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dovegrey
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Posts posted by dovegrey
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One of the best episodes in a long while, except for the lounge thing. Pretty sure Herrmann arranged the takeover of the lounge. Still tired of the sitcom C plots.
The officers were being officers and working with their crews. Multiple characters were developed through that interaction. The storylines were balanced and well paced. Stellaride was nowhere to be found.
I really enjoyed Casey and Gallo and how that story brought in Boden and Ritter. That entire storyline was excellent, especially with Casey's history of also losing his entire family (dad killed, mom in prison, estranged sister). I didn't know this show still had the ability to be subtle. Seriously well done and enjoyable.
They mentioned HALLIE!!! 😍
My complaint is how they always feel the need to artificially elevate Severide. Cruz has a beloved brother named Leon, but Severide, who has shared very few non-call scenes/lines with Cruz in 7.5 years, is best man? Also, if he wants to play cop every episode, there's a show for that and it shouldn't be confused for this one.
Otherwise, hell yeah. Loved it.
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What's sad is that they've written Casey so miserably for the past 1.5 years that I'm almost relieved. If he's happiest being whipped and walked on and abandoned by a head-stuck-up-ass narcissist, then let him be happy.
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Ugh.
Her interview makes it sound like they have a kid... "Love seeped in a new light"? Did he get her pregnant in 7x1 and they have a 6 month old?
SpoilerKinda worried Casey leaves with Dawson, Jesse's contract be damned, and that's how Severide gets back to 51 from OFI.
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2 hours ago, iMonrey said:
Eh, I've never warmed to Stella. She's just sort of there. She came out of nowhere because the show decided they needed more women in the cast and I've never felt like they've done anything with her to flesh out her character. We know so much about Casey and Severide's families, pasts, childhoods, etc., and we know a good deal about the home lives of Mouch, and Herrmann, and Otis. And God knows we knew all about Gabby. Stella still feels like one of those background characters like Capp or Tony only with more lines.
Stella became a main character around the time I believe the writers stopped writing for the characters. But. Everything we have learned about her stems from men: relationship with Grant, the whole Tyler thing last year, and Severide Severide Severide. I wish she was another Capp or Tony, so she could be a firefighter, period.
On the other hand, I don't think Kidd is the only one who isn't being developed. I came into Fire after season 7. I watched season 7 first, then binged the older seasons. If I hadn't watched the older seasons, many of these characters would be one-dimensional and superficial, with little interesting about them. Nothing new about Brett has come out since season 3, not even when we saw her in her hometown living in her parents' home. The last new insight into Casey was the domestic violence ep in season 6; he's become a glorified supporting character, where he's good for calls and that's about it. Severide's constant arcs last season only reinforced his childhood and arson insights rather than revealing anything new about him. And Boden's good for over-the-top dramatic reactions, period. The writers write plots and then force the characters into those plots. The writers don't write for the characters.
The other problem is that they've tiered off the characters, outside of calls. Casey and Severide don't talk to or interact with their firefighters, and so it's really...all plot. (Which is a shame, because the humor they're trying to create through newsletters, dumb EMTs, hockey goals, stines, piercing nozzles, etc used to come naturally, mostly through Jesse Spencer as Casey managing his firefighters. "On the count of 3, you're going to stop being delusional. Ready? Here we go... 1....")
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50 minutes ago, iMonrey said:
I'm not sure I got the whole tow truck scheme. The tow guy paid someone to cause crashes by slamming on his breaks, which would cause a pileup behind him. Then . . . the tow truck shows up and offers the crash victims a tow? And then gouges them on the price? What was he doing when Severide showed up at the bridge and he took off with some wrecked car? If the crash victims are agreeing to the tow why did he speed off and where was the driver of that wrecked car?
No, the tow truck scheme storyline was nonsensical - literally nonsensical - largely due to the guy stealing a car in front of the firefighters. At first, I figured he was staging the accidents and then conveniently arriving to help clear the scene ($$). When he stole the car and ran from Severide, my SO thought it was a chopshop operation, but that still seems nonsensical. Even if the plot was to forcibly tow the cars and make the owners pay to get them back, it seems like that would last about a day or two before the police got involved. This guy was terrible at whatever he was trying to do.
If the writers cared about internal consistency, the storyline would've been Boden orders Severide to call Halstead and let CPD do their job, Halstead takes care of it in no time flat, operation gets shut down, end of issue. But then Severide couldn't be a real life Chicago Firecop and that just won't do.
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Severide isn't a cop but plays one playing one on TV. What's so hard about handing reports and information over to PD? The only reason Boden didn't shut Severide down completely (like he shut Casey down back in the domestic violence episode in season 6, like he shut Severide down at the end of season 7) was because the writers couldn't have him do that. It's bad, lazy writing.
Brett and the supporting characters are pretending to be on a Disney tween sitcom, but the writers, after how many seasons of this crap, still want to call this a primetime drama. I feel bad for Christian Stolte, who tweeted that he was really excited for this episode (literally because he got screentime); Mouch was torn between what could have been a decent, drama-worthy B storyline (with the second-guessing/safety committee guy and Casey) and whatever the hell the newsletter storyline was supposed to be.
Useless Casey needs to be written off, and Jesse Spencer needs to send Monica Raymund a strongly worded letter about taking his (co-)lead status with her when she left (I'm not being literal). It seems like all Casey must do is sit in his off-screen office and hide from his coworkers in between tone outs - which, can't blame him for that, but Spencer's probably getting paid a lot of money for something like ten lines and a "who cares" facial expression per episode.
I wish Kidd would have turned to Casey for help with the conference (they used to have a really cool arms-length friendship thing going) and tried to hide her self-doubt from Severide. It would have been far better than her damn near melting into Severide's arms and acting like a ditz because of all her sudden insecurities. Don't get me wrong: I love that the writers went the imposter syndrome route with her, but it's the hard pivot in her characterization that bugs me. She was awesome at the "conference" - but how embarrassing for all these wonderful, top-tier officers to have no idea how to run a scene. It is now established that House 51 is the only house IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY with competent people.Herrmann is a dick. Such a dick. I work with kids and the #1 lesson is that a kid is only responsible for the kid's own self. Way to set this kid up for a life of guilt and insecurity. (His kid could have spoken up and tried to do something, but Herrmann made it about being responsible for the friend's decisions. NOPE.)
Couple things I'm wondering about:
-why Boden was so relieved that Kidd is officer-ready. (I think it was 8x1 or 8x2, when I posted that it felt like a big leadership leapfrog was being set up at 51...and with the anvil foreshadowing about Mouch having another chance to drive the Truck someday, that's a near certainty now, IMO).
-why Stellaride is getting the perfect honeymoon treatment. When is the bottom going to fall out? When Kidd becomes an officer and they butt heads?
-why they brought the safety committee guy back from 8x1 and why he still seems to have a bug up his butt about Casey's existence. Are they going to have Casey get nailed by this guy and have Kidd replace him? Or is this the lead up to "if you want to be Batt Chief Casey, get used to always being under scrutiny for every decision you make"?-
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I don't usually watch Med - but holy moly is Natalie always that off the wall? How does she come back from that meltdown and kidnap situation?
(My original post was for the wrong thread. Sorry!)
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2 hours ago, iMonrey said:
That was back in Season 1 so no, they might not have been thinking of a spin-off at that point. I think when they got around to planning Chicago PD they decided Jason Beghe was just too much of a name and/or too talented to be excluded so they came up with some ham-fisted way of getting him out of jail and shoe-horning him back into the story, expecting the audience would just hand-wave the whole "tried to frame Casey for cocaine possession and then tried to hire a hitman to assassinate him" thing they did on this show.
I'm sorry, he's just not a viable character. Sometime you have to cut your losses no matter how much you like the actor or how big you perceive his fan base to be. (Looking at you too, Walking Dead.) There are some things a character just can't come back from.
I agree with all that. I noped out of PD well before I knew about the Casey/Voight storyline, but the latter would've done it. Antonio/Jon Seda would've been great as the lead for PD.
But. The Casey/Voight storyline was the most compelling, cohesive, excellently paced, and (arguably) well-acted storyline Fire has ever done. I knew Casey ended up fine but was still on the edge of my seat. Spencer and Beghe have chemistry. Those two and Seda launched One Chicago with that one-off storyline. It's a shame that, to my knowledge (and I haven't watched any of the PD crossover episodes), both shows have danced around the Casey/Voight thing since Fire's season 4 and have them sorta around each other but not interacting. Those two have the most compelling history and cross-show relationship, but TPTB won't touch it, because they know it's a live grenade for Voight. I say detonate it.
And that's related to another criticism I have of this crossover. Beyond the tailgate scene, Med could've been any doctors, PD could've been any cops, and Fire could've been any firefighters/paramedics - with mostly the same results. They've built this great world, and they talk about everyone being this family, but I don't "feel" it on the screen between shows (well, except Trudy and Mouch and maybe Will and Jay). It's very flat, IMO.
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So, I'm gonna be a negative a-hole. Overall, the whole three-hour block was bland and predictable. There was no legitimate sense of danger for any of the main characters. The storyline was obvious, and the twists weren't twisty. To be fair, I can't stand Med and refuse to watch Chicago PD, so "One Chicago" trying to be MCU-on-TV is a non-starter for me.
The cast and crew pulled off a movie while sticking to their regular film schedule, which is mind-bogglingly impressive; IMO, the writers let them down.
The issue with crossovers is, even when this is the most cohesive and cross-show participation they've ever attempted, it still becomes superficially odd with missing cast members in scenes. It just feels off. I don't feel like there was equal representation across all three shows; it seemed to me that Fire had the most cohesion, then Med was primarily PD with a bit of Fire, and then PD was mostly Med with limited Fire (complete waste of the evac scene with 51 in the background). Personally, I much prefer disaster bottle episodes, like the helicopter crash episode, Med's backdoor pilot episode, and the crossover from last year with the incredible tower fire.
It was cool to see the HAZMAT response.
The special effects were also well-done.
Based on Boden's conversation with the aid, I'm convinced that Battalion 25 is limited to House 51. It would explain so much about the show.
I think Chloe broke up with Cruz for two reasons. One, he's a manchild, and his nervous antics at the firehouse were a complete turn-off. Two, she wasn't ready to get engaged, but she realized the expensive restaurant reservation was going to be a proposal; so, she broke it off. And/or she cheated on him.
Stellaride is going straight back down the Dawsey road to hell - where Kidd has work issues, Severide provides sweet lobotomized support as his sole storyline, and the two bring their relationship into calls (snuggling on a scene?). This is exactly the kind of stuff that eventually made Dawsey insufferable and nearly ruined Casey as a character.
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14 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:
Was glad to see they finally showed decent incident command here with Boden directing other apparatus on the fireground, not just his own crews. AND a division chief (4) who I'm 99% sure was a real-life white helmet with a walk-on role, conferring with him. I think the technical advisors might finally be getting through to the showrunners. A retired buddy of mine who was on the job for a long time even gave it the thumbs up for a reasonable portrayal of a hazmat incident.
The Division 4 Chief (Chief Walker) is Steve Chikerotis, a real-life CFD white-shirt, the show's CFD advisor, and the basis for Casey's character. I love it when they have him on the show. 🙂
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I thought the SMART girl (Jessa?) had serious boundary issues. Even grabbing Casey's drink out of his hand and chugging it was weird for a first date, in context. I don't think it's inappropriate or unusual for dates, male or female, to do some pre-Googling - but it was weird how she had no self-awareness about "knowing everything about [him]" and bragging about it...on a first date. Like, sure, you've just met this guy, and it's cool to bring up that you know he's divorced because you spent a bunch of time Googling him? In what world?
For what it's worth, Casey never called her a stalker; he just didn't want to keep seeing her. I had the impression that something else happened between the two scenes. Like, she got weirder (or didn't get less weird) after they had fun times, and Casey's alarm bells were going off. It might've been fun to see that, instead of Jesse and Taylor chewing nails on really badly written lines.
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41 minutes ago, iMonrey said:
Does anyone understand the distinction between these three? In my city we have pumpers and trucks. I'm assuming Engine is water pumper, and all they do is spray water? And Truck is the firefighters that, what . . . go up on the roof? But that blurs the line with Squad, which is supposed to do the tricky rescues, right?
In Chicago-Fire-Land, Engine seems pretty distinct to me; they're not running into the building for rescue or recovery. They drop hose lines and put water on the fire. Herrmann hasn't been doing rescue since he got promoted. The show tends to gloss over the complexity of each company. For example, Candidate Ritter couldn't just pop over to Truck for three months without additional training; same thing for Gallo. These are specialized, complex, and different skillsets, to my knowledge. (Not a firefighter.)
Truck and Squad is completely blurred for a number of reasons. First off, Casey is a Squad guy stuck on a ladder truck. In CFLand, I think Truck is supposed to do the non-tricky rescues, including fire rescues, extrications, ladder/aerial work, and roof venting. There are a ton of rescues he's done that seemed better suited for the elite rescue squad - including the ladder rescue in this episode. I mean, if Mouch, Herrmann, Otis, and/or Kidd tried even a fraction of the crap Casey gets praise for, they'd get murdered by Boden - but none of them come first in the credits and are the designated hero.
Likewise, there have been plenty of calls for Squad that seemed better suited for Truck, which usually seem tied to storyline (e.g., the car fire Squad 3 got called to in 7x21 or 7x22, which was easily a Truck+Engine call, went to Squad because it tied into Severide's arson storyline). They also rarely show Squad 3 responding to non-51 calls, which would probably be most of their calls in real life. CFD only has 4 Squads (IIRC) - 4 Squads that support ~100 Engine companies, ~50 Truck companies, and several other specialized rigs. So Squad ends up in Truck territory, to give Severide screentime and reduce casting tons of extras.
Because of that, I've stopped trying to make sense out of who's supposed to be doing what. TPTB bend the rules for storylines (which is dumb), and they bend the rules to make better TV (which is smart; e.g., season 1 barely had Casey and Severide interacting; now they're lockstep with each other). FWIW, the show did try to sort of address this back in seasons 1 and 3, when Casey and Severide blamed each other for Darden dying. Truck and Squad didn't have defined roles, and the other didn't realize what the other wasn't doing. But then it was never fixed, so. 🤔
(Ha, I'm totally work avoiding today.) 🤠
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7 minutes ago, iMonrey said:
All I can say is that it's a good thing Gabby isn't around or she would have tried to adopt that Isaac kid.
But he was a firefighter somewhere, right? I wasn't real clear on how he could just move over to station 51. Didn't the other station want him anymore? Is 51 just a step up from anywhere else, and all firefighters are clamoring to move there?
911 had a ferris wheel rescue this week too. Hmm, maybe the writers need to compare notes.
I thought Gallo was a candidate on another house's Engine rig. Casey liked what he saw in 8x2, then asked the Engine lieutenant if he could take Gallo. Everyone agreed and Gallo transferred to 51 as Truck's candidate. So it was a transfer.
On Fire, it seems like the hierarchy is Engine < Truck < Squad. Going from an Engine to a Truck is a big deal, and I could see Gallo's motivation being that versus transferring to House 51 in particular. 51 is also a busy House with multiple rigs and a Squad, which might be a big step up from Gallo's original house (which might have been an Engine-only station).
That's my take.
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I liked this one, for the most part.
One of my biggest "wishes" for season 8 was for Casey to revert back to his season 3 horndogging. It's such a stupid thing - but Dawsey is finally dead: Casey's unapologetically moved on. Hallelujah.
The SMART system storyline was dumb - but I was happy that the "comedy" came organically out of the characters' natural reactions to the system. That was what made the earlier seasons funny, without the supporting characters forced into demeaning sitcom subplots. I'll take it (but continue to be mystified by Fire's overt comedic elements in contrast to Med and PD).
I don't mind Gallo, but they've gotta stop making everyone else look incompetent to make him look better. They've done the aerial+ladder extension at least once before. Even in 8x2, every firefighter and officer was dazed and confused, so Gallo could have time to save the day. Any other call, Casey and Severide would've been quickly assessing the scene, doling out orders, and getting stuff done, no problem. Now they need Gallo's risk-taking youth-infused moxy to save the day. It's a manufactured storyline that doesn't need to be this manufactured; it's lazy writing. (And I question Casey sending the candidate across the ladder to grab the girl. Gallo came from an Engine, but he's still a first-day Truck candidate. He had no business up there, let alone being responsible for the direct save.)
I'll give the writers credit for not having Severide be the firefighter who rescued 12-year-old Gallo. When Gallo instantly recognized Severide in 8x2, I thought that was the story.
The Gallo and Kidd plots are interesting, in terms of the future of season 8. I'm not spoiled at all, and this is speculation. Casey's grabbing firefighters off the street, with an eye toward what the entire house needs; he saw multiple qualities in Gallo that Boden overlooked - Gallo can control himself, he's fitting in, and the final scene hinted at healing for three people who had been close to Otis. Kidd's going to a big-deal leadership conference, so she's being groomed for command. Severide's been hanging out in lieutenant limbo, while Casey accrues more time in grade; I don't see that lasting much longer. Is a major shake-up about to happen? Boden makes district deputy chief, Casey makes batt chief, Kidd makes lieutenant, and Severide makes captain? Boden was ready to hand 51 over to Casey back in 6x16. Kidd becoming an officer would throw that inevitable wrench into Stellaride. And the show's dynamic would totally flip.
This is the third episode in a row without a fire. (I don't count the mattress factory in 8x1, since they apparently forgot it was on fire.) Chicago Rescue is more fitting than Chicago Fire these days.
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3 hours ago, Waterston Fan said:
I don't know where to put this but I would think it'd be best here.
Sometimes I wonder if Derek realizes a monster he created with Dawson leaving and almost every week someone asks, 'is Dawson coming back'. 😂
I'm so glad you posted this! I like that he does the Sunday question thing, but the incessant Dawson questions... 😶
Since he answers their questions, I'm assuming he's gratified by the continued obsession with his fave character. I'm annoyed by the constant Brett bashing and slut-shaming, as if Brett hooking up with Casey would be "doing" something to Dawson. There are a ton of things potentially "wrong" with Brasey, but Brett and Casey needing to worry about Dawson's feelings ain't one of them. At this point, I think those fans would prefer Casey become a cloistered man nun somewhere, until Queen Gabby deems him worthy of her presence once more. I'm over here thinking, "They only got together 'cause Casey was emotionally destroyed by Hallie's death and then had a brain injury...and they only got back together 'cause she was pregnant and Casey was emotionally destroyed by murdering a sex trafficker...and they only got married so they could defraud DCFS..."
I wish they would have killed her off and put the whole thing to rest.
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I don’t know if I like Gallo or not. But the show is in its 8th year and will continue to shed original characters, which isn’t good for a show that has never established a depth chart of leads (a la ER). They’ve written off every new firefighter except Kidd and maybe Ritter (he hasn’t outlasted Borrelli just yet). So, to me, the show needs Gallo to work out and be a Kidd, rather than a Borrelli or a Mills.
I love supportive Sevasey friendship stuff but wasn’t interested in Severide effectively taking over the Casey/Boden storyline. Casey started the show as a hothead with a pretty bad reputation (Mom killed Dad; everyone at the academy knew). He was on an Engine rig for seven years right before the show started (per 6x1), despite essentially being a Squad-level guy on a Truck in season 1. How many people discounted him before landing at 51, and is that why he’s projecting all this pie-in-the-sky, raw promise onto Gallo? That could’ve been a solid Boden/Casey storyline...and also because it’s been well established that Grissom, not Boden, trained/mentored rookie Severide. (I legitimately think the writers have no idea what to do with Casey without Dawson. Just write him off.)
Brett’s storyline was a waste of time and lazy writing on multiple levels. We learned nothing new about Brett, and it'll be a reset. Anyway. After Kyle essentially sided with Hope, who wreaked havoc at 51 (the house Kyle previously chaplained!!) and nearly ruined Kidd’s career, Brett should’ve been absolutely out of there - with no soft-spoken, apologetic, fake crying dramatics. Absolute dealbreaker.
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20 minutes ago, The Ringo Kidd said:
Wow that is amazing. I didn’t pick up on that at all. Interesting.
I think you are right that she will not be all “Chicago” until she can’t take it anymore and blows up and leaves.
Yeah, Haas is being all self-congratulatory about bringing her back, and it's like....nope. She wasn't that remarkable or memorable. I binged the whole series this summer, so I saw season 6 for the first time about a month ago; it's fresh. I don't think I would've realized who she was if I hadn't just seen the episodes.
It'd be great to see minor characters return who bring real value to the characters, like Christie, Katie - or, hey, the oldest Darden kid should be turning 18 soon. Does he want a spot on Truck 81 as a candidate?
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Just now, The Ringo Kidd said:
No that was a different person. I wondered if she was the one who hooked up with her finance and blew up her wedding.
There is no possible way she is not returning to the firehouse.
No, it is Hope from season 6 - Sylvie's childhood friend from Fowlerton who manipulated her way into 51, wreaked havoc, and got fired. Same actress, same character name, different hair. Derek Haas has been all over Twitter about Hope/Eloise Mumford coming back in this capacity.
To me, it seems that Sylvie has regressed to her small-town, keep-sweet, soft-spoken attitude. Chicago Sylvie would've ripped Hope apart at the Fowlerton firehouse. But you can't be Chicago in Small Town, Indiana - especially not in a tiny town like Fowlerton - and expect to keep a job or have friends. (Seriously, why are they not living in Indianapolis?!)
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Gotta say - more than anything, I'm loving the double-down on United Front Sevasey, with the addition of Stellarasey. I thought Casey was a withdrawn, depressed, alien work zombie for most of season 7; it seems that Otis' death and the 3-month-long government investigation annihilated what was left of him. Severide standing by him and supporting him on all fronts is the best. That's the kind of stuff I used to expect from CF, and I hope they keep it up. I finally see Severide stepping up into a leader-of-all role.
I got the sense that Casey wanted to be blamed by the commission, as he clearly blames himself. He went into that inquiry with a "let's just end this" mentality, especially compared to the other times he's been second-guessed (e.g., Pridgen in season 3, Mullins in season 6, Grissom in season 6). I think he's at the end of whatever rope he has left. I really, really hope the show plays that storyline, rather than giving him another season 7 or handwaving him back to whatever normal is for him now.
I'm not upset about Otis in the least. There wasn't a wet eye in my house. The deathbed scene was OTT, gimmicky, and beyond far-fetched; he should've just died in the basement. Other than that, the secondary main characters have been caricatures since at least season 6, essentially worthwhile only on calls. Their firehouse storylines have been mindnumbing, e.g., Casey nearly gets his head blown off, meanwhile Otis is in crisis over a hockey goal. Serious drama lol. I really hope his death leads to Herrmann going back to his season 1-3 characterization, Cruz not getting dragged into infantile shenanigans, and Mouch being Mouch. Humor is an essential part of a firehouse; sitcom c-plots aren't. I'm also happy that 8x1 wasn't another 6x1: someone needed to die (the last was Shay in 3x1), and it wasn't a cop out with Ritter.
Brett's miserable, and I suspect she'll be back at 51 by the end of 8x2 (not spoiled - just my speculation). But Brett could easily work for Indianapolis Fire Department and be at a busy house in an urban environment, even if she commuted into Indianapolis from Fowlerton. (MANY live in the Anderson area but commute into Indy for work.) I can't figure out why Kyle dragged her to Fowlerton instead of to Anderson, Fishers, or, hell, Plainfield. Her storyline is forced and pretty ridiculous; I'm fanwanking that she left with Kyle because Otis died and is self-sabotaging because she knows she made a mistake.
I actually did like the episode and am looking forward to this season.
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S08.E06: What Went Wrong
in Chicago Fire
Casey ordered Gallo back to the academy for retraining. They just didn't show it. And at least the show had Casey nearly being ready to let Gallo go, as he told Boden he couldn't trust Gallo with Kidd or Mouch. I think, for what this show is now, they hung a lantern on the severity of the screw up, which is more than I expect. Within expectations, they refused to let this story ride for more than 40 minutes.
And Gallo needs therapy. Two minutes of with Casey isn't going to help him stop having uncontrollable emotional reactions in dangerous situations. But since it's Casey, who Boden should have forced into therapy plenty of times, it ain't gonna happen.