Chicago Fire - The Beating Heart - Review

Welcome back! The Chicago trilogy is back with a three-show crossover event with the tagline, “Three shows, two nights, one Chicago”. I’m not kidding, every time I heard that promo all I could think of was “Thirty-nine days, eighteen people, one Survivor”. Anyway…

The three hour event starts with Chicago Fire and we pick up exactly where we left off; Herrmann is on the floor of the backroom at Molly’s, bleeding profusely after being stabbed by Freddie. Dawson and Otis find him, and Herrmann is quickly rushed to Chicago Med. I love that guest stars consistently pop back up. This week was no exception, as Chout rushed Herrmann to the hospital and Chaplain Orlovsky was almost always at Cindy’s side.

Chicago Med’s breakout star Dr. Connor Rhodes (more on that in the Chicago Med review) takes charge of Herrmann’s case. Dr. Rhodes stabilizes Herrmann, but it’s mostly a waiting game for the majority of the episode with a few panicked moments. Herrmann struggles with breathing a few times but is stabilized until the only option left is surgery. Connor seems to have the reputation of being a little risky, so his decisions regarding Herrmann’s treatment are questioned, mostly by Severide and Dawson. Herrmann’s fight for life and Connor’s judgment continue in the Chicago Med portion of the crossover, so stay tuned.

Maybe this is naïve, but I was never worried for Herrmann. As Chaplain Orlovsky said, Herrmann is the beating heart of 51, so I don’t see the writers killing him. I know the same could have been said about Shay, but they can’t kill Herrmann, right?! They can’t. They won’t.

Between getting back together with Casey, having a miscarriage, being a key component in the Maddox/Boden fiasco, and now watching her pseudo-father fight for his life, it’s been a tough season for Dawson. I’m so glad Casey gives Dawson the shift off to stay with Herrmann and Cindy because these scenes were wonderful. On a related note, I love Cindy and am requesting to see more of her, writers. Please.

Elsewhere…

Cruz works with Chicago PD’s Ruzek to locate Freddie. Props to Joe Minoso, he did a fantastic job in what was an emotional episode for Cruz. He naturally feels responsible for what happened to Herrmann (as he brought Freddie into Firehouse 51). In a desperate search for Freddie, Cruz ends up in a bad part of town with a gun to his face. Later, as luck would have it (well, not so much for Freddie), the house is called on scene where a man (Freddie) is stuck on a collapsing fire escape. The good news is that Freddie makes it to the ground alive. The bad news (for Freddie) is that Ruzek takes him to jail immediately after.

I haven’t always been a big fan of Cruz, but as a supporting character, he’s really excelled this season. His friendship with Severide is something I hope the writers continue to explore and his final scene with Herrmann made me tear up.

Severide is back! It was an underwhelming return as Lieutenant for Severide this week, as Herrmann took the spotlight (rightly so). But it was nice to see him back in the role he thrives in. He’s a natural leader, which enabled him to put aside his personal opinions on the Freddie issue to make sure Cruz was okay.

Chili is driving me crazy. She’s been acting bizarre for some time now, and we are no closer to knowing what on God’s green earth is bothering her than we were at the start of the season. When Dr. Ethan Choi asks important questions about a patient’s condition, Chili gets defensive and shuts down. I wanted to slap her. Dr. Choi is trying to figure out what happened and save a life! Girl, get the hell over whatever it is that’s bothering you.

We randomly got like fifteen seconds of Chili crying in a waiting room chair, so hopefully we’re on the verge of figuring out what her issue is, because I can’t take this anymore.

With encouragement from Cindy and Dawson, Mouch (or Randall McHolland/Mouchy if you’re Cindy and Dawson) flubs his way through a proposal to Platt. Best line from Mouch, “This is a ring.”

I can’t tell you all how much I love these two. Naturally, Platt walks away because that proposal was a hot mess. They later reconnect and actually get engaged (hallelujah!), but not before Platt says, “That proposal was really messy and half-assed, but then again, so are you…” Platt for queen of the world. She is amazing.

So, how will this work? For those who don’t watch both Fire and PD, part of this relationship is missed. Who gets the wedding, PD or Fire? This is a must-see wedding! This is why I loathe cross-show romances. They don’t work. More complaining on this topic in the Chicago Med review…

While Herrmann fights for his life at Chicago Med, the rest of the house responds to a fire started by an apparent suicide attempt. The woman, Jessica Pope, is taken to Chicago Med and serves as the catalyst for the case that crosses over the three shows. Was it really a suicide attempt? Check out Chicago Med and Chicago PD to find out!


What did you think of the episode? Will Herrmann survive? What is bothering Chili and when will we find out? Share your thoughts below!

About the Author - Meghan Reynolds

A Colorado native, Meghan was born a raised a Denver Broncos fan. Aside from football, she loves television and some might say watches too much of it. Some of her favorite shows of the past and present include Galavant, The Blacklist, The Office, Veronica Mars, The 100, and Gilmore Girls. She reviews Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med for SpoilerTV.