Chicago Fire - The Sky Is Falling - Review

The first call of the night takes the house to Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears. No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, that smoke was purple. No one is seriously hurt, and the biggest problem of the call is Chili. Sylvie wants to give a man with serious breathing issues epinephrine, but Chili says “No, he’ll be fine.” The guy is clearly not fine, and neither is Chili. But she pulls the, “I’m the PIC” card and though Sylvie doesn’t ultimately give him the medication, she considers it. Also, I didn’t know until now that Chili was the PIC. That needs to change, immediately.

Later at the hospital, a paramedic from Chili’s former house approaches Sylvie. Apparently, Chili wasn’t forthcoming about how she left her last house; she was forced out for her excessive drinking. Sylvie confronts Chili about the real reason she left her past house, and then all hell breaks loose. Chili doesn’t waste any time going to Boden.

“What’s going on, Chili?”
“Not much. Other than I need a new partner.”

Doh! So much for that breakthrough last week. She gives Boden an ultimatum; get rid of Sylvie, or she’ll call his superiors. You guys, I was fuming. I’ve been so frustrated with Chili this season and then last week, I thought we finally might see the Chili we love. But I’m done. This was such a terrible move on her part, so petty and childish. At this point, there isn’t anything she can do to redeem herself. I’m ready for her to leave 51.

Boden talks with Sylvie, and while she’s understandably frustrated, it’s clear he’s on her side. Sylvie later finds Chili and gets angrier than we’ve ever seen. Casey breaks up what would have been a fight with Boden not far behind, and Chili retorts with, “She’s the one you’re protecting?” She’s going to lose it.

While that drama unfolds, Alex (the homeland security agent) arrives and gathers the officers for a meeting about the goings on in the city. There’s been a spike in terror threats, much like the first call the team responded to. They believe someone is dividing the city’s resources in preparation for an attack. They don’t have much to go on, but they do provide the team with tactical plans.

Chief Hatcher meets with Boden, who advises him to give Chili what she wants, or things could get messy for 51. No! Don’t give her what she wants! They all meet with Chili, pleading with her to drop the complaint. But before anything is resolved, the alarm sounds and the house is called away.

On scene, the members of Truck 81 get trapped in a building when shots break out, both inside and outside the building. Severide and Boden work to move people to safety outside, and Severide spots a sign in a window; someone needs help. Out of the rooftop shooter’s sight, Severide climbs the ladder to save the victim inside. The shooter finds them, though, and Alex is shot (not fatally) in the altercation.

Inside, Casey finds a group of people hiding out, most of Truck 81 included. They can’t stay put, as smoke starts pouring out from the vent. In a tense scene, Casey and co. lead the people out, using the smoke as cover.

Meanwhile, Sylvie and Chili get stuck together. Go figure. The two take cover behind a couch, and narrowly avoid being seen by one of the shooters. It seems the perilous situation removes all animosity between the two. But what should have been a touching moment didn’t do much for me, as Chili’s damage is beyond repair (in my mind, at least). I was worried when they moved to the hall to treat a victim, because naturally, a shooter finds them. I was convinced that Sylvie was going to die, and I would’ve lost it!

This was a stressful situation, and I’m surprised (and thankful) everyone made it out alive! We haven’t seen much of Casey and Dawson’s relationship lately, so it was nice to see these two embrace after the close call. I hope we get some progression with these two in the near future, I feel like while they’re doing well, there’s not much progression.

In the end, Chili breaks down and apologizes to Sylvie. Sylvie kept a stern face for much of the scene, echoing how I felt. Chili cried, but I didn’t feel it. I wanted to, the girl has been through so much (she’s lost her whole family). But I just don’t feel for her anymore. “I need help!” she cries. Yeah, she absolutely does. And until she grieves and gets the help she needs, she should not be responsible for the lives of others.


Elsewhere…

Casey can’t let the mysterious money disappearance involving Alderman Becks go. Dawson tells Casey to let it go, because Becks could retaliate against the house. She’s got a point, and we don’t need anyone coming after the house. We just got over that. But, it’s Casey, so he’s obviously not letting this go.

Becks is really going to regret making Casey mad. Casey confronts Becks about the missing money, and Becks looks shaken. Or at least, he should be. “One thing I learned from my speech last week, is the power of a firefighter standing in front of the cameras.” Be afraid, Becks. Be very afraid.

Becks seems to realize he’s in trouble, and seemingly tries to buy off Casey with news that the Hicks family (the tornado victims Casey bonded with) have been financially taken care of and an invitation to use his fancy car to go to his fancy lake house. He rushes out for something that “just came up,” but I’m guessing it just added to Casey’s fire.

Oh would you look at that! Another one of Severide’s women, come and gone. When Severide visits Alex in the hospital, we find out she’s going to Miami. Good riddance, I say. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, give this man some depth! A meaningful relationship! A storyline that doesn’t involve a new woman, even! Please, writers. I’m begging.

Battle of the Badges! Mouch and Platt are hosting the event at Antonio’s gym to raise money for their wedding. Jimmy will be fighting for the firefighters of 51 and Roman for the cops of 21. Herrmann takes it upon himself to train Jimmy, and for the first time since the mid-season finale, I feel like Herrmann is back to his goofy self.

The meat punching was amazing, though I don’t know what technical purpose it has. Then again, I am no boxer so who knows. Later at the gym, Dawson gets in the ring with Jimmy. Herrmann cuts them off pretty quickly, and then gets knocked out by Dawson. This was everything. Probably my favorite scene of the night.

In the end, Platt and Mouch decide to donate the funds to families who lost loved ones in the shooting.


What did you think of the episode? Should Chili leave 51? Will Severide get a decent storyline? 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.