S12.E02: Call Me McHolland

[DanaK]

Quote

01/24/2024 (09:00PM - 10:00PM) (Wednesday) : Mouch sets out to change his legacy and nickname. Ritter pushes Herrmann to see a doctor. Brett searches for the perfect wedding venue.

 

[iMonrey]

If Cruz was having a beef with Severide why was he sitting at the end of the bar by himself? Doesn't he have a wife and kid at home? I'm sure they have beer there. And why was Carver sitting alone at a table? Didn't he have a drinking problem last season? Is there some kind of rule they have to use the Molly's set to justify its existence? All of this could have taken place at the station and it would have made way more sense.

Is Kylie even old enough to drink? Wasn't she in Girls on Fire last season? Wasn't that a program for high school kids? Aw they grow up so fast.

I think Tony had more lines this episode than he's had for the last 11 seasons.

[anna0852]

Not as bad as last week. I’m over Brett’s wedding plans already. $10 says they end up holding the thing at 51 anyway.

[TAG42481]

It looks like our show.  It kinda sounds like our show.  It's not our show.
 

• Yes, I can see Ritter harassing Herrmann about seeing a doctor and Herrmann not wanting to go.  But I think Hermann almost getting run over getting into his car would have spooked him to seeing a doctor, he would have gotten checked before ENDANGERING HIS COWORKERS.
• Cruz has worked with Severide too long to seriously consider doing an end-around about leaving without talking to him first.
• Throwing Violet and Carver together doesn't feel earned.  They talked in S12E01 about them having sparks last season.  Really?  Carver only had eyes for Stella in S11, which has suddenly been dropped now that Severide is back.
• They magically run into Kylie?  Yeah, she wants to make her own way, but Chicago is pretty big, the odds are that she wouldn't be working immediately next to them in the city.  I still think that was more of the show's typical back-door way to introduce a new character - was his name Gibson?

Brett WOULD say she wants a simple venue and still want it to be perfect.  That's on point.

I know I'll remember one or two more later, but that's what I get for writing this at 3am while staying up late.

[MsJamieDornan]

42 minutes ago, TAG42481 said:

It's not our show.

Carver is still a very bad actor.

[DanaK]

I can see the Hermann character retiring at the end of the season or next given his new disability, assuming the FD doesn’t force him to do so first

[anna0852]

I think Joe’s plan to take the lieutenant test is the back up plan if Taylor exits for good.

[FnkyChkn34]

Did Cruz ever go talk to Severide or did Stella just relay the message for him?  Something was lost in editing, maybe. 

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Is Kylie even old enough to drink? Wasn't she in Girls on Fire last season? Wasn't that a program for high school kids? Aw they grow up so fast.

I think Tony had more lines this episode than he's had for the last 11 seasons.

Kylie worked at the firehouse for at least one season, if not two. I think she's been out of high school for several years. 

Remember, Tony is a real firefighter and not an actor. 😉

[iMonrey]

9 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Did Cruz ever go talk to Severide or did Stella just relay the message for him?  Something was lost in editing, maybe. 

No, they talked, they had a scene at the very end in Molly's. We missed the part with Cruz telling him he wanted to leave, but we saw the follow-up with Severide saying he'd support his decision.

5 hours ago, DanaK said:

I can see the Hermann character retiring at the end of the season or next given his new disability, assuming the FD doesn’t force him to do so first

I don't know that anything will come of it. They just have to give Herrmann something to do because he's a main character. Last year it was Cindy's cancer. This year he's losing his hearing. I suppose it's a step up from the get rich quick schemes they used to involve him in.

7 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

Cruz has worked with Severide too long to seriously consider doing an end-around about leaving without talking to him first.

Actually I bought this. He was pissed and deservedly so. Cruz ran squad for months without knowing if Severide was ever going to come back. And Severide was being a jerk. He's really pissed at Stella and he's taking it out on Cruz. 

7 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

Throwing Violet and Carver together doesn't feel earned.  They talked in S12E01 about them having sparks last season.  Really?  Carver only had eyes for Stella in S11, which has suddenly been dropped now that Severide is back.

Carver and Violet did have a flirtation last season when she was trying to fix a light fixture in her apartment and he helped her with it. It's not a lot but it's precedent.

7 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

I still think that was more of the show's typical back-door way to introduce a new character - was his name Gibson?

Yup, he's going to be Gallo's replacement. Which I thought was going to be the lieutenant from last week but I guess not. What happened to the firefighters from the other station they were sharing stations with? Did they go back already?

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I don't know that anything will come of it. They just have to give Herrmann something to do because he's a main character. Last year it was Cindy's cancer. This year he's losing his hearing. I suppose it's a step up from the get rich quick schemes they used to involve him in.

At least this storyline is more organic than those get rich quick schemes.  The actor has been diagnosed with hearing loss and may already be wearing hearing aids these past few seasons.  They made it a plot point for his character in And Just Like That, doing it here makes sense.  

[jcbrown]

7 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

At least this storyline is more organic than those get rich quick schemes.  The actor has been diagnosed with hearing loss and may already be wearing hearing aids these past few seasons.  They made it a plot point for his character in And Just Like That, doing it here makes sense.  

Agreed. That's what I thought, too, that the storyline arose from the fact that the actor has a hearing loss.

[DanaK]

10 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

At least this storyline is more organic than those get rich quick schemes.  The actor has been diagnosed with hearing loss and may already be wearing hearing aids these past few seasons.  They made it a plot point for his character in And Just Like That, doing it here makes sense.  

Wow, I totally didn’t know that

[tanyak]

13 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

Yup, he's going to be Gallo's replacement. Which I thought was going to be the lieutenant from last week but I guess not. What happened to the firefighters from the other station they were sharing stations with? Did they go back already?

They showed the other unit packing up right before the chief gave his big speech about 51 being a family like week.

Yeah, my guess is Gibson is the new guy on truck.  I recognized him right away from his time on The Bold and the Beautiful and a couple of other shows. I figured he wasn’t on for just a bit part. Then they did a scan of his turnout coat so that we could see his name, just like they did when Gallo joined.

[NJRadioGuy]

Speaking of turnout coats, the writers flubbed one here big time. Mouch's coat has always said McHolland on the back from the beginning. It's a requirement, in fact. Just go back to any episode in the past and it's plain as plain.

Also, a nickname will never go away. Especially if the person wants it to.

The props department went super-cheap with the alleged e-bikes. Obviously the real things are far too dangerous to mess around with, but they could have tried a wee bit better, maybe? They just looked like regular pedal-powered bicycles with a road flare under the center bar. The rotating tire on fire did look cool, though, so the DoP got a great shot there.

14 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Remember, Tony is a real firefighter and not an actor. 😉

Well, he's got his card so he's both. Just like in Emergency!, where FF Mike Stoker (the chauffeur of E51) was a real-life chauffeur of LA County FD Engine 69, and Marco Lopez was also a firefighter with the County. Both used their real names in the show.

22 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

• They magically run into Kylie?  Yeah, she wants to make her own way, but Chicago is pretty big, the odds are that she wouldn't be working immediately next to them in the city.

Not implausible, really. There are always multiple trucks and engines at a working fire, and the bigger it is the more they call out so the chances are good that if she had been on the same shift she'd be there. Unless she got assigned to a firehouse on the other side of town, of course. Boden, as DDC, could easily have made sure she got assigned to a house under his jurisdiction; remember, his position in the show would put him in command of a handful of houses, although they never show him in that role.

So if Cruz gets a bugle, I guess he's going to have to learn how to command an engine company, since Hermann could be put out to pasture. If Severide leaves the show I guess they could put him on Squad. But we're getting a lot of officers now and fewer and fewer places to put them.

But here's another problem I'm having now with both Mouch and Herrmann. The actors are presently 61 and 59 YO, respectively, and their characters' careers would likely be well beyond the 25-and-out typical career path for such a physically demanding job. I can easily see either or both actors leaving the show in the next year or two.

[iMonrey]

9 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

But here's another problem I'm having now with both Mouch and Herrmann. The actors are presently 61 and 59 YO, respectively, and their characters' careers would likely be well beyond the 25-and-out typical career path for such a physically demanding job. I can easily see either or both actors leaving the show in the next year or two.

By the same token I can easily see the show ending after this season. From what I gather the Chicago franchise is bleeding the network dry.

[jabRI]

I am over the Severide worship.  He's just a jerk to most people, can't remember the last time he showed any consideration, kindness, whatever.  He should work in OFI where he'd be more independent.

For Hermann, I can understand him.  We saw the same thing with Otis where he didn't want to get help with PTSD.  If you reach out for the help you need you could lose your job.  Not a great system.

[NJRadioGuy]

28 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

By the same token I can easily see the show ending after this season. From what I gather the Chicago franchise is bleeding the network dry.

IIRC the franchise is crazy-expensive to produce, but it's also their highest rated scripted block. If they can keep the production costs down it can still work in their favour. So we get cheesier VFX and probably more character-driven episodes than before but the show's still a winner. For now.

[DanaK]

10 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

IIRC the franchise is crazy-expensive to produce, but it's also their highest rated scripted block. If they can keep the production costs down it can still work in their favour. So we get cheesier VFX and probably more character-driven episodes than before but the show's still a winner. For now.

They can also reduce costs by writing out characters who have been there for a while

The high costs are why Fox let go of 9-1-1 (which ABC picked up). It and its sister show are very expensive to make given all the rescue set pieces

 

[Fostersmom]

On 1/26/2024 at 2:11 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

But here's another problem I'm having now with both Mouch and Herrmann. The actors are presently 61 and 59 YO, respectively, and their characters' careers would likely be well beyond the 25-and-out typical career path for such a physically demanding job. I can easily see either or both actors leaving the show in the next year or two.

Add in Chief Boden and this is the geriatric firehouse. 

[Sake614]

I didn’t get the impression that Cruz told Severide he was taking the Lieutenant test. I think it was just Kelly’s lame way of acknowledging Cruz’ work while he was gone and saying that if Cruz doesn’t want to take orders form him anymore, he’s welcome to go elsewhere and lead a team.

1 hour ago, Fostersmom said:

Add in Chief Boden and this is the geriatric firehouse. 

I don’t have a problem with that because he isn’t the one fighting fires. He’s in a command position and those jobs are generally held by older men who’ve come through the ranks. 

[KeithJ]

I just don’t understand Severide being such a dick to Cruz.  From the beginning of the episode to the half-assed apology at the end and Severide basically telling Cruz to move on.  What did I miss here?

Please don’t force Violet and Carver together.  Character on TV shows are allowed to be single.

Pretty sure the wedding is just going to be at the firehouse anyway so they can stop with the venue searching.

[KeithJ]

On 1/26/2024 at 1:11 AM, NJRadioGuy said:

Speaking of turnout coats, the writers flubbed one here big time. Mouch's coat has always said McHolland on the back from the beginning. It's a requirement, in fact. Just go back to any episode in the past and it's plain as plain.

Actually, it hasn’t.  A few pics from a quick search:

Edited January 29 by KeithJ

[FnkyChkn34]

20 hours ago, Sake614 said:

I didn’t get the impression that Cruz told Severide he was taking the Lieutenant test. I think it was just Kelly’s lame way of acknowledging Cruz’ work while he was gone and saying that if Cruz doesn’t want to take orders form him anymore, he’s welcome to go elsewhere and lead a team.

I don't think he did either; I think Stella must have said something.

14 hours ago, KeithJ said:

I just don’t understand Severide being such a dick to Cruz.  From the beginning of the episode to the half-assed apology at the end and Severide basically telling Cruz to move on.  What did I miss here?

What we missed was the beginning of any conversation, if there was one. 

This was my point above - either (a) Severide understands Stella enough to know exactly what she meant by her one-line remark about being happy to have a guy like Cruz working for her, so Sev initiated what we saw with Cruz, (b) Stella actually said more in a conversation off camera, or (c) Cruz finally said something himself directly to Severide.  I don't know which happened, and it was a bit sloppy and confusing.

[Dowel Jones]

In the real world, Severide shouldn't have a damn thing to say about Cruz's desire to promote.

[CoyoteBlue]

On 1/29/2024 at 1:08 PM, Dowel Jones said:

In the real world, Severide shouldn't have a damn thing to say about Cruz's desire to promote.

In the real world, a good boss has an interest in helping his people achieve their career goals. But these people act like they're asking a traditional daddy permission to marry his favorite daughter every time they want to do something for themselves. No one needs Severide's or Boden's blessing for everything.

[NJRadioGuy]

Blessing, no. But support and recommendation absolutely. A respected boss going to bat for you opens a lot of doors. 

[FnkyChkn34]

13 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Blessing, no. But support and recommendation absolutely. A respected boss going to bat for you opens a lot of doors. 

I was going to say this too - and maybe Boden actually has to approve Cruz's desire to take the test?  Like, he has to sign off on it, confirming Cruz has met minimum requirements.  Otherwise, could any rookie just starting out throw their name in and waste everyone's time?  I'd hope not, but never know.

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I was going to say this too - and maybe Boden actually has to approve Cruz's desire to take the test?  Like, he has to sign off on it, confirming Cruz has met minimum requirements.  Otherwise, could any rookie just starting out throw their name in and waste everyone's time?  I'd hope not, but never know.

I think Boden does have to approve Cruz taking the test. If I recall correctly from when Stella did it, it involved Boden having to put her name on the list. She couldn’t just sign up for herself and presumably that’s the same way it works here with Cruz.

[Dowel Jones]

Meeting the minimum requirements would be a formality, though.  Those should be listed on the flyer for the test.  When I was just starting out, I could look at flyers for jobs throughout California, and every one of them stated multiple requirements that had to be documented.  Beyond that, my original post was based off the writing that implied that Severide had the power to deny any of his crew to take the test, which wouldn't, or shouldn't, be the case.

[SnarkySheep]

On 1/25/2024 at 3:26 AM, TAG42481 said:

Brett WOULD say she wants a simple venue and still want it to be perfect.  That's on point.

Considering this sort of juxtaposition actually happens a lot in real life, I'd give it a pass. However, Brett and Casey have both been shown to be realistic, down-to-earth kind of people all along, so it's a little out of character for Brett IMO. Also, you'd think that Casey would be calming her and talking her into reason, if for some reason she temporarily lost her chill. 

That said - if he wasn't there to do it, I don't see why Stella and Violet couldn't bring her back to earth. That's honestly what good friends are for, to remind the bride that nothing in life can be perfect no matter how hard you try, but it doesn't mean it's not going to be great. Instead they just gave each other this secretive side eye, like maybe Brett farted and they didn't want to call attention to it.