This week's episode of Chicago Fire picked up right where it left off last week. The fire at the school is still being investigated, Brett's friend, Hope, is still hanging around, and the firehouse is preparing for the Muster.
The biggest story this week is figuring out who set the fire at the school. Donna thinks one of the students intentionally started the fire so Boden sends Casey and Severide to the school to make sure nothing's been missed. When Severide and Casey talk to the investigator, they realize the fire was started by chemicals, and they're not sure if it is arson. Boden is not happy. He sends them back to the school and tells them to keep looking until they find something to make this a criminal investigation.
Severide and Casey talk to the students, and Casey recognizes the kid who saved the girl in the fire: Rashidi. Severide calls out another student, Mateo, who is uncooperative. They are suspicious of Mateo after Donna mentions all the trouble he's been in. They definitely think he set the fire after Gabby and Brett get called to go help Rashidi who has a dislocated elbow. Severide goes back to the school to get answers. He finds Mateo and pins him against the wall trying to get him to confess. He gets carried away and throws him against the stairwell. Mateo does confess, telling Severide that he lit a match. This is strange because the fire was a started by chlorine and brake fluid.
After talking to Dawson, the guys figure out that Rashidi accidentally started the fire. He had access to the chlorine because of his lifeguard job. He didn't mean for the fire to spread like it did; he just wanted a small fire to start on Mateo's lab table so Mateo would be kicked out. Rashidi was tired of being bullied. At the end of the episode Severide visits Mateo again, this time to tell him they know he wasn't responsible for the fire. Severide gives him a speech about how he can't go around beating people up every time he feels disrespected. I feel like Severide saw some of him in Mateo, and I hope that he was able to get through to him.
I don't know about you all, but I was a little disappointed in this story. I thought it would last a few more episodes, but at least it showed how dangerous bullying can be.
"Ignite on Contact" also focused on Firehouse 51 preparing for the Muster. Mouch has upped the stakes by betting Firehouse 87 $1,000 that they would win. He assigns the entire house activities, and most of the firefighters are less than thrilled. Brett can't do the dummy drag (but watching her practice was hilarious), and Cruz has issues with the pole hang. The funniest thing about this story was when Mouch interrupted Boden's discussion about the fire to ask if he was going to do tug.
"I'm not putting my back out because you made a bet with 87." - Boden
At the end of the Muster, Cruz gets second place at the dummy drag. Mouch is not happy that he didn't do the pole hang, but it turns out he switched with Brett. She wins the pole hang! This sets up the finale with tug of war against Firehouse 87. Did anyone else love how Boden showed up like a rock star? He definitely helped Firehouse 51 win. This Muster story was silly, but I liked how everyone came together, and it lightened up the episode. Plus they stole $1,000 from the jerks at 87!
I did love the Stella and Dawson scenes this week. They haven't had many scenes together lately, and I really like their friendship. The two of them were basically the only ones okay with their Muster assignments because they knew they would win. They discuss Stella living with Severide, and Dawson is suspicious. Stella keeps saying that she's not hung up on Severide and living with him isn't a big deal.
"You know if you keep saying that it means you're hung up on him, right?" - Dawson
I agree that Stella still has feelings for Severide, but I'm really not ready for a Stella/Severide/Hope love triangle for half the season. What's wrong with Hope? Something is definitely going on. She seemed sad when she watched Brett walk into the firehouse with Cruz and Otis. But she wasn't so sad when she talked to Severide later in the episode. I hope that we figure out what's going on with Hope so she either becomes more likable or she leaves the show. Either option is fine with me.
Other Thoughts:
- Did anyone else notice that the couch has a pillow that says "Mouch's Spot?" Have we seen this before, and I just missed it?
- I'm so glad that Cruz stood up for himself with Mouch. It was about time.
- Mouch's story about his "vision" he had after his heart attack was ridiculous. They were all walking hand in hand up a staircase? And this meant they were going to win the Muster? Get real. I'm happy Herrmann called him out on it and said it was funny he never mentioned this vision before now.
What did you think about "Ignite on Contact"? Are you glad the school fire is wrapped up? Did you like the Muster? Let me know in the comments section!
