, in his final episode he showed that he's quick-thinking, resourceful, caring, capable. All around -- brilliant. We should miss him. Heck, even I, who was mostly bored by him (and complained that he acted a little like a brat in a couple episodes this season) -- now I'm going to miss him. What's wrong with me? ;)
On another topic -- I am still worried about Severide. This recovery was remarkably fast and ChiFire doesn't do fast recoveries (Kelly's neck injury, Casey's head trauma, heck, even Cruz dealing with letting a gangbanger die, there could be more examples). The doctor asked about very specific things and we all know that Severide tends to neglect his symptoms. That's one thing. Another is that I feel like everyone is leaving him. His dad, obviously, then, what's the deal with his mom? Shay, of course. Now, in span of an episode April left and, well, he did get teary-eyed at the Mills's good-bye party. From the future episode descriptions we know that there's going to be a conflict between him and Casey. It sucks.
And Casey. Yeah, the strip-club thing with all the boys (yay Capp!) was hilarious. And while it is kind of 'out of left field' thing, I think it's good to sometimes see those people outside of firehouse (and doing something different that romancing). Makes them rounder characters and while this particular storyline is not incredibly interesting, I think it adds a lot to Casey's character, so I'm all for it. :)
On a final note (sorry I got so wordy, lol), I can't wait to see the new paramedic. I hear it's a woman and YAY, because Fire needs more women in the main cast. Are there any episode stills out yet? I want to know what she looks like!
I said it before.. I love April and Severide. If their romance would not work on 2 shows maybe they cld put April on Ambo on CF...she's a nurse after all...maybe she can practice as a paramedic. I'm just imagining here but I want them together
ReplyDeleteThis episode was so heartbreaking, and I just don't understand why they wrote Mills out. He is such a great character with so much story left. His goodbye with Dawson was wonderful as well as his last moment with Brett. And that hug... So many tears! I do hope Chicago Fire changes their mind and brings him back. I'm going to miss Peter Mills and Charlie Barnett on my screen every week.
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! I've seen a couple 'explanations' as to why they wrote him off, and honestly, it's a bunch of BS if you ask me. The EP Olmstead said the reason was along the lines of "a need for new characters and new story lines" I will really miss him
ReplyDelete"This recovery was remarkably fast and ChiFire doesn't do fast recoveries"
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you watch previews for the next episode, but he's investigating something and because of that, he's needed quickly. He has a special skill that's needed to transfer the crossover to Law and Order: SVU and Chicago PD.
I agree that it was a quick recovery, but the crossover's timing likely forced them to do it. Casey's head trauma was also a quick recovery because he was needed for a storyline reason.
Yeah, I watch previews (and interviews). And I heard that there's some trouble with the fire and that's actually what got me worried. :)
ReplyDeleteHe may be up and about, but that doesn't mean there won't be any problems and frankly, I wouldn't want the issue to be completely swept under the rug, I would kind of feel cheated.
Casey's head injury was resolved during the winter hiatus if I'm not mistaken (four weeks), but it was still mentioned again and again over several episodes. This, now, was played like too big of a deal, what with the black tag and everything, for it to be just a one-episode thing. Besides, they mentioned "the gun in the drawer" (we have to watch your breathing over the next week or two). That gun has to fire.
Looks like we may get a more pensive and logical Severide forward, so that's something that can be a result of the injury. Episode 23 synopsis says that Severide questions his judgement, so it seems like he is going to take a step back or some sort of new direction.
ReplyDeleteWhere can I find this preview?
ReplyDeleteNBC's Chicago Fire page should have all of the previews. If not, it was a TVLine preview exclusive and it can be found under the article title
ReplyDeleteChicago Fire Sneak Peek: The Dawson Siblings Team for Crossover Event.
The interviews with Jesse Spencer, Eamon walker and Mnica Raymund and Taylor Kinney are on NBC ChiFire youtube channel:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/user/nbcChicagoFire