S10.E08: What Happened at Whiskey Point?

[jewel21]

Severide and Herrmann clash over office space. Boden looks at Pelham's past as he considers making him permanent. Gallo's resentment of Pelham comes to a head. Brett and Ritter force Violet to confront her true feelings for Gallo.

Airdate: 11/10/2021

[iMonrey]

Boden has access to Pelham's personnel file, and sees that he was suspended, but the file doesn't say why? WTF? Wouldn't the reason for a suspension have to be included in that? And isn't Boden like Vice President of Chiefs now or something? And still doesn't have access to why someone had the longest suspension ever?

Also, Violet is an EMT but didn't realize the stabbing pain in her right side was her appendix? How long has she been an EMT anyway, a couple of weeks? Even I knew it must be her appendix, and I have no medical training whatsoever. 

Who else was rooting for Pelham to punch Gallo in the face when he was mouthing off to him again? He sure has more self control than I would have.

[izabella]

How cute was that little knitted fire hat?  Adorable!

I'm glad Herman and Severide had their cigar chat, and Severide finally opened up about his fears about Stella, because he was a pain in the ass the whole episode.

[Dowel Jones]

Jesus, is this really the bestest fire house in all of Chicago?  Firefighters taking a sip of beer in full view of the public?  And by the way, you're still on CFD property.  The rules still apply anywhere on that station. 

And a suspension of a company officer with no documentation in the report?  I don't think so.  The Union would have been all over that, and it should have gone all the way to the City Personnel Board.  And it would have been gossiped about all through the city, but Boden had never heard of it.

So Acting Captain Gallo can mouth off to anyone without retribution?  In real life Lt. Pelham should have hung paper on him both for the incident violation and the insubordination at the firehouse.  I guess Haas thinks this is what happens in a firehouse.  Maybe he has a problem with authority figures himself.  Just speculating.

Ruh roh.  Looks like the love triangle might even expand.  Does Hawkins have eyes for both Sylvie and Violet? Will he get into it with Gallo at some point?

At least Violet can rely on the appendix problem for her defense of yelling at the idiot at the construction incident.  I got a laugh at the scene right after that when the actor exits, stage right.  "Okay, I said my line, I'm outta here, back to the craft table."

[WinJet0819]

6 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I guess Haas thinks this is what happens in a firehouse. 

The last 6 years, it's become glaringly apparent that he doesn't know the first thing about what happens in a firehouse. Or more so, he doesn't seem to care. He just looks for any way to manufacture drama, no matter how incredulous, inauthentic or unrealistic it is.

[iMonrey]

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Firefighters taking a sip of beer in full view of the public?  And by the way, you're still on CFD property.  The rules still apply anywhere on that station.

Doesn't matter if she's on CFD property or not, she's still on shift. It's not like it would be OK to drink while she's out on an ambulance run.

I still can't get over nobody recognizing the very obvious signs of appendicitis, especially two EMTs. Good grief, imagine calling an ambulance because you're doubled over in pain, and the EMTs show up and ask if you've recently had a broken heart. "Go talk to your ex!" they advise, as they turn to leave you dying on the floor.

[NJRadioGuy]

Gallo should have been suspended the instant they got back to quarters. Full stop. Pelham wouldn't have needed to go to Boden since he's his immediate superior. Take the rig out of service, call the crew dispatcher and get a replacement truckee in ASAP, but Gallo goes home immediately.

But that said, Pelham failed officer-101 on the alarm call by not doing a 360° sizeup himself. That's his job when he's the officer. Investigate the building and check for signs of fire externally, and if nothing's showing then authorize a cautious entry. What if there'd been the faintest whiff of smoke on the Charlie side? Forcing the door (or Gallo opening up a window) gives it that gulp of oxygen it needs, and everybody suddenly has a Very Very Bad Day.

Oh, and a bad battery operated household smoke detector is not an automatic alarm, which they were toned out for. An automatic is exactly what its name implies--something trips it, and it notifies the alarm office automatically.

Maybe if they took a charged fekkin' hose line into the house they have more time to do the primary search? Just spitballin' here.

Loved the expectant mother story, what the Squad guys did for her (hell yes that happens in real life), and the knitted S3 cap was just perfect.

Loved Violet in the back of the ambo. She sold that scene nicely. 

[WinJet0819]

3 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Doesn't matter if she's on CFD property or not, she's still on shift. It's not like it would be OK to drink while she's out on an ambulance run.

I still can't get over nobody recognizing the very obvious signs of appendicitis, especially two EMTs. Good grief, imagine calling an ambulance because you're doubled over in pain, and the EMTs show up and ask if you've recently had a broken heart. "Go talk to your ex!" they advise, as they turn to leave you dying on the floor.

Considering the show runners don't even care about keeping the show authentic, this really shouldn't be that surprising anymore.  They just want to stoke the drama, no matter how unbelievable or implausible, and hope us viewers aren't smart enough (we are) to catch on.

[MsJamieDornan]

Please, please let Stella be gone for good.

[Dowel Jones]

55 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Loved the expectant mother story, what the Squad guys did for her (hell yes that happens in real life), and the knitted S3 cap was just perfect.

Ditto for Capp chiming in "The onesie was mine" at the perfect moment. Take that, Cruz!

[iMonrey]

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Ditto for Capp chiming in "The onesie was mine" at the perfect moment. Take that, Cruz!

I don't understand why they don't do more with Capp. He had a very brief storyline several seasons ago after being injured on the job, and ever since he's been little more than a glorified extra. The actor has some chops and could handle more, and seems like he's got a pretty good gift for comedy.

[dovegrey]

I hope Pelham stays. I worry that the storyline will be Boden clearing Pelham’s name and getting him a permanent command somewhere else, though. That’s my speculation. But I want him to stay. The actor is good and the new character is decent, although still Basically Casey.

I’m disappointed that Brett has been relegated back to the B team and inconsequential stories. Shoulda left with Casey.

Gallo should be fired. 

The office stuff is so inconsistent, even in the same episode, that it’s not worth a comment. 

Why did the writers promote Boden only to not change anything about his role? Why is a DDC going to routine fires and where is the batt chief? They knew Casey was leaving so why promote Boden at all?

[SuzieQ]

I'm glad that Pelham turned out to be a good guy!!  He seemed kind of shady at first.  But good guy or not, he should have punched Gallo in the face.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, dovegrey said:

Why is a DDC going to routine fires and where is the batt chief?

And what about the other dozen or so stations under a DDC's command?  Doesn't Boden ever visit them.  God forbid another BC retires and leaves a vacancy that requires a DDC to respond to their fires, too.

[dovegrey]

5 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

And what about the other dozen or so stations under a DDC's command?  Doesn't Boden ever visit them.  God forbid another BC retires and leaves a vacancy that requires a DDC to respond to their fires, too.

Exactly. It doesn't make sense. Boden has never necessarily been portrayed accurately for his rank, which became painfully apparent once Casey promoted to captain, but taking a promotion to DDC and still micromanaging 51 as "his" house is just absolutely beyond. Where is the new batt chief who's pissed at the new DDC taking over his scenes (while Gallo and Pelham try not to punch other and Violet screams at civilians LOL). I just don't understand why Haas had Boden promote up, since Jesse Spencer apparently gave pre-season notice and Haas interviewed that they decided to put Boden back at 51 only because Casey left. So, uh...maybe they should have had Boden decline the promotion? Problem solved?

It'd be great to see a storyline where Boden gets demoted or taken to task for not doing his job, and then having to cope with letting go of 51. I get that Casey was long groomed to be his replacement, and the other officers in the house tend to be weak and far less well-rounded, but I'm sure they could find someone else besides Boden.

Much ado about nothing, but as I watched the episode, I wondered why they go to such trouble to set up elaborate fire scenes, only to rush through them and barely show the search effort. I miss the extended fire scenes from the old seasons. Even Casey's last fire was a quick in-and-out. Why even bother? I get the sense from interviews that Haas is super impressed with the complexity of production but doesn't realize how little of that effort translates to the screen these days.

[NJRadioGuy]

1 hour ago, dovegrey said:

Boden has never necessarily been portrayed accurately for his rank, which became painfully apparent once Casey promoted to captain, but taking a promotion to DDC and still micromanaging 51 as "his" house is just absolutely beyond. Where is the new batt chief who's pissed at the new DDC taking over his scenes (while Gallo and Pelham try not to punch other and Violet screams at civilians LOL).

This is difficult on a show like CF. You have to have a respected/loved (or at least feared) authority figure, and you just can't do it in a FD-themed show. Most houses don't have a Battalion or Division chief stationed in them and they run just fine, with each shift having an officer on each piece of apparatus. But how does that fit into a narrative of a prime-time show? You have the LTs, but for the sake of storytelling there needs to be a Boden-esque character In Charge Of Everything.

One thing with Fire, for the most part it's generally a light drama, being in the 9pm timeslot. It's not the kind of show that constantly beats up on its characters like PD does, so it's a Feed Good Story when Boden gets promoted DDC. We did see him in a few other houses as well before he was relocated to E51's quarters. But the big question is where does the 25 Battalion relocate to? They should have explained that.

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I wondered why they go to such trouble to set up elaborate fire scenes, only to rush through them and barely show the search effort. I miss the extended fire scenes from the old seasons.

I guess burn stages cost a shit-ton of money, and when you still have a bunch of 10-year actors under contract and lower ad revenue coming in you can't do the big sets more than once or twice a year. I'm actually fine with shorter time in fire buildings because my B.P. goes up 10 points when I see the T81 guys in there without water. Face it, any TV-show fire could be put out in seconds with a small hand line, so credibility is indeed a problem.

I have similar but opposite issues in police procedurals. They spend so much time on getting the correct weaponry and firearm tactics, but the all fail Detective-101.

[dovegrey]

17 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

This is difficult on a show like CF. You have to have a respected/loved (or at least feared) authority figure, and you just can't do it in a FD-themed show. Most houses don't have a Battalion or Division chief stationed in them and they run just fine, with each shift having an officer on each piece of apparatus. But how does that fit into a narrative of a prime-time show? You have the LTs, but for the sake of storytelling there needs to be a Boden-esque character In Charge Of Everything.

One thing with Fire, for the most part it's generally a light drama, being in the 9pm timeslot. It's not the kind of show that constantly beats up on its characters like PD does, so it's a Feed Good Story when Boden gets promoted DDC. We did see him in a few other houses as well before he was relocated to E51's quarters. But the big question is where does the 25 Battalion relocate to? They should have explained that.

I guess burn stages cost a shit-ton of money, and when you still have a bunch of 10-year actors under contract and lower ad revenue coming in you can't do the big sets more than once or twice a year. 

With Boden - I didn’t mind him micromanaging one house as a BC until Casey got promoted. That was painfully redundant by season 8 and stunted both characters in terms of growth and challenges. Now with Boden as a DDC and still micromanaging 51 and without a batt chief, it’s entirely inconsistent with the last 9 seasons, where every time Boden left 51 another batt chief stepped in to make trouble…and we rarely saw a DDC hanging around. It’s lazy writing, and that irks me as much as no water on fires irks you. :) (Don’t get me started on the show devolving into a feel good Saturday morning teen show, when it’s sandwiched between Med and PD and didn’t start out that way. Now my BP is going up LOL)

I also got the sense from interviews that Casey was supposed to end up as the new chief or actually act like a captain and run the house, but then he left and Haas decided Boden had to stay at 51 to provide leadership. That wasn’t handled well, IMO.

With the fires - that’s what I’m saying. They have their own burn stage and usually spend two or so days filming fire scenes like the one in this episode. For all that trouble and for all the footage that must be filmed, what ends up in the episodes is maybe two minutes. What’s the point? Of all the fire rescue shows, Fire used to do it best but now it’s just…superficial and underwhelming. I don’t expect all the fires to be like 7x2 with the skyscraper on fire but it’d be great to see a longer rescue that doesn’t magically tie into an existing storyline. 

[Artsda]

I hope Stella's done. That would be great.

The appendicitis was obvious like 2 episodes ago, these people are dumb.

[Guildford]

3 hours ago, dovegrey said:

 

I also got the sense from interviews that Casey was supposed to end up as the new chief or actually act like a captain and run the house, but then he left and Haas decided Boden had to stay at 51 to provide leadership. That wasn’t handled well, IMO.

 

Then why start the Boden being promoted storyline at the start of the season when they knew that Casey was leaving anyway?

It feels a bit Deja Vu, Monica told Haas she was leaving yet he refused to believe it and ploughed on with his storyline regardless which ended up being so contrived & out of the blue....this feels like the same. He seems petty & refuses to budge on what he wants to do, whether it makes sense of not. 

[cameron]

What was s with that line that Herman spouted "bibs and dabs" when he was unloading his car. Never heard that term before.

[dovegrey]

59 minutes ago, Guildford said:

Then why start the Boden being promoted storyline at the start of the season when they knew that Casey was leaving anyway?

It feels a bit Deja Vu, Monica told Haas she was leaving yet he refused to believe it and ploughed on with his storyline regardless which ended up being so contrived & out of the blue....this feels like the same. He seems petty & refuses to budge on what he wants to do, whether it makes sense of not. 

Yep. Everything I read indicated that Jesse Spencer didn't renew his contract, which likely means the showrunner knew by May 2021, if not earlier. They start to plan out stories in June and start filming at the end of July. To make it worse, everything I read essentially said that Spencer and the showrunner mutually agreed that Casey should have five more episodes to wrap up and get a good send-off in the 200th episode...which, to me, looks like 3 of those 5 episodes were the showrunner kinda sorta being in la-la-la-la-I-can't-hear-you-so-you're-not-leaving land. I mean, fine, promote Boden, but then cast a new BC and write Boden a storyline around mentoring/training up a new BC while balancing his old loyalties to 51. Or don't promote Boden. Or even just have a scene where DDC Boden laments that he left 51 because he trusted Casey to take care of them (just like he said when he tried to promote to DDC in season 6) and felt a responsibility to go back after Casey left; it'd be flimsy, but it would have been something more powerful than Kylie looking at a map and seeing that the District 4 white shirt offices have been at 51 since season 1...

I kind of wish Spencer had refused to come back and left Haas to explain Casey suddenly disappearing from Navy Pier in the middle of the Squad incident. I'm petty that way. 😝

Edited November 13, 2021 by dovegrey

[magicdog]

On 11/12/2021 at 5:25 PM, cameron said:

What was s with that line that Herman spouted "bibs and dabs"

I think it was "dribs and drabs".  We've used that term for a long time.  It's another way of saying it's coming along slowly or bit by bit.