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dovegrey
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On 7/8/2021 at 11:49 PM, WinJet0819 said:
But this is another cliffhanger with all or part of the house being trapped and in mortal danger. Season 2, Season 5, and Season 7 all ended with similar cliffhangers.
And this one to end this season was probably the most incredulous of all of them. But what do you expect when the righters no longer care about keeping things authentic?
The showrunner/writers have put themselves into a corner with finales. The showrunner interviewed that he's basically always looking to one-up himself and make each finale more shocking or complex, at the same time he's gutted almost all of the non-51 relationships and personal stories. We haven't seen Boden's two boys in years, and we see Donna once a season in a low/no-impact way. We maybe see one of Herrmann's kids once a season, in a way that doesn't really relate to Herrmann's job. We haven't seen or heard about Mouch's biological child since that story was first established. We never see or hear about the beloved brother that Cruz killed a man to protect (Leon didn't even rate as best man). There are also some older backstories that could be mined for finale content, like Kidd's addict background (imagine if the stress she was under in season 9 led to her using again), Casey's mom or even Louie (bio dad needs some shady help from a former alderman/respected firefighter to protect the kid?), something with the now-teenage Darden boys and Heather reigniting some animosity between Casey and Severide, etc. Maybe Cindy is diagnosed with cancer. Maybe Trudy and Mouch are violently harassed for Trudy being a cop, and Truck 81 gets shot up at a scene because of that (Gallo gets shot?). Things like that.
As it is, Cruz and Chloe are likely the one non-51 relationship that newer viewers are familiar with, but Cruz, although an original main character, is written as either comic relief or an invisible bit character who belongs more with the Tony and Capp tier of characters than even the Herrmann and Mouch tier; so, the finale can't be written about Chloe going into an early, dangerous labor, or even suffering a stillbirth by herself while Cruz is busy at a multi-alarm scene, because very few viewers will likely care about Cruz long enough to feel anticipation for 10x1. As it is, most fan site speculation about 10x1 is focused on how Severide will survive, with Cruz, Tony, and Capp lucky to be afterthoughts. The only four characters who are consistently written for in a somewhat dramatic way are Casey/Brett and Severide/Kidd, and those are the characters who get the big cliffhangers, but they're all enmeshed in 51 with zero non-work-related storylines/relationships, which leaves the writers, who must have the Most Shocking Impactful Finale Ever, relying on shut downs, reorganizations, and possible mass casualty events. It's old and boring. Severide drowns, while Kidd handwrings. Oh no. Can't wait for the magical wrap-up and three-month time skip.
The season 1 finale was probably the best one they ever did, IMO, because it focused more on wrapping up a rapid fire season and leaving fans (or at least me) eager to see where the characters developed into season 2.
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10 hours ago, NWFan2014 said:
Oooh I'm gonna be so pissed if Stella gets that office in the bullpen after Herrmann was told in no uncertain terms that he couldn't have it 😡, I mean, damn Herrmann waited patiently for several years for a Lt. spot at 51 to open up (good things come to those who wait & all that)...I'm tellin' ya'll Herrmann got hosed, pun totally intended
I will/would be PO'd, too. Ideally, the blue room office in the bullpen would go to Casey, which is what Boden wanted when Casey promoted to captain in season 6. Casey decided to keep his shoebox office. When Herrmann brought up not having an office in season 8, Casey should have moved into the blue room office, and Herrmann should have been assigned Casey's old shoebox office. If District 4 Relief Lieutenant Kidd gets an office space at 51, let alone the blue room office, it'll be yet another sign that the writers are putting to script their laziest first-pass ideas.
The other issue with Boden flat-out denying Herrmann an office is that the second and third shift Engine 51 lieutenants also don't get an office. Boden, Casey, and Severide share their respective offices and rigs/vehicles with two counterparts for each position, but that's never really touched on (like Casey keeping career-ending medical records in his office...). It doesn't make any sense, and it's something the season 8 writers should have just left alone. Anyway.
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23 hours ago, AnnA said:
I've been watching the early seasons on ION and will finish up S3 this coming Tuesday. Until I started watching from the beginning, I thought Chicago Fire (S7-9) was nothing special. By the time they started S9, I was barely paying attention while it was on. When I checked this forum and saw so many S9 episodes under discussion, I decided I should give S9 a second chance and watched the first 3 episodes on demand. Sadly, I hated them. I don't care about Girls on Fire and I sure as hell don't care about Stella and her rapid rise in the ranks.
Yep. I only stick around because of seasons 1-4ish and wanting to see resolution for many of the remaining original characters, like Casey and Boden. Once they're gone, I'm gone. I also think the show still does fire and rescue better than the bits of what I've seen of 911 and Station 19 (I can't stand their brand new, clean turn-out gear), and that part of Fire is still fun to watch...although, unfortunately, this part has been waning.
I'm hoping the current showrunner, Derek Haas, puts his full-time energy into the new FBI International show and hands off Fire to someone who takes it seriously and can competently run an ensemble drama. A lot of the story problems and shifts in tone and characterization stem back to him becoming the only showrunner (which is interesting, because the individual episodes he writes tend to be really good ones).
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4 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:
I attended Catholic school from kindergarten through high school...trust me, the nuns ain't all that holy. She totally wanted revenge.
IMO whenever Severide does this, he never really seems all that invested in the conversation...kinda like the stereotypical "Yes, dear, whatever you say" over a cup of coffee and a newspaper. I haven't been able to figure out whether this is intentional on the part of the character or if Taylor Kinney is starting to just phone it in.
I see Taylor Kinney acting the way Taylor Kinney has always acted, although maybe a bit shaky with having to emote, converse, and laugh. That’s not Severide, and I imagine it must be hard to try to play your established character of eight years while reading lines and doing scenes that, at best, belong more to a character like Casey. Severide isn’t a sweet, supportive, mentor-type guy who’s aw-shucks always ready to drop everything, handhold, and console. Even with how he’s been with Casey, such as complaining that Casey didn’t confide personal problems and multiple times being will to dive into relationship talk, just isn’t in-character. To me, that’s why it rings false, superficial, and, with Stellaride, creepy (it very much reads as an abuser's love bombing to me, even though I wouldn't expect these writers to be going there).
He doesn’t need to be, and never was, and never will be Lt. Charming, but the writers are trying real hard to make him into that. All in all, I think Stellaride became the showrunner’s projection of Dawsey, and it just doesn't ring true.
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2 hours ago, icemiser69 said:
In the real world I don't think that works in most cases the way it appears Dawson wants it to. That to me comes as almost a rebound type of relationship. Casey is grieving, and will most likely cling to Dawson in an effort to fill that emotional void over the loss of Hallie.
Without getting into specifics, I've long thought that their entire romantic relationship was carried on the momentum of sporadic high-emotion events, starting with Hallie. Even as recently as season 8, Casey mentioned to Gallo that it took him a long while to come to grips with Hallie's death. The season 9 writers really could have used that to help unravel Dawsey at the end.
11 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:Matt's relationship was Hallie was always something I wish they had kept. A main character starting a show already in a relationship and having it grow. But they just had push Dawsey.
Hindsight being what it is, I've wished that they'd kept Hallie long enough to have her hop over to Chicago Med. The lead of Fire being married to the lead of Med would have lended a lot more to "One Chicago" feeling genuinely connected and intersected. Anyway, I liked Matt and Hallie together and have joked that I absolutely wouldn't have minded if she had miraculously risen from the dead out of a witness protection program in season 8 or season 9. (Sorry, Brett.)
18 hours ago, icemiser69 said:That would have been the perfect response to that egotistical asshole, Severide. His penis ought to come with a counter, counting how many people he has "served".
At the most basic level, which is what I am talking about, trust, Severide expects everyone to trust him, and believe in him, and give him the benefit of a doubt, but he is unwilling to extend the same courtesy to Casey.
Your entire post here basically describes why I've never liked Severide, will never like Severide, and will never "buy" the turnaround in his character (which is apparent in the more recent seasons). His popularity astounds me.
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1 hour ago, AnnA said:
I'm watching S2 now and so far I love it. The early years were so much better than what I've seen the past three years.
I've read a lot of negative comments about Gabby but so far, she's OK. I guess she doesn't become a pain in the a$$ for another few seasons and until she hooks up with Casey.
I really enjoyed the backstory of Molly's.
They definitely were! :) Seriously, enjoy these seasons. They were good.
I really enjoyed and liked Gabby - and Matt and Gabby together - until sometime in season 5. I'm sure you've picked up on details in the talk of later season episodes, but without saying anything too specific, I don't think that what happened to Gabby was limited to Gabby, per se. I tend to think all of the characters ultimately became reduced to the most extreme of their primary traits, but Gabby's primary traits happen to be ones that are annoying when not tempered by anything else and she was the female lead hooked up with the #1 lead, so lots of screentime.
And, heh, the backstory of Molly's is something that probably should have been a thing after Matt and Gabby broke up in season 7. This shut down, divorced 40-something guy who rooms with a coworker spends most of his nights drinking at his ex-wife's beloved bar, but no one ever mentioned it or questioned his mental health. Every time I see the door at Molly's, I think about the backstory there. (Honestly, based on interviews, I don't think the showrunner remembers or cares to remember.)
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From the Chicago Fire in the Media thread:
On 6/12/2021 at 3:28 PM, WinJet0819 said:But funny enough, and most likely due to Shay being gay, they were a prime example of a well-done platonic relationship. They worked together and cared for each other like you'd expect from good friends. And that is a foreign concept on One Chicago these days. Now, if male and female characters care about one another, they have to be in a romantic relationship.
That's a really good point. It was refreshing that they had a tight friendship without a clear romantic element. On the flipside, I'd argue that they were as emotionally hitched as Casey and Gabby, if not more so. There was no overt romantic passion, but they definitely met or exceeded each other's commitment and psychological intimacy needs, and they were all up in each other's sexual business and traded a few partners, IIRC. And they agreed to have a kid together, which is just about as far as Dawsey ever got and is further than Stellaride has gotten in five years. "Platonic" fits by definition, but they seemed so much more involved in each other than that; I'd even argue that Shay was the love of Severide's life, looking back across the full 9 seasons.
In any case, I've always thought that Shay and Severide had the friendship that so much of fandom is convinced that Casey and Severide have, which is odd because Shay and Severide only knew each other for 3 years at most by the end of season 2..and that's being really generous with the established timeline. I buy the friendship, but I also think the writers unintentionally wrote an underlying unhealthy dynamic there, especially given Severide's original characterization and a lot of what he got up to in season 1 that he pressured Shay to be involved in. I think this is why I think of them as creepy together.
As I write this, I think Gabby and Severide and Casey and Kidd are the closest heterosexual platonic friendships the show has ever had, but those are both friend-of-my-significant-other situations. I forget if Brett and Mills got up to anything.
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On 6/10/2021 at 3:39 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:
Well... there is that. The good years except for the second half of Gabby's run. 😉 But Peter Mills, Leslie Shay, and some others I'm sure I'm forgetting were awesome.
I never liked Shay when she was attached to Severide; I found them to be super creepy and weird together, but Shay was pretty cool when she was with Gabby, Rafferty, and even sudden friends with Casey near the end of season 2. And I still don't understand what happened with Mills/Charlie Barnett; what a waste of a good character (I'd rather have seen Cruz leave than Mills, hindsight being what it is). Other than that, I liked Newhouse, too.
But almost all the characters were awesome back in the earlier seasons. The characterizations and writing shifted so much by season 5-6 that it's pretty much like watching an entirely different cast of characters for seasons 1-3, with season 4 starting to show the results of Fire's writing/showrunning talent being gutted to support PD and Med.
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1 minute ago, amarante said:
Interesting analysis. Of course, it is hard to remember which of the shenanigans Goodwin was aware of but of course she is an enabler.
In terms of the nuanced response in Goodwin's office, I am not sure the writers are nuanced enough to have that in their "notes" for the actor in the script in terms of how they want the character to be reacting. And at the end - for whatever reason - Will defends his decision to Nat as there being no other option. Of course that could be viewed as fake bravado.
Of course there is the possibility that the actor inserts his or her *deeper* read into the role. I am not sure that the actor portraying Will is that cerebral in terms of his acting chops or does he just essentially call it in given the mediocrity of the show itself.
She knew enough of his antics to not make him Chief, almost bitterly so. And vicarious learning of consequences is a thing, too - look at how much Natalie's gotten away with. Kidnapping some parents' kids and screaming hysterically at them didn't get her fired. If that doesn't, then nothing will get any of these lunatics fired. It's all bad writing, but, at some point, it does reflect on the characters themselves. Goodwin is nice but she's a terrible manager.
I try not to disparage actors. Anyone with half a brain cell would be thinking "if I throw the real culprit under the bus, will that save my job?"
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10 hours ago, amarante said:
I realize that Will has acted unethically and rashly on numerous occasions - some of which were known to Godwin.
But my surprise was that he seemed to be surprised that he was fired. Any employee who compromised a test would have to be fired because the hospital would be unable to participate in any other tests which is a detriment on so many levels. It is hard to even bring in many high level doctors unless they have the ability to bring in outside research funding. And of course, that someone would compromise a study is completely outside the realm of appropriate behavior - it is one of the sacred tenets of science that studies not be compromised and that those running the studies can be trusted to at least not go outside the parameters of the guidelines for the applicable study.
I'm probably projecting a real-life situation I'm navigating right now (heh, I'm not the one who should be fired and I'm not the manager, though), but bad managers enable bad employees like Will. Every inappropriate thing he's done without consequence has reinforced that he's safe and can do whatever he wants, because, although angry and disappointed, Goodwin will more-or-less have his back. Of course he's surprised. After six years of stunts, he literally never saw this coming. As a manager, Goodwin is a fake hard ass, which, to me, is the worst kind - she puts on a great talk but heads rarely roll. That style of management does nothing for anyone.
And although I saw initial surprise and definitely saw him get blindsided by the termination, I thought the majority of Will's response in that scene was him deciding if he should/could throw Natalie under the bus. To me, it read as him cycling through all the possible options.
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5 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:
I think that would be best case, but then you have another piece of apparatus to deal with; the DDC command vehicle, the BC vehicle, Engine, Truck and Ambo. Is there even space on the apparatus floor? Boden has gravitas and can hold a room. I can't think of one other character on this show who could pull that off. Voight on PD, and maybe Dr. Charles on Med. The guys you just don't f**k with. The show needs that character, and no offense to Jesse Spencer, but Lt. Casey (BC Casey) ain't it. He's a Nice Guy and an excellent firefighter/officer but he's not written as the proverbial Leader of Men, and it would be foolish to try.
Haha, I'm of two minds on this again. In the earlier seasons, Casey absolutely had the respect of his people. They often approached him like they approached Boden - don't mess with Casey with stupid stuff, but you can rely on Casey and know he has your back. Casey was a smooth-talking, crowd-raising politician for a while there, too (as much as I hated that story), who demonstrated tons of charisma. If we just look at season 7 onward, when Casey essentially became a shut-down shell who didn't talk to anyone, then, yeah, I don't see it, either. There's also the issue that Boden has NEVER stepped back and actually allowed Casey to run the house as a captain. It's hard to shine when you're eclipsed in someone's shadow. That's why, if DDC Boden happens, I think it would be terrible for him to stay in "his house." He needs to go out and do his damn job, not the job he pretends to still have (he's basically Captain Boden), and let the people at 51 do their jobs and develop their talent/skill. In real life, Casey would have left 51 and gone somewhere he could actually do his job. (I would've.)
(I love Boden. It's a writing issue. When Casey got promoted, it wouldn’t have been a bad idea to permanently expand the premise of the show out to the actual Battalion 25, which has to include at least another house or two besides Firehouse 51 and Firehouse 20 (from season 8, with Captains Delaney and Leone, who we only saw for the one small arc). Ambo 61 has its own storylines with its own calls, so why couldn’t Boden have had his non-51 Batt Chief calls that we see? I’d rather have that as the C-storyline versus silly manufactured C-plots. Anyway.)
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2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:
I've long held that Casey's status in limbo these past few years have been due to the show hedging its bets against a Monica Raymund return. And that if she does decide to return on some basis in the future Casey will probably end up going back to her. For whatever reason the show seems to think Casey/Gabby were the be-all and end-all of the show.
He wouldn't have to leave the show if Boden got promoted out of the fire house, although it would certainly be more of a challenge working him into the story every week. We do see plenty of the "white shirts" stick their noses in all the time.
I agree about Monica Raymund. I kinda think the will-they-won't-they this season was the showrunner waiting to see if Jesse Spencer renewed; if not, off to Puerto Rico with Casey. (There's still been no official announcement on contracts, though...) In hindsight, I don't understand why, when Monica left, they just didn't have the white shirts come down and say a captain can't be at the same house as a spouse, and then have Gabby transfer to a different shift. She'd be his off-screen wife, like Cindy, Donna, Chloe, etc., with plenty of room to maneuver. But no...write her off to Puerto Rico which made absolutely no sense and then pretty much fridge your first-billed lead for two years...coolcoolcoolcoolcool.
And, yeah, I think DDC Boden with cameos or in a recurring status would barely change from the screentime Walker has now.
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6 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:
From a storytelling perspective this would make the most sense and would be the path of least resistance. It might also make financial sense since Eammon Walker is likely commanding a very big payday already for a mostly-supporting role.
My only problem with that is that Walker is the best actor in the entire show and it would be a shame if he left. Obviously the Boden character would become an outstanding DDC but it would be a shame to lose him as a regular. They could still bring him in for cameos at major fire scenes, where he's in charge of the entire fireground (a very real thing).
I'm two minds of this. I loved Boden in the first few seasons, but then he fell victim to the same marginalization and caricaturization as Herrmann, Cruz, and Mouch. He's just about already at cameo/guest star status in terms of screentime and storylines, like Cruz. It is a complete waste of Walker and the rich life the original writing team built for Boden between seasons 1-3. When they showed the family photo with Donna and Terrance this episode, I thought it was sad that Terrance has grown up so much but hasn't been on the show in years (I had to look up the kid's name). I still miss the slight family focus the show had in the earlier years, with Herrmann's kids, the Darden kids, annual cookouts, etc. Boden having a kid would have fit easily into that, and should have.
Unless a new writing team and showrunner is brought on board, or Matt Olmstead is brought back, my opinion is the best thing they could do is gradually downsize the cast, and, yeah, that means writing out Boden. The writers cannot effectively handle an ensemble drama, IMO. But what I worry the writers could do is...promote Boden up and have him stay in the District 4 office at 51 (which is where he already is, unless that's been a long-term set error?) as DDC, then promote Casey to BC and have him take "the blue room" office that Patterson had in season 4; this would almost certainly be a disaster and continue to stifle Casey, just like Boden has never allowed Casey to truly serve as the firehouse captain.
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7 hours ago, MssdDrms said:
I wouldn’t assume Casey would go to Chief. I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought in a polarizing character. Stir up some friction...temporarily anyway.
The thinking is that there is no way to advance Kidd to lieutenant at 51 unless one of the current apparatus officers leaves (Casey, Severide, Herrmann). Boden leaving and being replaced by an outsider doesn’t “help” Kidd (from a writing standpoint). All the officers would stay on their current rigs and report to a brand new BC. But not if Casey slides into Boden’s BC position and thereby vacates his officer position on Truck 81.
I think that’s why a lot of us here are speculating that Casey would become BC, if Boden is the one who leaves to make room for Kidd. He has enough time in as captain now, and, in season 6, when Boden originally wanted to promote up to deputy district chief, he wanted Casey to replace him (...after 6 months as captain LOL). But, yeah, I could see a temporary chief for an episode or two, but I could also see Boden making BC Casey and Lt Kidd terms of his promotion, which Hill would likely support. I agree that a shake up with a new character would be welcome. :)
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15 hours ago, Sake614 said:
I thought that was the finale but the way it ended had me checking my TiVo for another episode next week. So that’s it for a Natalie and April? The former confesses and the latter gets into the nurse practitioner program. And...what? April just professed her undying love to Ethan. Now she just walks away? I’m not complaining about either character being gone. It was just a very strange way to end the season. I guess Natalie will be fired off screen and we’ll just hear about it in passing next season? Or maybe it won’t even be mentioned.
Altogether, from what I've seen of the Chicago shows (all of Fire, much of Med, little of PD), it seems like the writers are REALLY BAD about writing out characters, even when they know ahead of time and have time to write the departures into the episodes. Like Rhodes and Ava. Like Gabby on Fire, whose actor gave a full 1-year notice. I shouldn't have been surprised but I was surprised that this finale was business-as-usual with these characters.
8 hours ago, icemiser69 said:That said, I do like Archer. Is he arrogant? Yup. Does he cross the line? Yup. But at least he isn't a hypocrite about it unlike the rest of the recurring characters on this series, as if they can pull some horrible shit and it is just fine, but if anyone else does it they throw a tantrum. I think Steven Weber is an awesome actor. I like him a lot.
I also really like Archer as a character. I don't know that I like Archer, but I like the character. He seems the most realistic and dynamic and like a character who could have been on ER, rather than another character from General Hospital like all the others. (Okay, I've come around to also liking Marcell, when he's not around Manning.)
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37 minutes ago, nittany cougar said:
The Casey and Brett love scene was really bad. I was embarrassed for the actors having to do that horribly staged sex scene. The awkward face shots of ecstasy or whatever...GROSS. It was like the Halmark Channel meets soft core porn. I had to change the channel.
I mean no offense to the Casey and Brett shippers. I really like both actors, but the storyline has been terribly done this season. They deserved better than this.
I seriously don’t understand why it had to take the entire season to get to this point. It has to be Fire’s longest continuous story arc in the history of the show. And I don’t understand why neither would commit to dating (or whatever anyone wants to call it), without first having a full commitment of true love/we’re meant to be/you’re-the-only-one. It feels like they’re committing to marriage, rather than going out as a couple for the first time.
Their make-out scene in 9x2 was hot, not gonna lie. But Casey staring at Brett while she coyly held her shoes (???) was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I feel like the editing was rushed and they used whatever outtakes they could splice together. I would’ve been okay with a shot of them in bed and some lines implying that they’d been in bed together since shift ended. (Like when Casey had a 48-hour sex marathon with Chief Pridgen’s ex-wife, who he’d literally just met for the first time at Molly’s. Casey’s never been shy, awkward, or even passive with women, and it’s killing me how they’ve written him with Brett and even Sydney earlier in the season.)
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4 hours ago, preeya said:
To me the underwater scenes didn't match up with what was shown of the boat that was out of the water. The underwater scenes portrayed a very large vessel not a two man recreational boat.
Tangentially related, and probably an unpopular opinion, but it seems like Severide may have bungled management of the call. All of Squad went down into what did seem like a relatively small boat with a single cabin area, despite having what appeared to be minimal-at-best surface support. Perhaps only two of them needed to dive? When he knew they needed to surface, he kept them all down in the cabin when he heard the tapping, instead of sending two up. Then, when they were all drowning, there was minimal leadership from him, except “we need to get out of here.” (I would’ve been okay with a meaningful “I’m sorry.")
It reminds me of when Casey took Truck back into the mattress factory at the end of season 7, just so Otis could die as a result. It’s bad writing that makes the characters, and Severide in this instance, look not well-suited for their position. Altogether, everyone on Squad looked like a little dazed and confused on this call, such as all of them suddenly being out of air, and Tony and Capp looking shocked that there was only one egress and it was blocked. And then Casey spent a lot of time staring at the water but didn’t really do anything, like call in another Squad (or whoever should really be responding to a boating accident on Lake Michigan) or even a Mayday. Super manufactured and/or hard to follow. (All of this is why I think 10x1 will be a super quickfix. They had to work hard and stretch stuff to finagle this into a cliffhanger.)
On rewatch, I’ll admit that I’m a tiny bit nervous that Cruz is going to die before his kid is born. I want more realistic “darkness” on this show but I don’t want that. Also, I like that Casey and Kidd knew Squad was in serious trouble without saying a word to each other. That was good acting, and I like when those two interact.
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2 hours ago, SuzieQ said:
Of all 3 Chicago shows, this was the best finale. But, as much as I don't want any of them to die, it's pretty farfetched that they all survive. If it's wrapped up in the first 5 minutes of the new season, that's pretty lame.
The season 5 finale had Casey trapped in a burning warehouse with concrete melting around him, Mouch flat on his back from a heart attack and Herrmann administering CPR in the same fully involved fire, and Severide and Kannell trapped in a burning stairwell. Casey said his goodbyes to Gabby over the radio and then sat down to die. The season 6 opener resolved that in three minutes, faked a funeral for Casey, and then spent the rest of the episode focusing on other stuff. No one died or was hurt.
Prepare for the lame. :/
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1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:
That’s was an odd finale. I’m underwhelmed.
Agreed. It almost felt like they had to stop filming and ended on an incomplete scene (this is not the case).
I think the writers of Med and Fire think the audience has a very low threshold for excitement or anticipation. Very forgettable.
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2 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:
I still respectfully disagree, mostly because as has been pointed out before - the Battalion Chief doesn't even need to go to the scene of most fires. Someone somewhere made it a point to say that Boden is special because he does go to so many. He's also supposed to be the Batt. Chief over other houses in addition to 51, isn't he? I read or heard that somewhere too... But anyway, Casey may not even be on most scenes - especially when it's just a medic call with no fire. (Plus, as you said, he's already the Captain over her as PIC, so it really wouldn't matter. The conflict already exists, but it's the norm for this world that they've created.)
Remember the episode arc last season with the other Engine and 51 moving into that Engine’s House and having problems with “jurisdiction”? That house was in Boden’s battalion. Never saw it before then, have never seen it again. But Boden is supposed to be visiting, auditing, communicating with, monitoring, etc many different rigs and houses (usually 4-5 houses, with varying sizes), as well as responding to incidents in his battalion beyond what involves 51. Captain Casey is supposed to be doing what Boden is shown doing while at the firehouse, including briefings, staffing, house management, personnel issues, etc. They never really adjusted anything at the house when Casey got promoted, and he’s a glorified lieutenant mostly. This season has been better about Boden not going to every single incident, which helps establish Casey as the ranking officer...who is already “over” Brett (and everyone else at 51 besides Boden) and giving orders at incident scenes. That ship is sailing, no pun intended. :)
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13 minutes ago, WinJet0819 said:
Gabby didn't work under him on truck when they got married. She was back to being a paramedic. If Matt is Battalion Chief, it's an entirely different conflict, as now EVERYONE: Truck, Squad, Engine, Ambo, works under him. So him choosing to be boyfriend first, over chief of the house, would have a much different impact.
And yes, there were times, when he lost all focus over Gabby. The day he made captain, and Gabby was stuck in that parking lot, he was willing to run in, with no gear and despite the fact truck mates were fully prepared to go in, just because it was Gabby who was trapped. And we haven't seen it with Severide yet, but that's mostly due to the fact he's not in charge of Stella. We have seen the conflict cause Stella to lose all focus. To the point where she let her own oxygen run out, when she knew she was low, just to stay with Severide, and almost lost a lung. And the the fact she was going to have Otis carry an unconscious man by himself in a smoke-filled home just because Severide was stuck, and Casey, of all people, had to reprimand her for it. And then this season, where she hesitated saving victims in a fast moving fire because she heard Severide might be in trouble.
And even if Matt and Brett report their relationship to HR, it's still a conflict of interest that would require one of them to move. At least, in any real firehouse. Being together while he's a captain of truck, and she's PIC on Ambo is one thing. But carrying on a relationship when he's in charge of the entire house, including her girlfriend, has conflict written all over it.
He’s in charge of everyone when he’s ranking officer on the scene. As captain, he gives orders to Severide, Herrmann, his crew, and sometimes the paramedics. It’s caused friction every season he’s been captain except this season. His role of being in charge when they all roll onto a scene only changes when Boden shows up (since so rarely do other captains or BCs respond to scenes). Edited to add: technically, he’s over all of them as personnel of house 51, if real CFD protocol was followed. There’s the conflict.
Casey knocked up Gabby when she was his candidate on Truck. They lived together when she was on Truck. Saying they weren’t married and it doesn’t count should then mean that Brett and Casey dating doesn’t count either. Although, yes, BC is a bigger deal than captain...but given Boden’s role on the show as BC (micromanager of House 51), what is actually different between BC and captain (on the show)? Not much. I think it’s much worse that he and Gabby intentionally didn’t get married so she could stay on Truck with him as her lieutenant.
And, for the most part, Casey maintained boundaries. He lost it once or twice over five years, when she was a firefighter and when she was a paramedic. They’ve all lost it once or twice, like when Cruz threatened a chief because Severide and Gabby were still in a burning building. Overall, Casey doesn’t usually mess around with his duty as a firefighter but I can see the current writers saying to hell with that.
Severide and Kidd are beyond inappropriate. Did you mention they make out on scenes, even last year?
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18 minutes ago, WinJet0819 said:
If Boden takes the position, it's going to be a long 2 seasons. Casey as Battalion Chief, while carrying on a relationship with a paramedic at his house would just be pathetic, and scream conflict of interest every episode. "Chief Casey, can I have few moments alone with you in your office? And can you shut the blinds?" Or if he learns that Sylvie is in mild danger, while Squad or Engine is bogged down in a fire. We already who will be the first priority.
I hope it's Severide that dies, so that Boden stays to "keep the house together" like Dawson choosing to stay to keep the house together after Shay died.
I can see that with the current writing. Back in the day, Casey kept things pretty separate with Gabby while out on calls, which is the only hope I have. He was having closed-blinds sex with Hallie in his office back in season 1, so that would be relatively in-character for him, haha.
As it is, that scenario with Casey being distracted by Brett while incident commander can just as easily happen with him as captain. Boden goes to fewer and fewer calls...he’s been made into quite the redundant, if not useless, character. So, to me, it’s kind of a wash. At least BC Casey would probably freshen up dynamics?
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4 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:
Well they aren't all going to die, so... yeah, I don't know.
But I feel like this was more of an episode from the good old days. There were 3 interesting calls that didn't involve investigations, and firehouse humor. I liked it, though I dislike the cliffhanger! They better all make it, and keeping Taylor Kinney's contract status a secret is a decoy.
I'll be surprised if they're able to keep contract renewals under wraps from the general entertainment sites for much longer, let alone the entire hiatus. (Shay and Otis were able to be kept more or less secret because their actors were quietly released from contracts, IIRC.)
I somewhat think that if they knew ahead of time that Kinney was leaving AND they plan to kill off Severide, then they would have pulled the trigger and killed him off in this episode for maximum shock value (...or pulled off a Will Gardner or Lucy Knight mid-season death that no one ever, ever saw coming, which would be pretty fantastic for a show like Fire) (that's not a dig at Severide). Then again, Derek Haas knew Monica Raymund was leaving for an entire year and refused to write for it, so who knows.
I do think it's one of their more interesting finales in recent years, though with quite a limited scope in terms of involving only two main characters, one of whom is typically overlooked (I really think Tony and Capp have had more lines than Joe Minoso this year). I desperately wish there was more dramatic cohesion and build up to these types of endings, such as consistently showing Cruz and Chloe getting ready for a kid, then Cruz being in this terrible situation. THAT would be more like the old days, to me. Even when they get close to the old days, it still feels superficial to me.
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The doll people call is something like the third EMS call in a row that has some special meaning to Brett. I wish she was able to make her own decisions without multiple people pushing her.
Why doesn’t the bell ever interrupt Stellaride?
The pacing on this show is bad. It goes from Casey and Brett kissing on shift at 1:00 AM, to a commercial, to the 51 crew at Molly’s at night. So, it skipped nearly an entire 24 hours…which, to me, would seem to have contained some interesting Brettsey scenes after shift. Which I guess entailed standing six feet apart and looking at each other as foreplay. Gee, thanks, COVID.
Totally called Capp’s “invisible” girlfriend as being a bombshell. It's immature and obvious enough that there was no other conclusion to that little plot; like, I'm pretty sure every Disney and Nickelodeon tween show ever has had that same plot. But I kinda think he hired her.
The episode description said there was a mysterious stranger who arrived at 51. Did I miss this? (Was it Capp's girlfriend??)
As always, what a snooze fest. Next season, Squad will find an easy way out of the capsized boat within 15 seconds and 10x1 will be about some silly story along with Boden moving up, Casey becoming batt chief (and can’t marry Brett), and Kidd becoming lieutenant of Truck 81. Don’t see how else this goes, unless Severide dies, Boden stays at 51, and Casey takes Squad (retcon: he’s been Squad certified the whole time, which is TV-believable given some of the stunts he used to pull off).
It's a little insulting that the entire cliffhanger scene is essentially about Severide, from the episode description to constantly focusing on Kidd's face. Ignore the recurring guest stars; fine. But Cruz is a main character with a kid on the way. Severide ain't the only one drowning.
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Masterchef (US) - General Discussion
in Masterchef (US)
I agree about it being boring. I'm having a hard time getting through this season, or even caring about the competitors at this point in the season.
My SO and I re-watched the first four seasons before this one premiered, and I miss (1) a competitor winning a challenge having some gravity beyond "you're unsurprisingly safe from elimination AND waitforit will now have a most amazing ~~reservation~~ to eat somewhere stunning! Wow!"; (2) the team challenges; and (3) even the "dreaded" pressure tests (...can't believe I'm saying that...). The total and complete emphasis on cooking and critiquing one dish for 40+ minutes every single week is awfully boring...and I used to be someone who complained at the TV about challenges rushing through the cooking.
I don't feel like MasterChef was broken or stale enough to warrant this kind of overhaul. If anything, Hells Kitchen could have used the Legends schtick, as, usually, 90% of those "chefs" can't seem to competently cook a basic dish or find their way around a service...and it's boring to watch those chefs mess up the same dishes year after year after year after year after year... Anyway.