S10.E12: Show of Force

[jewel21]

Quote

Boden, Kidd and Severide work together to protect one of their own. At the Fire Academy, Herrmann meets an inspiring young man. Talk of the annual CFD Gala dominates the firehouse.

Airdate: 01/19/2022

[Res]

Less than 5 minutes in and I'm already sick to my stomach.

[preeya]

I called it. This was my post from last episode:

"Re: the electric shock female "fire liar." I predict Kidd will come to the rescue and turn out to be the hero that saves Pelham."

[mommalib]

7 minutes ago, preeya said:

I called it. This was my post from last episode:

"Re: the electric shock female "fire liar." I predict Kidd will come to the rescue and turn out to be the hero that saves Pelham."

It's a shame the writers are that predictable. I guess Kidd is really in Gabby territory now. 

[magicdog]

It's been a while but didn't Hermann have 5 or 6 kids?  We only had reference to two boys.

[Guildford]

The 'Gabbyfication' of Stella is almost complete.

 

[Puffaroo]

Is everyone attending the gala required to wear black?

Cindy cleaned up really well.

[MadeleineElster]

I have to admit I liked this episode.  The writing has been uneven in the recent past, and I thought there were going down a bad path with the messed up relationship between Stella and Kelly (her disappearance made no sense), and the obvious downfall of the lieutenant so Stella could take over that role. But they found a way to fix that and provide a feel-good ending. I don't know where they are going, but I have to admit I preferred Stella in this episode to previous ones. She did her job like she was supposed to.  I was ready to toss Stella to the curb, but they redeemed her character in this episode.  I think the writing was better. 

[dovegrey]

Now that this episode crowned Kidd as a highly competent and selfless lieutenant, I figure Herrmann or Pelham are not long for 51.

Herrmann needs to stop screaming at his kids every time he has an emotional day at work. And it was a jerk move to take his kids to meet a dude who just wants to quietly sit and reflect on his dead brother. 

Didn’t like this as a savior vehicle for Wonder Kidd and didn’t like that Pelham had no agency. For a second, I was worried he had hurt himself or committed suicide at the very end, but this hasn’t been that show for a long time. I’m glad he’s staying but what a debt and strange dynamic to have moving forward. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

The 'Gabbyfication' of Stella is almost complete.

I know it was just another excuse to show how perfect Stella is at her job, but since when do firefighters have escalator training? It always amazes and amuses me that no matter what kind of gizmo the crew is faced with, they are all experts in how it operates. 

Now, I can maybe buy some of the veterans like Mouch and Herrmann have had to tear apart escalators before, but Stella only became a firefighter within the last five or six years, and to the best of my recollection has never had to rescue anyone from an escalator in all that time. Nor is that the normal part of training for either a firefighter or a Lieutenant. But of course, she knows everything, so she knows how the top has to be stabilized before the crews start tearing out the bottom. 

Meanwhile Boden watches all this from above, beaming at the beatification of Saint Stella.

[tinderbox]

This show is slowly turning into The Stella Show.  Reminds me way too much of Gaby’s trajectory.  Ugh.

I really like Pelham.  Hope he sticks around.

I’m most likely in the minority, but I like the new romantic relationship between the paramedic and her boss.  It will be tricky but will be interesting to see where this goes.  

[dovegrey]

7 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I know it was just another excuse to show how perfect Stella is at her job, but since when do firefighters have escalator training? It always amazes and amuses me that no matter what kind of gizmo the crew is faced with, they are all experts in how it operates. 

Now, I can maybe buy some of the veterans like Mouch and Herrmann have had to tear apart escalators before, but Stella only became a firefighter within the last five or six years, and to the best of my recollection has never had to rescue anyone from an escalator in all that time. Nor is that the normal part of training for either a firefighter or a Lieutenant. But of course, she knows everything, so she knows how the top has to be stabilized before the crews start tearing out the bottom. 

Meanwhile Boden watches all this from above, beaming at the beatification of Saint Stella.

I thought Kidd had spent 5-6 years at another house with a nasty lieutenant before she transferred to 51 in season 4.  So she’s been a firefighter for around 12 years. Casey had less experience than that when he became an officer (I think - it was in 6x1 and I forget dates now) and always seemed to know what to do on every call. I can’t begrudge Kidd that. 

I just really wish they had shown her BECOMING a good leader and being Casey’s right hand, like Herrmann had been. It reads like a grandiose fantasy that she walks in, is a perfect lieutenant, an inspiring leader, and a savior of Pelham through her mettle and charm. FFR? I definitely agree that it was not good to have Boden and Severide watching her approvingly the whole time, like she was a child. How insulting. And I thought Stellaride was going to make out or kiss at the escalator…. Ugh.  

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, dovegrey said:

I thought Kidd had spent 5-6 years at another house with a nasty lieutenant before she transferred to 51 in season 4.  So she’s been a firefighter for around 12 years. Casey had less experience than that when he became an officer (I think - it was in 6x1 and I forget dates now) and always seemed to know what to do on every call. I can’t begrudge Kidd that. 

I could easily be wrong, but weren't Casey and Severide the Lieutenants from the start?  Casey moved up to Captain a few years ago, but was always a Lieutenant, if I'm remembering correctly.

[Guildford]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I know it was just another excuse to show how perfect Stella is at her job, but since when do firefighters have escalator training? It always amazes and amuses me that no matter what kind of gizmo the crew is faced with, they are all experts in how it operates. 

Now, I can maybe buy some of the veterans like Mouch and Herrmann have had to tear apart escalators before, but Stella only became a firefighter within the last five or six years, and to the best of my recollection has never had to rescue anyone from an escalator in all that time. Nor is that the normal part of training for either a firefighter or a Lieutenant. But of course, she knows everything, so she knows how the top has to be stabilized before the crews start tearing out the bottom. 

Meanwhile Boden watches all this from above, beaming at the beatification of Saint Stella.

I give Pelham two episodes before he heroically steps aside because he sees how amazingly wonderful WonderKidd is & how everyone loves her so he packs up his turn-out gear & annoints WonderKidd as the greatest Lt ever to walk the earth & heads off into the sunset.....and we get Severide forever muttering those eternal words every morning in the locker room "You got this Stella Kidd"....

[dovegrey]

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I could easily be wrong, but weren't Casey and Severide the Lieutenants from the start?  Casey moved up to Captain a few years ago, but was always a Lieutenant, if I'm remembering correctly.

I looked up the screencap at https://www.homeofthenutty.com/tv/displayimage.php?album=207&pid=209620#top_display_media Casey was a firefighter on a non-51 Engine for 7 years before promoting up to lieutenant on Truck 81 in 2011. He’d only been lieutenant for maybe a year when season 1 started in September 2012. So, we saw Casey at the beginning of his officer career in season 1, and he always seemed to know how to handle every random machinery-gone-wrong call. Severide apparently graduated with Casey and Darden from the Academy (and I totally forget which seasons that was mentioned in), so he likely hadn't been an officer for very long when the show started, either.

FWIW, I looked up the transcript for the dumb season 5 episode where 51 was disbanded by Another Angry Chief; Kidd said she’d spent “two years under Tipton” at Firehouse 27, so she at the least had two years of firefighting experience before season 4, plus seven years now at 51. She has around 9-10 years of firefighting experience and was a CFD paramedic before that. So, she's more experienced than Casey and Severide were when they became officers.

Edited January 21, 2022 by dovegrey
Trying to fix the link

[Artsda]

I miss when Stella was gone. 

[Melbaby]

I forgot that this site came out of Television Without Pity.  Am I really the only one that is desperate to see A-Holes get their comeuppance in this real life age of endless non-accountability for truly horrible people?  Wowza.
 

I am cynical AF, but this was one of my all-time favorite episodes and I'm not ashamed to say it. I'm grateful I can see that all the characters I love also played a role, and, come on, Stella is not even close to being as bad as frakking Gabby...seriously!  And even if she were....I am happy for Kelly.  He deserves someone who actually is afraid to lose him.

Edited January 21, 2022 by melbaby
Because 'A' != 'AF'.

[greyhorse]

Maybe just my opinion, but I thought that Stella didn't "kill it" at the escalator mall scene.  I thought she was very quiet and didn't appear to look like the leader, other than to be the one to walk up and down to both escalator victims.  She wasn't barking orders loudly.  I would have had trouble knowing who was in charge.

How much older is Sylvie than Gallo and crew?  They made it seem like she was some old fogey wanting a live band.  I'd expect Hermann to be put into the "he's old" category, not Sylvie.

Violet was fire at the gala.  I don't want her to end up with Hawkins, but we all know it's going to happen.

[NJRadioGuy]

I liked this one. A lot. CF has always been a bit sentimental and not as in-your-face as P.D., nor as insipidly stupid as Med, and tonight they got the formula right for what the show is. And for once I'm glad they're going into a 4-week hiatus without a cliffhanger, which is frankly what I expected.

As for the escalator incident, this almost certainly would have been Rescue's show. The very nature of the Squad is technical rescues, and you can bet they train for this kind of thing. But with that said, Engine and Truck crews also have fairly extensive rescue training since not every house has a heavy rescue (IRL I think there are just three for the entire city of Chicago plus one at O'Hare). But the laughable part is how the escalator steps seemed to be made of sheet aluminum. I could understand a loose mechanism access plate at the top or bottom being askew, and someone staring at their phone stepping into the pit and getting mangled. But not a fractured step jamming things up with multiple casualties. That made zero sense.

[FnkyChkn34]

I fell asleep when watching this as it aired, so I just watched it again today.  I'll agree that it was pretty good.  I didn't mind Stella in this episode, and she was in on those meetings because she was the acting lieutenant for the truck.  Herrmann should have been there too though, not in a training class.

The main question I had was at the end - why wasn't Stella already wearing her engagement ring?  Did Severide never give her one in the first place, or did she give it back when she came home?  I didn't really understand why he was giving it to her at the gala...  I would also understand if she doesn't wear it on a daily basis because of their profession, but if she was ever going to wear it, it would have been to the gala when she was all dressed up.  Did he steal it from their bedroom before leaving and she didn't notice?  (And as I type this, I understand that it's so very minor, and it's a relief that I'm talking about this rather than how stupid the episode was or that they messed up something else, so this is comforting! Another sign of a decent episode for once!)  

On 1/20/2022 at 1:06 AM, magicdog said:

It's been a while but didn't Hermann have 5 or 6 kids?  We only had reference to two boys.

There were 3 boys - the two older ones fighting, and then the little one in the beginning who he told to not grow up.  I think he had 4 kids total, maybe?  I want to say he's got a daughter in there somewhere too, but maybe they just never showed her because it wasn't needed for the story.

ETA:  There was one other thing that I thought of, though.  I don't think I really understand the whole "we got here first so you're in charge" thing when Truck and Squad should have walked in to the mall together, and given the type of rescue it was, it should have been Severide's command.  But, TPTB obviously wanted to give Stella a softball for her first call in charge and give her something simple.  That scene was not chaotic like a fire could have been. 

Edited January 21, 2022 by FnkyChkn34

[dovegrey]

I would have liked the episode better, if it wasn’t the umpteenth time the intrepid, honest, selfless heroes at 51 laid it all in the line with a grand sweeping display of Morals to take down yet another powerful corrupt person doing corrupt things. The good guys don’t always win, but these ones do. It’s like a kid show, especially compared to the first few seasons, which had heart but also leaned on some dark realities. Meh. 

[magicdog]

3 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

There was one other thing that I thought of, though.  I don't think I really understand the whole "we got here first so you're in charge" thing when Truck and Squad should have walked in to the mall together, and given the type of rescue it was, it should have been Severide's command. 

In my native NYC there is an unwritten rule between NYPD and FDNY - whomever get to the scene first controls the scene.  Makes it easier to avoid confusion about how to go about things in an emergency.  Both have always had a (usually) friendly rivalry, but there's always been a thing about "turf".  I would think Chicago and other major cities have a similar agreement.

[FnkyChkn34]

44 minutes ago, magicdog said:

In my native NYC there is an unwritten rule between NYPD and FDNY - whomever get to the scene first controls the scene.  Makes it easier to avoid confusion about how to go about things in an emergency.  Both have always had a (usually) friendly rivalry, but there's always been a thing about "turf".  I would think Chicago and other major cities have a similar agreement.

That makes total sense.  I guess my question was more about why Truck was so much faster in getting to the scene when all three of them should have showed up at the same time.  When they pulled out of the firehouse, Brett was actually leading.  It's no big deal, just an observation.

[NJRadioGuy]

1 hour ago, magicdog said:

In my native NYC there is an unwritten rule between NYPD and FDNY - whomever get to the scene first controls the scene.  Makes it easier to avoid confusion about how to go about things in an emergency.  Both have always had a (usually) friendly rivalry, but there's always been a thing about "turf".  I would think Chicago and other major cities have a similar agreement.

 

20 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

That makes total sense.  I guess my question was more about why Truck was so much faster in getting to the scene when all three of them should have showed up at the same time.  When they pulled out of the firehouse, Brett was actually leading.  It's no big deal, just an observation.

There's likely an S.O.P. about which apparatus is incident command. I'm pretty certain that Truckees have more advanced rescue training than enginemen. The most senior officer on the scene would be actual incident commander, and yeah, Severide should have been it since that call  was (ahem) Taylor-made for a heavy Rescue. But also this would have become a major enough incident that a Battalion Chief should have been special called to coordinate the scene. Boden should not have been there; that's not what a Division Chief (or DDC is their parlance) does.

[Dowel Jones]

5 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

When they pulled out of the firehouse, Brett was actually leading. 

There has been a few incidents where all the 51 vehicles pulled out at the same time, yet, at the fire, Truck comes in from a different direction than Engine, and parks nose to nose.  And sometimes Boden was 3rd on scene.

[cameron]

Was trying to figure out whether this was filmed in the Water Tower Place shopping gallery, which has become a shadow of its former glory self.

 

[jabRI]

Spoiler

 

OK, so for me the weirdest scene was the 'office' where Kidd was talking to Severide. In the past, when it was Casey, they both had desks and they were talking to each other. Now Kidd is sitting on a cot? WTF?

[SilverLake0315]

On 1/20/2022 at 8:35 PM, Artsda said:

 

I miss when Stella was gone. 

 

“Oh, nobody hangs up on Stella Kidd.” 🙄 My eyes nearly rolled out of my head. I wish she’d leave for good. 

[NJRadioGuy]

32 minutes ago, SilverLake0315 said:

“Oh, nobody hangs up on Stella Kidd.” 🙄 My eyes nearly rolled out of my head. I wish she’d leave for good. 

If you exchange that for "Nobody hangs up on Wallace Boden", said in that amazing deep baritone, we'd buy it, even if he was just a garden-variety Battalion Chief. She's confident, pissed off, and not about to roll over and take someone she cares about getting crapped on unfairly. For all her faults, I seriously liked that move, and what followed. We can debate the Gabbification of Kidd's character, but in this case I'm squarely behind her.

[Guildford]

1 hour ago, SilverLake0315 said:

“Oh, nobody hangs up on Stella Kidd.” 🙄 My eyes nearly rolled out of my head. I wish she’d leave for good. 

She didn't even give Severide or Boden the chance to 'hang up on Stella Kidd' when she was AWOL.😬

[dovegrey]

1 hour ago, NJRadioGuy said:

If you exchange that for "Nobody hangs up on Wallace Boden", said in that amazing deep baritone, we'd buy it, even if he was just a garden-variety Battalion Chief. She's confident, pissed off, and not about to roll over and take someone she cares about getting crapped on unfairly. For all her faults, I seriously liked that move, and what followed. We can debate the Gabbification of Kidd's character, but in this case I'm squarely behind her.

With all respect to you, and all snark aside, I rarely buy into the myth of Boden that the show tries to present. Aside from his One Special Episode per season, he strikes me as a one-dimensional caricature of a strong leader, just like all the characters have become caricatures of their loudest trait. Since at least season 5, I’ve rolled my eyes at Boden’s “gravitas” just as much as whatever any of the characters are written to do or say.

I still have a serious issue with Kidd white-knighting The Saving of Pelham at 51, without her or Boden looping in Pelham (IIRC). Does he even want to stay with the CFD? He lost the entire support of the CFD except for four people; he has no viable upward career path; and, the next time he's legitimately on the hook for a screwup*, he is likely right back to a review board and termination. It was all about Kidd, what Kidd wanted, what Kidd felt about the situation, and what Kidd thought was right, which gets into the Gabbification thing. (*He needs to put a literal leash on Gallo.)

Honestly, I’m kind of resentful that Kidd’s arc has been written so badly that I don’t want to support her.

[SilverLake0315]

2 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

If you exchange that for "Nobody hangs up on Wallace Boden", said in that amazing deep baritone, we'd buy it, even if he was just a garden-variety Battalion Chief. She's confident, pissed off, and not about to roll over and take someone she cares about getting crapped on unfairly.

Personally, I’d hate it no matter who said it. It wasn’t the meaning behind what she said that aggravated me, it was the literal words. 

[AnnA]

2 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

If you exchange that for "Nobody hangs up on Wallace Boden", said in that amazing deep baritone, we'd buy it, even if he was just a garden-variety Battalion Chief. She's confident, pissed off, and not about to roll over and take someone she cares about getting crapped on unfairly. For all her faults, I seriously liked that move, and what followed. We can debate the Gabbification of Kidd's character, but in this case I'm squarely behind her.

Do you really believe Stella suddenly "cares about" Pelham?  She was hostile and rude to him when she came back.  I just wish she's go away forever.

ETA:  I have to admit her actions with the Deputy Commissioner surprised me but I still don't like her.

Edited January 23, 2022 by AnnA

[iMonrey]

I forgot to mention, when Stella strode triumphantly into HQ to hand over Pelham's jacket and lay down the law, she brought "truck 81" with her. Which consisted of . . . her, Mouch and Gallo. That's it? Three lousy people? That's all this truck has?

[dovegrey]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I forgot to mention, when Stella strode triumphantly into HQ to hand over Pelham's jacket and lay down the law, she brought "truck 81" with her. Which consisted of . . . her, Mouch and Gallo. That's it? Three lousy people? That's all this truck has?

Well, yeah, that’s everyone on Truck 81, besides Pelham. They’ve been down to four people since season 7. 

It was disappointing that Engine, Squad, and Ambo didn’t join Truck for the “show of force” and represent all of Firehouse 51, like they’ve done in years past. They were too busy planning a party. 🥳

[WinJet0819]

On 1/21/2022 at 9:32 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

I liked this one. A lot. CF has always been a bit sentimental and not as in-your-face as P.D., nor as insipidly stupid as Med, and tonight they got the formula right for what the show is. And for once I'm glad they're going into a 4-week hiatus without a cliffhanger, which is frankly what I expected.

As for the escalator incident, this almost certainly would have been Rescue's show. The very nature of the Squad is technical rescues, and you can bet they train for this kind of thing. But with that said, Engine and Truck crews also have fairly extensive rescue training since not every house has a heavy rescue (IRL I think there are just three for the entire city of Chicago plus one at O'Hare). But the laughable part is how the escalator steps seemed to be made of sheet aluminum. I could understand a loose mechanism access plate at the top or bottom being askew, and someone staring at their phone stepping into the pit and getting mangled. But not a fractured step jamming things up with multiple casualties. That made zero sense.

Sentimental is a bit of a stretch for this show. This show has become more of a dramatic soap opera that goes into overkill with 51 always (and I mean every single time) saving the day.

[Leeds]

On 1/20/2022 at 5:51 AM, Puffaroo said:

Is everyone attending the gala required to wear black?

Cindy cleaned up really well.

I was struck too by how lovely Cindy looked.

Not required to wear black, but definitely an expectation if the invitation specified black tie.)  Several decades ago I went to a black tie event and my then-boyfriend refused to dress up.  He wore an orange shirt and old jeans (no tie, naturally).  He was a narcistic dick who refused to follow societal norms.  (He never addressed my parents by name because he refused to call them "Mr" and "Mrs" when first introduced, even though I assured him they would immediately ask him to call them by their first names.  He also shaved his mother's legs.)  Maybe this is the wrong forum for this outpouring of resentment!  :-)