“We’re gonna screw up…This is all still really new.”
Before the episode’s shenanigans start, Casey and Dawson have a tiff over Louie’s schedule and who is supposed to pick him up. They settle on Casey skipping his golf outing to pick up Louie (as he was supposed to anyway), but based on the promos for this episode, I’d wager he’ll be a bit late.
Casey actually spends this episode away from the firehouse, leaving Herrmann as acting Lieutenant. While I wish we could have seen more of Herrmann’s shift in charge, I did appreciate the Casey-centric episode. But what would Chicago Fire be without a little life and death drama? Just because Casey has the shift off doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing.
As part of his off-shift contracting gig, Casey’s investigation of a warehouse for work quickly turns deadly. A fork lift (was it a fork lift? Whatever. Something like that) pierces a tank that spews acid, burning several factory workers in the process. Casey and a girl named Laurel barricade themselves and Laurel’s father in a breakroom, but they’re only buying time.
The rest of the hour cuts between Casey and the acid crisis and the Casey-less shift at the firehouse. Of course the breakroom doesn’t have cellphone service, so Casey’s forced into hero mode to figure a way out. Laurel’s dad suffered acid burns, so in between breaking through walls, blocking off the approaching acid, and trying to not die as the acid combusts with aluminum shavings, Casey MacGyvers a trach tube for the poor guy. The hole Casey eventually creates in the wall allows Laurel to squeeze through, exit, and call for help. Minutes later, 51 is on the scene and Severide and co. get both Laurel’s dad and Casey out.
Another highlight of the main story was Severide’s involvement. This show is at its finest when the three leads share scenes. And call me crazy, but I think my favorite scenes on this show are the ones shared by Dawson and Severide. It’s easy to forget that they had a shared best friend in Shay, so they naturally know each other well. They don’t share scenes often, sadly, but shine when they do. He waltzes in the apartment at the start, right in the middle of Casey and Dawson’s argument. Later, Dawson uses him as a sounding board and gains a bit of perspective regarding her argument with Severide. “Do you really think that Casey cares more about golf than Louie?” I hope the writers explore this friendship more, because it’s a good one. And perhaps the new family life Casey and Dawson are beginning will spark Severide to pursue one of his own.
How wonderful was that closing scene? Would I be naïve to push all worry for these two aside? I hope not, because I want to. There will be bumps, as there always are, but I sincerely hope we’ve seen the worst of them. I also hope Casey’s “I love you. I’m not going anywhere” isn’t somehow foreshadowing that he’ll die. Crazy, I know. Pessimistic, yes. He’s the lead, I know! But sometimes I worry.
Elsewhere…
“If you actually go, it’s literally forever! And if anything goes wrong, you get, like, suffocated to death!”
Otis is preparing for his mission to Mars. Oh, Otis. You precious thing. After learning he is one of 100 shortlisted for an eventual mission to mars, Otis begins eating space food, doing work while holding his breath, and more to prepare for the trip. Cruz even gifts Otis cricket powder, a protein powder to fill you up faster. Yuck. Somewhere along the way, Otis figures out that Cruz is pranking him and gets a bit of revenge by not only convincing Cruz he sold all of his possessions, but also by tricking him into drinking cricket powder. Oh, how I’ve missed these pranks!
“The girls can make out if you want.”
Mouch and Sylvie continue, not so discretely, their quest to become published authors for their firehouse romance. Hold up, the script is finished? They are already sending it to publishers? This is moving faster than I thought! Their first meeting with a potential “publisher” doesn’t go well, as he asks for thousands of dollars up front. This actually isn’t crazy. I worked for a self-publishing company for several years, where authors pay to publish. It’s surprisingly a route an increasing number of authors are taking, as publishing the traditional way is exceedingly difficult. Anyway, Mouch and Sylvie don’t bite and instead continue searching elsewhere. They opt to make a few changes before they continue their search, and a steamy suggestion accidentally finds its way to Platt’s phone. If there’s one wife you don’t want to infuriate, it’s Platt. Sylvie looked terrified! It wasn’t difficult to convince Platt that nothing unseemly was going on, and thanks to a relative, she might be the key to getting the book published.
“My life was so much easier when you were a firefighter. And here you are, back on Ambo, raising my blood pressure one shift at a time!”
When she’s not busy searching for publishers, Sylvie answers several calls with Dawson to the same home. An elderly woman, Margot, insists she doesn’t need to go to the hospital, and her senior advocate Courtney isn’t much help. Look, I respect the role of a senior advocate. It’s important that people aren’t taken advantage of. But to ignore medical advice, especially when it’s just to get checked out, is absurd. It’s not like they are encouraging her to have extensive heart surgery! Against their better judgment, Sylvie and Dawson don’t take Margot to the hospital the first time. But after a return visit, where Margot strokes out, they insist. Watching Dawson throw Courtney’s phone out the door instead of talking to her supervisor was amazing! It was a nice throwback to her earlier days on Ambo. The Commander wasn’t pleased, and though Sylvie stood by her, she won’t do it again. “I’m not like you, Gabby. I like following the rules. I like being liked by my boss.” But more importantly, Sylvie isn’t Shay, and that’s okay. Shay would have gone along with it, even encouraged it. Right or wrong, I certainly miss those two together on Ambo.
What did you think of the episode? Is it smooth sailing ahead for Casey and Dawson? Should the writers focus more on the friendship between Severide and Dawson? Will the romance novel be published? Share your thoughts below!
Another highlight of the main story was Severide’s involvement. This show is at its finest when the three leads share scenes. And call me crazy, but I think my favorite scenes on this show are the ones shared by Dawson and Severide. It’s easy to forget that they had a shared best friend in Shay, so they naturally know each other well. They don’t share scenes often, sadly, but shine when they do. He waltzes in the apartment at the start, right in the middle of Casey and Dawson’s argument. Later, Dawson uses him as a sounding board and gains a bit of perspective regarding her argument with Severide. “Do you really think that Casey cares more about golf than Louie?” I hope the writers explore this friendship more, because it’s a good one. And perhaps the new family life Casey and Dawson are beginning will spark Severide to pursue one of his own. 
