S10.E02: Head Count

[jewel21]

Quote

A video of Casey from the roof rescue goes viral. Mouch sets up a Little Free Library at Firehouse 51. Herrmann breaks protocol.

Airdate: 09/29/2021

[dovegrey]

The writers could have at least given Boden/Eamonn Walker a “last shift at 51 [as batt chief]” episode. We've rarely ever seen a DDC hanging around 51 before (does Gorsch even count?), and I think it'd be contrived for Boden to find reasons to be there. But we got a follow-up to Mouch's soft porn novel storyline that no one remembers from season 5 crossed over with OFI Severide, so that's....good... 😑

Total, wild speculation: Herrmann is going to get demoted, and Kidd is going to become lieutenant of Engine. Cruz is going to quit the CFD or take a transfer to a safe job at HQ, and Gallo is going to go to Squad (after the balcony save, he had that Mills-like look in his eyes and has already started to suck up to Severide). Herrmann is going to return to Truck (taking Gallo's spot) or retire entirely (leaving Gallo's spot open for...Griffin?). This would all keep Casey from having to promote to batt chief, step back from active firefighting, and jeopardize what's probably his last chance at a long-term relationship (in terms of Casey promoting to batt chief opening a lieutenant spot for Kidd). That would be a lot of changes...and foreshadowing on this show is rarely ever intentional, so who knows.

61 has always responded to “non-emergency” frequent flyer calls. The writers have done nothing to establish or explain why it’s suddenly now a problem. I wonder if Brett is going to possibly end up paramedic chief via this program (like how Kidd ended up on the lieutenant route because of her high school program); the new guy looked super young, and Brett's been PIC since, what, season 4? (For what it's worth, I would actually like to see some Narcan calls and don't like that they were lumped into the non-emergency call discussion. They're super common emergency calls for EMTs and firefighters, last I knew.)

Very cool to see Griffin again. Don’t screw this up, writers! I'd love if he ended up going the firefighting route and became a candidate at 51.

Edited September 30, 2021 by dovegrey

[LittleIggy]

The Boden/Hermann scene made me cry. I love Eamonn Walker and how he portrays the Chief. 😢

[NJRadioGuy]

3 hours ago, dovegrey said:

Total, wild speculation: Herrmann is going to get demoted, and Kidd is going to become lieutenant of Engine. Cruz is going to quit the CFD or take a transfer to a safe job at HQ, and Gallo is going to go to Squad (after the balcony save, he had that Mills-like look in his eyes and has already started to suck up to Severide). Herrmann is going to return to Truck (taking Gallo's spot) or retire entirely (leaving Gallo's spot open for...Griffin?). This would all keep Casey from having to promote to batt chief, step back from active firefighting, and jeopardize what's probably his last chance at a long-term relationship (in terms of Casey promoting to batt chief opening a lieutenant spot for Kidd). That would be a lot of changes...and foreshadowing on this show is rarely ever intentional, so who knows.

You beat me to it. I thought that "last talk" between Boden and Hermann would involve Hermann losing his bugles and starting the merry-go-round. I don't see Cruz quitting, though. If the actor were leaving the show why not kill him off on the boat and let him die a hero? But I definitely get the Gallo-on-Squad vibe for sure.

So no spoilers for who's the new BC25? If it's a new Chief, then it seems to me he/she would have been in the firehouse the day the promotion was announced to make the transition go smoothly. And if it's Casey, he'd have known already. Something's really fishy here.

As for Griffin, I'm betting his mom is actively trying to sabotage his getting into the Fire Service and he's come to Matt for help. Or he's already a probie who's just been assigned to the house. For drama's sake it can't really be much more than that I don't think.

Hermann with that kid....damnit. Yeah. Makes up for a lot the HermanHate™ I've seen. Loved him throwing himself on the grenade for Brett.

As for that call, the EMS chief should have been ripping the supervising dispatcher a new one for not redirecting every ambo on the South Side that way—which absolutely happens when a mayday goes out for a kid dying. Please don't ask me how I know this. Plus Brett and her partner would have heard Hermann's urgent message transmission since they should always have their radio volume up for precisely that reason. And all Brett would have needed to do would have been to pick up the radio and say that 61 heard the call, is a couple of blocks out, and responding code-three (or whatever terminology they use for highest-priority/lights-and-sirens), with a 2-minute ETA. 

Low priority calls get dropped all the time for more critical calls. It's the nature of the beast. That chief would lose his entire Battalion's respect in a heartbeat if he'd ripped Brett for her actions had Hermann not stepped up. At worst she should have gotten an unpleasant talking to one-on-one, in private. If I'm Brett I'm getting together with all the other crews and putting the word out that the new chief won't back them up.

I'd also bet that a real-life CFD ambo on the south side is mostly handling frequent fliers needing a hit of Vitamin N, coupled with mentally-ill homeless folks in crisis, and the odd MVA and GSW thrown in.

Edited September 30, 2021 by NJRadioGuy

[dovegrey]

5 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

You beat me to it. I thought that "last talk" between Boden and Hermann would involve Hermann losing his bugles and starting the merry-go-round. I don't see Cruz quitting, though. If the actor were leaving the show why not kill him off on the boat and let him die a hero? But I definitely get the Gallo-on-Squad vibe for sure.

As for Griffin, I'm betting his mom is actively trying to sabotage his getting into the Fire Service and he's come to Matt for help. Or he's already a probie who's just been assigned to the house. For drama's sake it can't really be much more than that I don't think.

With Cruz, I agree it’s unlikely but I’d respect the show much more for letting the fallout of the finale/premiere ride a few episodes before resolving with a character deciding to ensure his son has a father. Borelli was written out 3-4 episodes into a season. I’d so much rather Cruz go out on his terms than die like Otis. Hero deaths are overrated. :)

With Griffin coming back, that may tie in with Cruz - what if Ben didn’t fare so well after his dad died and jailbird mom forced them to Florida and that’s why Griffin needs help?  Because Ben is in trouble? What if Cruz sees what happened to these kids who lost their dad on the job?

Not to be missed….we still have not seen the two month time skip. Haas said 10x5 is a big episode (200th!) and I almost get the sense that the first five episodes are like a mini season. 

[Dowel Jones]

Certainly Brett did make a huge mistake in not calling in to Dispatch.  Even if the ambo has an AVL, it might not be working and Dispatch needs to know where they are.  Suppose, for the moment, that they are now over at the dying kid (yes, if he did have a tension pneumothorax, he was critical, even if the actor didn't show it), and Dispatch wants to redirect 61 to a high priority call, thinking they're still with the old guy.  I can imagine the confusion in the Command Center.

After this week's rescue, I can sort of understand why Casey did his Tarzan act last week.  It was questionable whether Mouch would be able to get that aerial moved up to a third story balcony by the end of the episode.  Jeez.  But, of course it was necessary to show Gallo once again freelancing and smiling for the cameras.

Mouch's glasses reflected the sunlight onto book paper, starting a fire?  Please.  And Boden gives him until end of shift to get that cleaned up.  How about right now?

Cruz is going to bail on the FD, and take up the offer to go on the road promoting the Slammigan.  Only to find out that he's in deep trouble for trademark infringement and subject to several lawsuits for product liability.  After a rough introduction, the new Paramedic Chief is going to compete with Casey for Brett's affections.  We're dipping into Station 19 territory, I know.  Boden will intervene from his new office, create some drama, and get demoted back to BC at 51.  This is all just silliness from me.

[dovegrey]

19 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

So no spoilers for who's the new BC25? If it's a new Chief, then it seems to me he/she would have been in the firehouse the day the promotion was announced to make the transition go smoothly. And if it's Casey, he'd have known already. Something's really fishy here.

I've been thinking about this. I also think something is fishy. The only new chief in town is the paramedic chief, despite Boden promoting up and leaving an open batt chief position? No way this show misses an opportunity to have yet another cranky/unethical chief give 51 trouble.

I can't figure out if they're going the Batt Chief Casey route (and his interview from this episode will pop up as a serious news story that springboards him dead center onto HQ's Batt Chief radar), or if they're going the Demote Herrmann-Engine Lt. Kidd route. I guess both could happen: Casey becomes batt chief, Kidd becomes 81's lieutenant, and Herrmann returns to 81 as a senior firefighter. That could actually be a nice way to mentor and support Kidd as a new lieutenant but would leave Ritter in limbo on Engine.

I'd also be okay if the show wrote out the batt chief position by reassigning 51 to a different battalion or having the new batt chief for 25 decide to office at another house, and then just not have the new chief micromanage like Boden did. Let Casey run the house like a CFD captain should be running the house. As it is, I imagine there is at least one other office for 25's batt chief, since Boden completely emptied out everything in his office, indicating he didn't share it with the other two batt chiefs for 25 (for first and third shifts). (Boden definitely worked 24 hour shifts. There must be two other BCs for the other two shifts.)

8 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Certainly Brett did make a huge mistake in not calling in to Dispatch.  Even if the ambo has an AVL, it might not be working and Dispatch needs to know where they are.  Suppose, for the moment, that they are now over at the dying kid (yes, if he did have a tension pneumothorax, he was critical, even if the actor didn't show it), and Dispatch wants to redirect 61 to a high priority call, thinking they're still with the old guy.  I can imagine the confusion in the Command Center.

Totally agree. But. In the grand scheme of all the dumb stunts these people have pulled, THIS is what gets Brett nearly fired and wrecks Herrmann's career? Of all the things? I don't think this was Herrmann's sword to fall on, but I also don't think there really needed to be a sword to fall on at all. Slap wrists, follow-up, and move on.

More than that, I questioned why no one on Engine appears to be a licensed paramedic or EMT capable of doing what Brett did. When Casey was a lieutenant, he did at least one field intubation, and he wore a PIC coat once in one of the earlier seasons. Mills, Borrelli, Kidd, and Gallo are/were all EMTs (I'm probably forgetting some people). But no one on Engine is trained? Or Engine didn't have medical equipment stocked on their rig? Overall, this situation seemed awfully manufactured, and I do wonder where it's going for Herrmann.

[Sandman]

Is the show going to retcon that Casey and Heather Darden actually slept together? I was struck by the resemblance between Grown-Up Griffin and Jesse Spencer, and wondered if it was just accidental, or not. (Nice to see Casey happy enough to laugh joyously and hug Griffin, I'll give them that.)

[AnnA]

12 hours ago, Sandman said:

Is the show going to retcon that Casey and Heather Darden actually slept together? I was struck by the resemblance between Grown-Up Griffin and Jesse Spencer, and wondered if it was just accidental, or not. (Nice to see Casey happy enough to laugh joyously and hug Griffin, I'll give them that.)

I don't think Casey and Heather slept together.  At least he claimed they didn't.

[Guildford]

2 hours ago, AnnA said:

I don't think Casey and Heather slept together.  At least he claimed they didn't.

Since when has that stopped these shows from randomly making shit up years later if it fits the current story.

[Sandman]

I know Casey and Heather didn't sleep together (originally). And it might be coincidence, or that I'm imagining more of a resemblance between the actors than was meant. But I wouldn't put it past Wolf & Co.

[dovegrey]

1 hour ago, Sandman said:

I know Casey and Heather didn't sleep together (originally). And it might be coincidence, or that I'm imagining more of a resemblance between the actors than was meant. But I wouldn't put it past Wolf & Co.

I think they tried to find an adult actor who looked like the original child actors for Griffin and Ben (the child actors from season 2 are brothers in real life). I also see the resemblance between the adult actor and Jesse Spencer, but I also see the resemblance with the child actors, and especially the kid who played Ben, AND with the photo of Darden on the wall in this episode. I think it's a coincidence made likely by the kids and Spencer having pointy noses and the adult actor having the same hairline/bad haircut as Spencer/Casey.

If they tried to retcon Casey and Heather sleeping together, it would absolutely destroy Casey's character, IMO. For those kids to have looked that much alike, it would essentially mean that Casey fathered both of them and would essentially mean Casey was having a long-term, years-long affair with the wife of one of Casey's best friends, a firefighter brother, and one of his direct reports. They'd run him out of 51 with pitchforks.

I am expecting Brett to get pregnant, though. (Not a spoiler.)

[AnnA]

14 hours ago, Guildford said:

Since when has that stopped these shows from randomly making shit up years later if it fits the current story.

Good point!  LOL

[Sandman]

57 minutes ago, dovegrey said:

If they tried to retcon Casey and Heather sleeping together, it would absolutely destroy Casey's character, IMO. For those kids to have looked that much alike, it would essentially mean that Casey fathered both of them and would essentially mean Casey was having a long-term, years-long affair with the wife of one of Casey's best friends, a firefighter brother, and one of his direct reports.

I agree that it would be very destructive to Casey's character, for exactly the reasons you give.

I didn't know the kids in season 2 had been played by brothers -- interesting.

[Bobcatkitten]

I wonder if they are setting up a depression/mental health storyline for Cruz. Because he feels not himself but can't pinpoint why etc. 

[AnnA]

11 hours ago, Bobcatkitten said:

I wonder if they are setting up a depression/mental health storyline for Cruz. Because he feels not himself but can't pinpoint why etc. 

I hope not.  I don't want to sound mean but I'm tired of Cruz's problems. 

[christie]

On 10/5/2021 at 5:38 PM, Bobcatkitten said:

I wonder if they are setting up a depression/mental health storyline for Cruz. Because he feels not himself but can't pinpoint why etc. 

To me it seems like they're setting up a PTSD storyline for Cruz.

(I've only just started watching season 10 and I don't know what happens but that's the vibe I got with the flashbacks with the mask and when the water was falling on him).