For some horrible reason, Otis still things he and Sylvie are going to be a thing. He starts off the hour by trying to ask Sylvie out on a date, but things are interrupted (thankfully) by Jimmy who brings Sylvie coffee. Before Otis can recover, Sylvie and Jimmy are called to a scene.
On scene, Sylvie and Jimmy find a blood trail leading to a man with a gunshot wound. While Jimmy leaves to get the stretcher, Sylvie and the wounded man are approached by the killer, who puts three more bullets into the victim. At gunpoint, he forces Sylvie to hand over her ID and threatens her life should she say anything about what happened.
At the hospital, Sylvie is still understandably shaken. Her fears aren’t helped any when the cop on the case shows up, looking fresh out of the academy. Jimmy suggests going to Antonio and duh, why wasn’t that the first call they made? Unfortunately he’s unreachable and Jimmy and Sylvie have to leave for another call.
At the hospital again later, Sylvie returns to the ambo by herself, at night. I was yelling “No! No! No!” the entire scene. Come on, Sylvie! Of course the shooter shows up, but Sylvie manages to run into Jimmy’s arms (literally) and find the shooter vanished. After that ordeal, Jimmy and Sylvie approach Gabby for help in finding Antonio.
Boden is upset, and not just as a chief. He really is the papa bear to this house and when someone threatens a member of his family, he takes it personally.
“You should have called me from the scene! I would have met you at Med, not left your side until I was sure you were safe…My job is to take care of my people. How can I do that if they’re not being upfront with me?”Meanwhile, Dawson gets hold of Antonio, who sheds some light on the case. The gunshot victim was part of a crew out of Detroit, in town for a deal that went sideways. Sylvie identifies the shooter from six images Antonio shows her, and Antonio knows exactly who he is. “We need to make sure he never gets that close to you again.” Naturally, Jimmy insists on giving Sylvie a ride home, much to Otis’ chagrin. Face the truth, Otis; that date is never going to happen.
Though Sylvie has cops watching her apartment 24/7, Gabby and Stella stay the night with her to calm her fears. It doesn’t do much good, as the shooter calls Sylvie to tell her the cops can’t watch her forever. After that, Boden is taking no chances. Sylvie is not to go out on ambo calls until the shooter is caught. You know what that means? Gabby on ambo! I know she’s a fantastic firefighter and loves that job, but I really miss her on ambo. On her first call, she and Jimmy coincidentally find the shooter, who ended up in a shootout with some cops. He dies on scene, and I say good riddance.
A touching close to the case had Sylvie arrive on scene to identify the body (that’s not the touching part). After identifying the shooter as the deceased, Jimmy crosses the red tape to pull her into a hug. Yeah, these two are going to be a thing.
Elsewhere…
On the heels of victory in the alderman race, Casey begins to feel the pressure. Sure, it starts as banter with the house, but Casey quickly learns being an alderman will be quite a job. While I’m not sure that I like this alderman role for Casey, it has been an excellent showcase of Casey’s relationship with Dawson. She’s been his biggest supporter through the whole process, and they’re arguably better than they’ve ever been. Well…maybe not…
The Sun Times mistakes Gabby for Casey’s wife, and her reaction was a bit disturbing to Casey. He doesn’t have long to dwell on that though, as Severide’s arm is badly burned on a call. They find the reason to be cheap, highly-flammable insulation, which strikes a personal chord with Casey. Casey tracks down the contracting company and discovers the company, led by John Gallow, is up for a large contract that all the aldermen will be voting on.
It becomes apparent that political corruption runs deep in Chicago. It’s all about, “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” which doesn’t sit well with Casey. John Gallow has too many ties with the aldermen and though he tries, Casey can’t successfully take him down.
In happier news, it’s just about wedding time! In preparation, Mouch asks Herrmann to be his best man, as Logan was put on the no fly list (for undisclosed reasons). I’m happy for Herrmann, as I know how much it means to him, but I’m also bummed we won’t get to see Logan. He was a hoot! And Mouch needs all the help he can get. He is so nervous! Apparently, he and Platt have gone on “cultured” dates nonstop and he worries he’ll be expected to continue that forever. Though Herrmann puts his mind at ease, Mouch couldn’t even know then how perfect he and Platt are for each other.
On the day of the wedding, we get what is easily now one of my favorite Chicago Fire scenes of all time. In the back room, Gabby and Burgess try to calm down a panicked Platt. Right away, Platt references their “cultured” dates and how she can’t take it anymore. “I’m exhausted!” she cries as she grabs a bottle of vodka. The girls calm her down but Platt’s not done yet. She pulls out the chicken cutlets (I don’t even know the official name, I’ve always called them chicken cutlets) from her dress, because they make her sweat, and hands them to Gabby.
“I don’t even know why I’m talking to you two anyway. You can’t even lock down a man!”If for some reason you haven’t seen the episode, fix that immediately. If you have seen the episode, go watch this scene a few more times. You’ll be glad you did.
The wedding goes off without a hitch and the reception sets in motion two storylines for our two leading men: Casey and Severide. But first, Otis finally finds a woman who seems perfect for him. Zazdarovje, Otis!
Now back to that matter between Casey and Dawson. Not only does Gabby not react well to the wife comment in the paper, but she also tells Sylvie and Stella that she likes things exactly as they are and she’s happier than she’s ever been. So naturally, this is all going to crash and burn in the near future.
Sure enough, the crashing and burning begins at Mouch and Platt’s wedding. Casey thinks it’s crazy he and Dawson aren’t married which is not what she wants to hear. It’s not just the rules of the job keeping Gabby from wanting more; she’s happy with where things are. There has to be more to it, right? She’s been in love with Casey from day one and they were engaged before. Is it fear? What is it? Whatever it is, Casey now sees it and is not happy.
And while it seems a rough patch is ahead for Dawson and Casey, things are looking bright for Stella and Severide…maybe.
The upcoming wedding slyly exposes Severide’s anti-marriage thoughts. Several times he offers to help Mouch with an escape, though Herrmann shuts him down with, “Ignore him, he’s got a cold and sad heart!”
The timing of these reveals (and we’ve seen several dropped hints over recent weeks) is curious, as it’s clear something is brewing between Stella and Severide. With Stella’s ex-husband officially out of the picture, it’s only a matter of time. And wouldn’t you know, they’ll be seated at the same table at the wedding!
At the reception, Stella tells a grandiose version of the story when Severide “broke” into her house. Looks say much more than words and the look these two shared at the end told everything: expect to see these two together in the near future. But will Severide’s commitment issues be a problem?
Just a side note thought that doesn’t really pertain to this episode specifically: I’m on board for Sylvie and Jimmy. I think it’s a great pairing and with Chili and her drama out of the way, it’s clear the two have great chemistry. I’m also on board for Stella and Severide. They also have great chemistry and it’s clear Stella isn’t the typical “out in five episodes” character Severide normally goes for. That being said, I’m still holding out hope for Sylvie and Severide. I know, I know, it’s a longshot. But, that romance is one the writers did intend to see through, and I’m hoping they still might. I love the potential they have and I think they both have a lot they could learn from each other.
But for now, I will happily cheer for Sylvie and Jimmy, and Severide and Stella while a small part of me (okay, a bigger part of me) holds out hope.
What did you think of the episode? How long until we see Sylvie and Jimmy together, as well as Severide and Stella? Are we headed toward another Casey/Dawson breakup? Share your thoughts below!