S09.E03: Smash Therapy

[jewel21]

 

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A mishap on the aerial ladder in the midst of a fire rescue leaves Mouch shaken and questioning his abilities. Kidd looks for support from Severide while Casey and Brett discuss their future.

Airdate: 01/13/2021

[jewel21]

This thread will be locked until next week when the episode airs. Existing posts discussing scheduling were moved into the Media thread. 

[Josh371982]

SIGH I at least want Some Brettsy if I'm gonna have to endure Gross Upstead on PD. 

I'm wondering if they might have Severide move back to OFI to have Kidd get her promotion 

[dovegrey]

I was all for Brett and Casey hooking up last episode, but it’s irritating how they both seem afraid to actually, really talk to each other, especially given the writers’ insistence that they were good, close friends. Brett’s always been a wilting wallflower until the moment all her repressed feelings overflow into a manic, breathless tirade, but Casey was originally pretty straightforward and able to carry a conversation (like he did with Severide during the cigar scene!). Gabby seriously sucked the life and personality out of him.

I’m pleasantly surprised the writers didn’t rely on the “I saw you almost die and realized nothing else matters but us” trope, though. That was refreshing. But I don’t really understand Casey’s conclusion that he’s just sooooo into Brett that he should back off. I suppose I’m interpreting that as he knows he wants to go all-in but he's afraid of getting eviscerated again, rather than him trying to protect her, but I don’t really think I’m supposed to interpret it that way.

And I’m pleasantly surprised that Stellaride’s constant boundary-breaking, making out on incident scenes, and being known at 51 for banging in the showers, plus Severide’s on-the-job favors for her, are, at least for the moment, having consequences. But it’s yet another relationship where the two don’t seem able to talk honestly to each other, and now Kidd thinks he’s cheating, while he’s really entering a midlife crisis with a poor man’s Vin Diesel. (And she’s still living with him and her captain, which is pretty ridiculous, and I don't blame anyone for thinking nepotism.)

So a lady gets her nose cut off, and, instead of rushing her to the hospital to have the best chance of reattachment, Brett and Whatsername cutely stick around to smash up some kid’s drone so Brett can feel better without having to talk to her BFF Casey. Okay then.

Poor Mouch. I liked that storyline.

I like Boden less and less each episode. He’s a caricature.

Just now, Josh371982 said:

SIGH I at least want Some Brettsy if I'm gonna have to endure Gross Upstead on PD. 

I'm wondering if they might have Severide move back to OFI to have Kidd get her promotion 

Unless Kidd is promoted to run Squad 3, which wouldn't happen since she's not on a Squad and not known to be Squad certified, Severide leaving wouldn't directly affect her that way. Unless Casey is Squad certified, replaced Severide on Squad, and then Kidd replaced Casey on Truck. But, really, Kidd needs Herrmann or Casey to leave if she wants to be an officer at 51.

[mxc90]

My goodness. Stella couldn't let Boden finish his tour with Kylie before she grabs her from him.  I'm sure Boden's next message to Kylie was going to be: don't touch anything in my office.

Now high school Kylie is mentioned in the same breath with Connie. The writers are losing it! For a part timer she seems to be in the fire house a lot.

Captain Casey almost dies, is pissed for a bit, he confronts Mouch and doesn't wait for an answer. They return to the station, Casey doesn't order him to inspect the equipment. Mouch just flips some switches/no real test. No big deal to Casey (Mouch just screwed up/don't tell CFD officials). So it took Hermann (from Engine) to investigate without any authorization. Conclusion: It's Gorsh's fault!  Case Closed! Huh.!?? No mention if the truck was taken out of service.

That ladder problem should be beyond just blaming Gorsh. Is Casey not running drills on his truck to test the equipment?

Please let this be the last episode where Gabby's name is mention. Let her go writers.

Surprised Severide didn't scold the guy for going back for his car.

Of course Stella is going get a hard time from the Chief Creaky. There always got to be that guy around.

That's some conversation between Severide and the Chief Creaky in the office. No small talk necessary for these two, let's get straight to him saying "anyone can make lieutenant these days" and "Stella is sleeping her way to the top". 

The girl got her face messed up by a drone, got a few napkins to cover her wounds, called 911, waited calmly for the EMT to arrive and didn't cry or make a commotion. Respect to her! She is way tougher than Stella!

On the other side, we have two unprofessional EMTs smashing a drone while a girl (with no nose) is waiting patiently on the side so she can get it re-attached/medical treatment.

Could we be getting the start of the Kelly/Stella breakup?

Always the safe driver Severide drives down the street without the head lights on at night.

Edited January 14, 2021 by mxc90

[CoyoteBlue]

JFC, Boden, the desk goes up AND down! Sit some, stand some; it really will help the back. Standing all the time is as bad as sitting all the time, so... don't.

[FnkyChkn34]

Didn't we wait months for this episode, and this is all we got?  Hunh.  It wasn't that great.

I like Stellaride because I'm happy to see some stability among the characters.  We've already seen the run-around, man-whore Severide; we don't need to go back there.  At least he's ditching Stella for a car this time, but still...

And now we're just going to get the will-they-or-won't-they for Brett and Casey for months, right?  Ugh.

As for Stella becoming a Lieutenant and then someone leaving for her to be an officer... I don't see that happening.  Herrmann made Lieutenant and was an officer in name only without a position of authority for awhile - and I think that's what that Captain meant about how it takes years and sometimes never for some people.  They can pass the test and be a "Lieutenant" but they aren't really one yet.  That's probably what will happen to Stella.  Severide can leave or do whatever he wants, but Stella isn't Squad certified and isn't going to miraculously become a Squad Lieutenant just because Kelly leaves.  The most logical thing is for her to be a "Lieutenant" under Captain Casey on Truck, just like Herrmann.  Then, if and when there is an opening, she could be promoted.  (I'm guessing that Casey is probably Squad certified, because he and Severide can do anything, but I don't see him taking over Squad unless they want to go further down that path of recklessness to show that Casey is spiraling and doesn't care about anything anymore.  They aren't really there yet, but could be if he decides he just can't live without Brett... double ugh.)

I also don't want to open a can of worms here, but I've been rewatching all seasons of Grey's Anatomy, and I've realized something about that show versus others in the same/similar genre.  Where's the diversity?  Grey's Anatomy did a great job of showing minorities and LGBTQ characters compared to these One Chicago shows.  We've got Boden in a position of authority, and the woman who runs the hospital on Chicago Med, and then...?  And I can only think of two LGBTQ characters over the entire span of Chicago Fire, and none on the other shows.  Just a thought; sorry for the sidebar.

I also agree with everyone who said wtf to Brett smashing the drone instead of taking the poor girl to the hospital.  They aren't going to be able to reattach it if it dies first!  Geez.

[iMonrey]

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And I’m pleasantly surprised that Stellaride’s constant boundary-breaking, making out on incident scenes, and being known at 51 for banging in the showers, plus Severide’s on-the-job favors for her, are, at least for the moment, having consequences.

I'm pretty sick of the Gabification of Stella, and I'd like to think her higher ups are too. But the brass at the CFD is always portrayed as being a bunch of assholes. I wonder what the real-life CFD brass thinks about that. They can't be thrilled.

Speaking of Gabification, why can't the writers just let it go? For the love of Pete, were Casey/Gabby so popular they fear a backlash if they do anything else with Casey? Do they really expect Monica Raymund to return one day? Why must they keep Casey in this state of limbo indefinitely? She's been gone for years now, why is she still cock blocking him? Why can't Casey just say "No way I'd go back to her if she showed up one day. I'm over that bitch"?

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Where's the diversity?  Grey's Anatomy did a great job of showing minorities and LGBTQ characters compared to these One Chicago shows.  We've got Boden in a position of authority, and the woman who runs the hospital on Chicago Med, and then...?

Well, you've got a two-fer in Ritter. But actually, CF is fairly diverse. Yeah the two leads are so white they're almost clear, but besides Boden you've got Cruz, Stella, and we used to have Connie, Peter Mills and Gabby. I'd give it a B-. 

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Well, you've got a two-fer in Ritter. But actually, CF is fairly diverse. Yeah the two leads are so white they're almost clear, but besides Boden you've got Cruz, Stella, and we used to have Connie, Peter Mills and Gabby. I'd give it a B-. 

Ritter is the only LGBTQ character that I can think of on all three shows though.  There was Shay, then no one for years, and now Ritter.  I can't think of anyone on either of the other shows.  I agree that Fire is the best of the three; PD is probably the worst.

Sorry to make that tangent, it was just an observation.

[iMonrey]

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Ritter is the only LGBTQ character that I can think of on all three shows though.  There was Shay, then no one for years, and now Ritter.  I can't think of anyone on either of the other shows.  

You forgot about Foster, but who can blame you?

[SuzieQ]

I was fine with Sylvie and Casey getting together, but do it or don't!  This prolonged high school angst is insulting and juvenile.  If Matt, is over Gabby, just tell Brett that and be done with it. But noooooooooooooooooooooooooo, we get weak, wounded Matt who could fix this with one sentence on how he's not pining for Gabby.  And if he is pining for Gabby, why the big bro talk with Severride?  Pick a lane writers!

[dovegrey]

12 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

As for Stella becoming a Lieutenant and then someone leaving for her to be an officer... I don't see that happening.  Herrmann made Lieutenant and was an officer in name only without a position of authority for awhile - and I think that's what that Captain meant about how it takes years and sometimes never for some people.  They can pass the test and be a "Lieutenant" but they aren't really one yet.  That's probably what will happen to Stella.  Severide can leave or do whatever he wants, but Stella isn't Squad certified and isn't going to miraculously become a Squad Lieutenant just because Kelly leaves.  The most logical thing is for her to be a "Lieutenant" under Captain Casey on Truck, just like Herrmann.  Then, if and when there is an opening, she could be promoted.  (I'm guessing that Casey is probably Squad certified, because he and Severide can do anything, but I don't see him taking over Squad unless they want to go further down that path of recklessness to show that Casey is spiraling and doesn't care about anything anymore.  They aren't really there yet, but could be if he decides he just can't live without Brett... double ugh.)

Herrmann wasn't a lieutenant until something like episode 2 or 3 of season 7. That's why he made such a big deal about getting his bugles and that idiot on Engine putting those bugles in the urinal. He'd finally become a lieutenant and an officer, years after passing the exam (I think it was season 5) and after years of technically being qualified. (I want to say there was a gag where he passed the exam, went to interview for a promotion, and the scene ended with the camera focused on the hallway while all we heard was Herrmann LOUDLY complaining about all his problems to a chief...and then not getting promoted because of his anger management issues.) But he was Casey's right-hand man and a senior firefighter on Truck who covered when Casey was absent, like Cruz covers for Severide, which I don't really see them writing for Kidd. She's just kinda there, while Boden and Severide drool.

I agree that Casey could be retconned into being Squad certified, since he's pulled some stunts in his time, but I also agree that it would be excessive for him to go from Truck to Squad. I wasn't advocating for them to do that but it would be infinitely more believable than Kidd taking over Squad at this point in time. At this rate, just send Casey to Puerto Rico to be with Gabby and let Kidd run Truck.

4 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I was fine with Sylvie and Casey getting together, but do it or don't!  This prolonged high school angst is insulting and juvenile.  If Matt, is over Gabby, just tell Brett that and be done with it. But noooooooooooooooooooooooooo, we get weak, wounded Matt who could fix this with one sentence on how he's not pining for Gabby.  And if he is pining for Gabby, why the big bro talk with Severride?  Pick a lane writers!

That's what I'm saying. If Brett would let him talk, and if he'd actually talk, there may not be a big issue. I wouldn't want to date a guy who's pining for his ex-wife, but I also wouldn't want to date a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for his ex-wife, either. I'd actually really like to hear what Casey has to say about the thing with Gabby "being complicated," rather than Brett instantly kicking him out and/or going straight to "WE CAN nEvEr happen again!!1!!1" every time he tries to talk about the topic that Brett brought up. Very juvenile. Because if I'm Casey, with the life he has right now, of being a 40-something roomie with no family to speak of and who usually looks miserable at his job, I might finally say "screw it" and go back to Gabby, too. What else does he have? 

Edited January 15, 2021 by dovegrey

[LittleIggy]

Shouldn’t the drone have been kept intact for evidence against the dick who was flying it recklessly and injured the woman (I rewound so I could look at nose hole. Good fx makeup work).

[MsJamieDornan]

I could be mistaken but I don't think Casey retold the Brett story to Severride exactly how it happened.

I think he forgot the part about being asked about going back to Gabby and what his answer was.

[SuzieQ]

13 hours ago, dovegrey said:

Because if I'm Casey, with the life he has right now, of being a 40-something roomie with no family to speak of and who usually looks miserable at his job, I might finally say "screw it" and go back to Gabby, too. What else does he have? 

I would agree, but then he has to leave the show to go off with her. 😁 I don't want her back but I hate they way the writers won't just pull the plug on that whole saga.

[FnkyChkn34]

Are Casey and Gabby officially divorced?  I don't notice if he wears a ring or not.  He also told Severide that he hadn't talked to her in months - but she's been gone for years.  So clearly they are still in touch off-screen.  

I agree with all of the comments above that the writers just need to let her go and move on!

[dovegrey]

4 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I would agree, but then he has to leave the show to go off with her. 😁 I don't want her back but I hate they way the writers won't just pull the plug on that whole saga.

I’m coming at it from a perspective of the “would you leave with her?” question from Brett being really unfair. Sure, Casey and Brett are friends, and they kinda skipped the first date and went straight to make-out…but Brett’s asking him to choose Brett before they’ve even become a couple. His personal/love/marriage life is twice failed and his career may not be what he enjoys anymore (I’m reading into that…Casey never seems happy), and, maybe, right then, at that point in 9x2, he WOULD consider leaving Chicago and getting back with Gabby. Maybe it’s not about loving Gabby more than Brett. Maybe it’s about being happy and having a chance at children and a family. Maybe, if he dates Brett and that relationship works out, Gabby becomes old news and Casey can finally move on. Brett’s not giving him that chance - which is fine, great, that’s totally up to her, but…they haven’t even gone on a date, and she’s requiring that he chooses her over a hypothetical Gabby return. That’s weird.

I think the writers kinda gave away the game with that, i.e., “Before Brettsey can actually happen, Gabby needs to be dealt with.” Well…no.

[SuzieQ]

4 hours ago, dovegrey said:

Maybe it’s not about loving Gabby more than Brett. Maybe it’s about being happy and having a chance at children and a family. Maybe, if he dates Brett and that relationship works out, Gabby becomes old news and Casey can finally move on. Brett’s not giving him that chance - which is fine, great, that’s totally up to her, but…they haven’t even gone on a date, and she’s requiring that he chooses her over a hypothetical Gabby return. That’s weird.

I think the writers kinda gave away the game with that, i.e., “Before Brettsey can actually happen, Gabby needs to be dealt with.” Well…no.

That's a valid point.  It did seem really awkward that she chose that moment to go there. But the 3 of them were so close that I think Brett is trying to preserve a friendship down the line, even if they don't work out.  If they had a fling and Matt/Gabby get back together, that's just ugly all the way around.    It would be better for the storyline if Gabby was just not a consideration anymore.  Even with Gabby out of the picture, there's no guarantee that Sylvie/Matt would work out, so they could still come up with a million drama filled story lines that don't lead back to her.  I think I'm just annoyed that she's been gone so long and they still mention her so much.

Edited January 16, 2021 by SuzieQ

[dovegrey]

17 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

That's a valid point.  It did seem really awkward that she chose that moment to go there. But the 3 of them were so close that I think Brett is trying to preserve a friendship down the line, even if they don't work out.  If they had a fling and Matt/Gabby get back together, that's just ugly all the way around.    It would be better for the storyline if Gabby was just not a consideration anymore.  Even with Gabby out of the picture, there's no guarantee that Sylvie/Matt would work out, so they could still come up with a million drama filled story lines that don't lead back to her.  I think I'm just annoyed that she's been gone so long and they still mention her so much.

I agree with all of that. I was 100% with Brett in 9x2, and I don’t blame her for wanting to know if Gabby is still in play before having sex with Casey. And I don't blame her for wanting to preserve the friendship.

I didn’t like how Brett handled the aftermath in this episode. It reads like she’d fed herself a fairytale where Casey’s answer to her question was going to be “of course not; you’re the love of my life,” and now she’s stunned/betrayed/hurt that a “close friend” known to have massive baggage was honest about having massive baggage. She watched Dawsey pack those bags from her very first day at 51 in season 3, so it’s kind of this double-edged sword: Brett knows enough to be wary of how Casey feels about Gabby, so…she knows enough where this maybe shouldn’t have been such a catastrophic shock to her system. I mean, she can barely talk to him about it at this point, which is probably a product of uninspired, manufactured writing.

And I'm torn on whether the writers need to address Gabby. Derek Haas is giving all these interviews about how Fire is SO GOOD about carrying storylines and characters from older seasons into the newer seasons (as an explanation about why Gabby is being addressed now), which I think is complete BS. So many characters and storylines have come, gone, and completely disappeared, that I don't necessarily think Gabby needs to be a character here. But Dawsey was a huge part of the show for 6 seasons, and they hooked up again last season, so it'd be weird if Casey was all "Gabby who?" I mean, I'd be overjoyed if that's how they played it, because I was hoping Brettsey would happen as quickly and smoothly as Boden/Donna and Cruz/Chloe, rather than another endless, drawn out Stellaride-type mess.

[dsteele]

On 1/14/2021 at 8:48 PM, dovegrey said:

Because if I'm Casey, with the life he has right now, of being a 40-something roomie with no family to speak of and who usually looks miserable at his job, I might finally say "screw it" and go back to Gabby, too.

If my choices were being a lonely 40-something roomie with no family and being miserable all the time -or- going back to Gabby? I know which one I'd pick. 🤪

[NJRadioGuy]

On 1/13/2021 at 10:31 PM, mxc90 said:

Captain Casey almost dies, is pissed for a bit, he confronts Mouch and doesn't wait for an answer. They return to the station, Casey doesn't order him to inspect the equipment. Mouch just flips some switches/no real test. No big deal to Casey (Mouch just screwed up/don't tell CFD officials). So it took Hermann (from Engine) to investigate without any authorization. Conclusion: It's Gorsh's fault!  Case Closed! Huh.!?? No mention if the truck was taken out of service.

That ladder problem should be beyond just blaming Gorsh. Is Casey not running drills on his truck to test the equipment?

This storyline bothered me SO much, in so many ways. Casey's worked with and trusted Mouch on the stick for at least 9 years (if show seasons are supposed to vaguely track calendar years). No way in hell Casey disrespects his chauffeur/operator like that, beyond "What the hell happened?"

Call another truck (there would have been at least 3 or 4 at a working fire in real life), put 81 OOS until further notice and get the dep't mechanics in to disassemble it down to the last nut and bolt if necessary. And of course they'd have every single service bulletin ever issued. It's not up to the FFs to diagnose and service their apparatus. Not to mention that there would be dozens of spectators taking videos and posting them to YouTube, so the fault and rescue would probably have made the news. Such utter horseshit. The bosses would have been burning up the phone lines to the manufacturer, too. Also, why didn't they throw ground ladders up too? For a truck company they never seem to throw ladders.

And if Ford could have found me as the fifth owner of my ancient Ranger pickup ten years ago, Seagrave or whoever would be keenly aware of where each piece of apparatus with a potential issue would be in service. 

EDITED TO ADD: Mouch would have been livid after that happened and he'd be leading the fight to get to the bottom of the defect. It's his machine to operate and it nearly cost his friend his life (they were also WAYYYY too close to primary and secondary power lines in a few of those shots too, and I was afraid that's where they were taking the story). No way the officer and the operator aren't calling for someone's balls for bookends over shoddy maintenance.

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Always the safe driver Severide drives down the street without the head lights on at night.

Yep, I noticed that too. Bugged the hell outta me.

Edited January 16, 2021 by NJRadioGuy

[mxc90]

20 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

EDITED TO ADD: Mouch would have been livid after that happened and he'd be leading the fight to get to the bottom of the defect. It's his machine to operate and it nearly cost his friend his life (they were also WAYYYY too close to primary and secondary power lines in a few of those shots too, and I was afraid that's where they were taking the story). No way the officer and the operator aren't calling for someone's balls for bookends over shoddy maintenance.

Mouch had no motivation to save his reputation. It was pathetic for him to ask Hermann "What possessed him to do all that leg work?".

Speaking of "Possessed", suspicious that Corvette made it through the fire nicely with just a blown out tire??!! The car must be a cousin of "Christine".

Edited January 17, 2021 by mxc90

[juno]

5 hours ago, dsteele said:

If my choices were being a lonely 40-something roomie with no family and being miserable all the time -or- going back to Gabby? I know which one I'd pick. 🤪

I understand and sympathize with Casey and Severide's plight. It makes sense that they continually break company reg and risk their careers by dating their co-workers and subordinates. It is a good thing that the Chicago Fire Dept is small and doesn't usually ask their FF to follow procedures, human resources and crazy stuff like that.

It is a shame that they have to resort to dating their co-workers/subordinates because being a FF in Chicago and single is probably quite a turn off for all those single women. 🙄

[dovegrey]

49 minutes ago, juno said:

I understand and sympathize with Casey and Severide's plight. It makes sense that they continually break company reg and risk their careers by dating their co-workers and subordinates. It is a good thing that the Chicago Fire Dept is small and doesn't usually ask their FF to follow procedures, human resources and crazy stuff like that.

It is a shame that they have to resort to dating their co-workers/subordinates because being a FF in Chicago and single is probably quite a turn off for all those single women. 🙄

Well, and add to that Casey’s thing about only attempting long-term relationships with women in a medical profession whose name ends in the “eee” sound, and his pool is a bit limited. 🙃

[NJRadioGuy]

21 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Mouch had no motivation to save his reputation. It was pathetic for him to ask Hermann "What possessed him to do all that leg work?".

Honestly, I don't think he'd give a crap about his reputation that early on, but rather why his rig almost killed a friend and possibly a civilian victim if he knows he did everything right. Did something happen on a different shift that the operator failed to log? That would have been my first call (or the officer's first call). Followed by Fleet Services to get the rig towed, inspected, torn-apart, and fixed. Unless the operator was a vacation-relief man ("floater" I guess in their parlance) or someone that nobody knew there's no second-guessing that the op. screwed up beyond "What the hell was that?" If he says it was a malfunction then it was a malfunction. Any other reaction means you don't trust the operator.

[iMonrey]

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Sure, Casey and Brett are friends, and they kinda skipped the first date and went straight to make-out

I don't think that two people who have worked side by side for years and have become close friends need to go on a "date" before exploring a more romantic or physical side to their relationship. Aren't dates for the purpose of getting to know one another? Casey and Sylvie have already crossed that off their list. I do agree it was crappy timing for Sylvie to ask about Gabby mid-makeout session, but I find this notion that they should go on some sort of formal date rather amusing and quaint. This isn't Bridgerton. 

[dovegrey]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think that two people who have worked side by side for years and have become close friends need to go on a "date" before exploring a more romantic or physical side to their relationship. Aren't dates for the purpose of getting to know one another? Casey and Sylvie have already crossed that off their list. I do agree it was crappy timing for Sylvie to ask about Gabby mid-makeout session, but I find this notion that they should go on some sort of formal date rather amusing and quaint. This isn't Bridgerton. 

I think it's weird for two coworkers who have been something like friends for maybe 6 years to instantly go to having sex and a romantic partnership where one must denounce all feelings for an ex without any exploration of that romantic relationship first. That's weird.

Yeah, people go on dates. Still a thing. 🙂

Edited to add... I was work friends with my SO for two years while he dated another work friend. They split. We stayed friends for a few months, then, yep, went on formal dates to explore what it would be like to be more than friends. I stayed cautious of his feelings for the ex and we addressed that once we knew the romantic relationship had legs, which was about two months in. We're not royal or from the 1900s or whatever Bridgerton is. YMMV.

Edited January 18, 2021 by dovegrey

[WinJet0819]

On 1/13/2021 at 9:26 PM, dovegrey said:

And I’m pleasantly surprised that Stellaride’s constant boundary-breaking, making out on incident scenes, and being known at 51 for banging in the showers, plus Severide’s on-the-job favors for her, are, at least for the moment, having consequences. But it’s yet another relationship where the two don’t seem able to talk honestly to each other, and now Kidd thinks he’s cheating, while he’s really entering a midlife crisis with a poor man’s Vin Diesel. (And she’s still living with him and her captain, which is pretty ridiculous, and I don't blame anyone for thinking nepotism.)

It's about time there were some consequences brought to the Stella-Kelly relationship. A couple working together in the same house, constantly showing public displays of affection, will get people thinking, even if they have the facts wrong. People see them together, and they immediately think she's sleeping with an officer to get to the top. Another reason why in-house relationships strictly prohibited. The rumors hamstring the woman, or sometimes the man, into getting a promotion. And with what the writers have done to Stella, with her constantly needing help and positive reassurance from her man, it just stokes the rumor mill even more.

On 1/14/2021 at 11:14 AM, iMonrey said:

I'm pretty sick of the Gabification of Stella, and I'd like to think her higher ups are too. But the brass at the CFD is always portrayed as being a bunch of assholes. I wonder what the real-life CFD brass thinks about that. They can't be thrilled.

If I was the CFD, I'd want to throw up every episode. It may be nice that the show wants to showcase women firefighters, but it has to weaken their credibility when they're shown falling over themselves for a man.  For a change, I'd love to see a self-assured, strong woman on these shows that don't need worry about pursuing a relationship with a co-worker to properly portray the real life female first responders. Similar to what we saw in Third Watch way back when. I remember finding it so refreshing when Stella first came, because I really just could not realistically see Gabby as a firefighter. And now, unfortunately, I'm getting that same sense with Stella, as I just can't realistically see her as a Lieutenant. 

 

And as for Casey and Brett, just move on. This will they-won't they crap, that we already saw in Chicago Med, is just tired at this point. And the producers did say that there would be a definitive answer one way or the other to the Casey-Brett romance possibility in the first few episodes. So if they actually meant that, I would hope they don't keep trying to push it on us every episode with long glances and coincidental events putting them together. It's a drag on the whole episode, IMO.

 

 

[FnkyChkn34]

On 1/16/2021 at 6:50 PM, dovegrey said:

Well, and add to that Casey’s thing about only attempting long-term relationships with women in a medical profession whose name ends in the “eee” sound, and his pool is a bit limited. 🙃

Natalie(eee) over on Med?

Actually, I was joking, but I could see it.  They both have sticks up their butts, so they'd probably get along really well...