“I ain’t trying to be a leader. I’m trying to survive.”
The hour opens much like any other—Firehouse 51 hangs out together in the common area while some get their breakfast, a few tease Herrmann, and Mouch eats a donut while reading Shape magazine. But, things don’t stay normal for long. Shortly after Dawson and Sylvie head out for a call, shots erupt near Firehouse 51. Unfortunately, Casey and Stella don’t get the doors closed in time and several gang members (including an injured man), slip in under the doors. It’s nothing personal against 51, they’ve just found themselves in the middle of a retaliation war.
Our gun wielding friends, led by Turk, waste no time in taking over the house. Stella offers to tend to the wounded man, Akeil. Did we know that Stella has had paramedic training? The treatment doesn’t go so well—a needle freaks out the gang members who then take her to the locker room and knock her out. Better than getting shot though, right? When the psycho who knocked her out returns later to find her missing, he loses it. He maniacally searches the firehouse for her, and finds her in the bathroom. Just when he’s about to open the stall, Severide plows into him. Speaking of Severide…
Severide ends up being the only one in the firehouse unaccounted for by the gang members, and thanks to a sneaky message from Stella, he’s able to get to the radio in the squad car to alert the authorities. And in true Severide form, he refuses to leave the firehouse while his family remains hostages inside. Unfortunately, his warning doesn’t get to Gabby and Sylvie in time. As they pull up to the house and open the garage door, Casey breaks loose from the gang and frantically waves them away. He’s shot, and that’s the last thing Gabby sees before the door closes.
Thankfully, Casey’s wound isn’t critical. Severide continues his heroics and attempts to wrestle away the gun. “You think you a badass, huh?” a gang member asks. Um, yes, he totally is. Minutes later, the sirens can be heard and panic sets in for the gang members. Though it probably wasn’t intended to be humorous, I chuckled when two patrol cars equaled “half the cops in the city!” Yikes if that’s true.
Outside, a perimeter is set up and Gabby and Sylvie are on scene, obviously. As they tell the cops, the firehouse is their home and the people inside are family. That’s the difference—Firehouse 51 isn’t just a workplace, it’s a home. And as we well know, it’s also as close a family as you can get. The two manage to get in on the action, though. The men put Otis on the phone with Gabby so she can talk him through treating Akeil. No pressure Otis, you just have to do a medical procedure you’ve never done. Oh also, do it at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Sylvie spots a distressed woman in the crowd surrounding the firehouse and assumes she knows one of the men inside. Her son turns out to be JB, the most reluctant gang member. His younger sister caught a stray bullet not too long before, and that seems to have started the gang war. Thanks to a police megaphone, JB’s mom pleads with him to remember how he was raised.
And then there’s Herrmann—after a night of Cindy’s Ethiopian food, he struggles with indigestion during the hostage situation. What a horrible problem to have when you can’t go anywhere…Oh, but it can get worse. Herrmann has an apparent heart attack! Meanwhile, I’m having a panic attack. Thankfully, the men let Herrmann out. And…he was faking. I’ve never been so furious and so relieved all at once. Not cool, Herrmann! But also, brilliant move.
With time running out for the gang, they concoct a half-witted plan that involves driving the squad car out. Just because it’s huge doesn’t mean it’s bulletproof! As SWAT closes in, Turk grabs Boden, using him as a shield. He forces Boden and JB into the squad truck, but there’s no way this ends well. JB, perhaps remembering what his mother told him, attempts to disarm Turk and ends up taking a shot to the neck trying to save Boden. But no worries, after a bullet extraction by Gabby, JB makes his way to the hospital where he should recover.
The episode may not have advanced any of the ongoing storylines, and it may not have featured our favorite firemen and women running into burning buildings or pulling people out of crushed cars, but it certainly was a testament to the environment this show has created since the beginning—Firehouse 51 is a home to a tightly-knit family who put their lives on the line for the community and for each other on a daily basis.
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