S12: E04: The Little Things

[DanaK]

Quote

02/07/2024 (09:00PM - 10:00PM) (Wednesday) : Julia spends a couple of days at 51. Boden's stepson, James, returns desperate for Boden to help his mother. After a little girl starts a fire in her backyard, Kidd and her team decide to dig deeper.

 

[TAG42481]

The show aired almost 12 hours ago and nobody's posted yet?  That's not a great sign ...

• Boden apologizes to James for not being around more to help out with his mom.  Is it normal for people to spend a lot of time with their ex-wives, especially after they have a new wife?
• Severide lets Stella know that he'll be coming home soon - "a week from tomorrow" after he had already been gone however long.  I won't pretend to know anything how long arson cases take. Obviously more than a day or week.  But he'll "finally" be coming home after a week - yay?
• Stella, when you find the kid in the middle of the raging fire, maybe you immediately get on the radio to tell everyone she's found so that they stop looking around the burning house for the kid?  Because it's a little dangerous to be doing that.
• Before that, the mom tells Stella to let her take care of her daughter who's setting fires.  "Are you a mom?"  "No, but I have an ex-husband.  I know how troublesome a divorce can be."  Explain that to the mom!
• Big plot device about how Cruz isn't getting invited to Brett and Casey's wedding.  It's brought up at least 3 times.  Then at the end, it's something as simple as I placed the invite in the wrong locker?  That's some craptastic dramatic writing - resolved in a single sentence.

I started watching this show on episode 199, because I remember Casey was there and he was gone.  By the end of season 10, everyone kept talking about how great the show USED to be.  So over the last 2 years, I've gone back and rewatched from the start.  I'm not sure that the show has really gone downhill that much over seasons 6-10, but it has fallen off a CLIFF this season.  THE WRITING IS TERRIBLE, as you can see from my bullet points above.  Unless they turn it around quick, I won't have to worry about whether they're going to renew it for season 13 - my last episode will be the upcoming wedding, and then I'm out.

[FnkyChkn34]

Did anyone catch what all of Severide's texts said?  Something about something only existing if Capp has one as a pet... I'll try to watch again and pause it to see if it was anything clever. 

Otherwise, I'm not surprised that Sev will be home again in another week. He knows he screwed up and can only be gone for as short as possible if he's to stay married. I do agree with everyone else in the other threads who have wondered why they are forgetting that Stella did this too, and first. Severide needs to just say "now we're even, neither of us can do it again."

[iMonrey]

Did we already know Boden had an ex-wife and a stepson? This show has been on so long I can't remember. And what did the ex do to wind up in jail? I didn't quite catch it.

Sylvie bringing the baby to work was absurd. It's the reason I thought adopting a baby was such a stupid idea for her. She works 24 hour shifts and has no discernible family to help her out. What happens when all of the different trucks, squads, ambo, etc. are all called out for the same emergency? Who looks after the kid then? It happens all the time, wasn't it convenient it never happened in this episode?

Seems like the little fire starter should probably be handed over to the father. The mother can't seem to keep lighters or matches out of the kid's reach no matter how many fires she's started.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Seems like the little fire starter should probably be handed over to the father. The mother can't seem to keep lighters or matches out of the kid's reach no matter how many fires she's started.

I had the same thought.  I know the show wanted me to feel for the mom going through her divorce and a custody battle, but her daughter could have burned the whole neighborhood down and killed somebody.  She was a danger to others outside of their home, at that point your custody battle does not matter.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

Severide lets Stella know that he'll be coming home soon - "a week from tomorrow"

Ooh, no, I don't know about that.  Characters should never let the TV gods know when they're traveling or when they're expected home.  Big setup for a disaster along the way, and Station 51 might have to respond all the way to Ohio or someplace.

3 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

Then at the end, it's something as simple as I placed the invite in the wrong locker? 

When everyone's locker has their name taped to the front, and Cruz and Sylvie have been working together for years now?  Somebody isn't paying attention, and I think it's the writers.

42 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Who looks after the kid then?

Well, they do have that room full of invisible administration staff that we never saw after the first two seasons.  But they're only 8-5 so that's not even a real solution.  

 

I can't believe they dragged/carried that mother out of the alley after she had taken a two story jump.  I guess spinal immobilization is not a critical factor anymore.

[Ohiopirate02]

2 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

When everyone's locker has their name taped to the front, and Cruz and Sylvie have been working together for years now?  Somebody isn't paying attention, and I think it's the writers.

I know the show loves to do an episode long low-stakes b-plot and they are usually stupid, but this has to be one of the worst ever done.  Once Cruz realizes Cap was invited to Sylvie's wedding, he should have known his invitation got lost.  Having him spend the episode wondering why he was snubbed and working through that was just pointless.  

[TAG42481]

34 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

Once Cruz realizes Cap was invited to Sylvie's wedding, he should have known his invitation got lost.

Eh, I don't completely agree with the fact.  The writers WERE actually smart enough to lampshade that Cruz is Sylvie's ex.  Still, I don't think him OR Matt would hold such a grudge as to not invite him.

[Artsda]

I forgot Cruz was her ex. 

Severide gone again, he'll probably exit soon maybe he returns for best man duties. 

[DanaK]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Did we already know Boden had an ex-wife and a stepson? This show has been on so long I can't remember. And what did the ex do to wind up in jail? I didn't quite catch it.

Don’t recall about Boden’s marriage history, but the ex was trying to bring in drugs from Canada for her boss

[anna0852]

12 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Did anyone catch what all of Severide's texts said?  Something about something only existing if Capp has one as a pet... I'll try to watch again and pause it to see if it was anything clever. 

Severide said he saw a rattlesnake in the parking lot and she commented back he wouldn’t see that in Chicago. He responded ‘unless Cap was keeping one as a pet’.

It was driving me nuts enough to go back and check.

[KeithJ]

10 hours ago, TAG42481 said:

Eh, I don't completely agree with the fact.  The writers WERE actually smart enough to lampshade that Cruz is Sylvie's ex.  Still, I don't think him OR Matt would hold such a grudge as to not invite him.

Were they that serious (it’s been a long while).  Besides, he’s married now with kid(s) and they work together daily. I could see not inviting him if he was still single and pining over her daily but this was a bad plot device.

[anna0852]

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Sylvie bringing the baby to work was absurd. It's the reason I thought adopting a baby was such a stupid idea for her. She works 24 hour shifts and has no discernible family to help her out. What happens when all of the different trucks, squads, ambo, etc. are all called out for the same emergency? Who looks after the kid then? It happens all the time, wasn't it convenient it never happened in this episode?

In all fairness, if Sylvie has managed to get six months in without a babysitting emergency, then kudos to her. It’s clearly not a regular thing for her to bring the baby in. And haven’t Herman and Cruz and Dawson had their kids running around the house at various points as well? It’s probably easier for Boden to just let her bring the baby in for a shift or two then to track down a floater if she calls out.

[FnkyChkn34]

10 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Severide said he saw a rattlesnake in the parking lot and she commented back he wouldn’t see that in Chicago. He responded ‘unless Cap was keeping one as a pet’.

It was driving me nuts enough to go back and check.

Thank you!  Not as funny as I was hoping, but you did us all a great service. ;-) 

[FnkyChkn34]

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Did we already know Boden had an ex-wife and a stepson? This show has been on so long I can't remember. And what did the ex do to wind up in jail? I didn't quite catch it.

Sylvie bringing the baby to work was absurd. It's the reason I thought adopting a baby was such a stupid idea for her. She works 24 hour shifts and has no discernible family to help her out. What happens when all of the different trucks, squads, ambo, etc. are all called out for the same emergency? Who looks after the kid then? It happens all the time, wasn't it convenient it never happened in this episode?

His ex-wife trafficked drugs over the Canadian border and was caught.

I thought it was ridiculous that Boden said that when Sylvie adopted her, they all said they'd support her.  Yes, but a baby in a firehouse?  They don't have Kylie there anymore to watch her.  I'm sure there are others that we don't see, but still...  

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, anna0852 said:

And haven’t Herman and Cruz and Dawson had their kids running around the house at various points as well?

No, we've never seen anyone else bring a baby to work. I don't think we've ever seen any of Herrmann's kids when they were babies; Cruz only recently had a baby, he's never brought it to work. Dawson had a foster kid for a red hot minute, I can't remember his name but he always looked like he was about to cry. Never brought it to work and left it there while out on shift.

Realistically Sylvie should have called in sick or taken a personal day. They could have gotten another EMT to sub for her. That happens all the time. 

[FnkyChkn34]

35 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

No, we've never seen anyone else bring a baby to work. I don't think we've ever seen any of Herrmann's kids when they were babies; Cruz only recently had a baby, he's never brought it to work. Dawson had a foster kid for a red hot minute, I can't remember his name but he always looked like he was about to cry. Never brought it to work and left it there while out on shift.

Realistically Sylvie should have called in sick or taken a personal day. They could have gotten another EMT to sub for her. That happens all the time. 

Did Cruz bring Javi once?  But I think that's because Severide wanted to show him that Cruz is a hero, or something... It wasn't as free babysitting.

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Did Cruz bring Javi once?  But I think that's because Severide wanted to show him that Cruz is a hero, or something... It wasn't as free babysitting.

He did. Javi’s school had some days off and Chloe had to work. Javi came in cause Joe had no babysitter. 

[iMonrey]

3 hours ago, anna0852 said:

He did. Javi’s school had some days off and Chloe had to work. Javi came in cause Joe had no babysitter. 

Javi is not a baby, though. Big difference. They could all go on a run and leave him behind by himself, he wouldn't crawl out into the street and get run over.

[Attatude]

On 2/9/2024 at 6:45 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

His ex-wife trafficked drugs over the Canadian border and was caught.

I thought it was ridiculous that Boden said that when Sylvie adopted her, they all said they'd support her.  Yes, but a baby in a firehouse?  They don't have Kylie there anymore to watch her.  I'm sure there are others that we don't see, but still...  

Who replaced Kylie in the office? Did they forget there is no one at the desk anymore?

[FnkyChkn34]

11 hours ago, Attatude said:

Who replaced Kylie in the office? Did they forget there is no one at the desk anymore?

The off-screen person with no name?

[iMonrey]

On 2/11/2024 at 8:16 PM, Attatude said:

Who replaced Kylie in the office? Did they forget there is no one at the desk anymore?

Herrmann was sitting there when the baby crawled away. Maybe they haven't hired a replacement yet. There used to be an admin assistant named Connie, I believe the actress passed away if I'm remembering correctly. They haven't found a full time replacement since. Which makes bringing a baby to the firehouse and expecting there to be someone to watch over her even more absurd.

[Dowel Jones]

I think at one point they showed an entire administrative staff in another part of the building, which I alluded to earlier, because it was a district office.  They've gone back to being just a fire station/day care/classroom/investigation center.  

[Rapunel]

On 2/9/2024 at 9:40 AM, iMonrey said:

No, we've never seen anyone else bring a baby to work. I don't think we've ever seen any of Herrmann's kids when they were babies; Cruz only recently had a baby, he's never brought it to work. Dawson had a foster kid for a red hot minute, I can't remember his name but he always looked like he was about to cry. Never brought it to work and left it there while out on shift.

Realistically Sylvie should have called in sick or taken a personal day. They could have gotten another EMT to sub for her. That happens all the time

Agree that bringing the baby in was absurd. She definitely should have taken a sick/personal day. It was also all too convenient that no call required all of the trucks/personnel so there was always a crew left behind to look after the baby. Now that Kylie is a rookie firefighter, we have seen no admin staff. They could be working from HQ or another District Office supporting 51 until they can get someone there permanently. Even so, not their job to babysit.

i am totally sick of Stella’s attitude towards Kelly wanting to move into the investigation division. I would think she would be overjoyed as it is a safer job. She really just seems to be a major control freak and needs to have him with her 24/7, which is why they are always on the same shift.
 

He forgave her and still married her after the disappearing act she pulled for months with her “Girls on Fire” tour. They were engaged and she flat out ghosted him for months. He never got all pissy with her about it, forgave her and still married her. I so wish he would remind her of this time when she gets all put out because he wants to work a case in AZ for a couple weeks. She’s almost worse than Dawson was on the show. Both had to have everything their way no matter how illogical, selfish and stupid. I really hope Stella leaves the show. Kill her off, or let her have an affair and get pregnant by the other guy or have her get an offer to join another house in another state. Then find Kelly someone more his equal who actually appreciates him. 

[Attatude]

If Kelly is leaving the show they need to find a plausible way to break them up.  I’d rather see them split than have her pretending he’s somewhere else when the actor is gone.  We don’t need another Brett- Casey long distance relationship. 

[anna0852]

8 hours ago, Attatude said:

If Kelly is leaving the show they need to find a plausible way to break them up.  I’d rather see them split than have her pretending he’s somewhere else when the actor is gone.  We don’t need another Brett- Casey long distance relationship. 

They already have a reason for him to be off screen, but local. He transfers to OFI like they were discussing. They can still be together just off screen. And it allows Taylor to do the occasional guest spot if he wants to.

[Rapunzel]

8 hours ago, anna0852 said:

They already have a reason for him to be off screen, but local. He transfers to OFI like they were discussing. They can still be together just off screen. And it allows Taylor to do the occasional guest spot if he wants to.

True, but I hate the Stella character, her neediness, her constant desire to dictate his career to him because she has to be glued to him 24/7, etc. If Taylor wants to leave the show, I hope they get rid of her as well. She is becoming more Dawson like every season. I think it’s time for a big break up on the show and breaking them up would add a nice change to their story line. The problem is Severide is so laid back and mellow he never calls her out on her BS like the “Girls on Fire” ghosting. 

[Attatude]

9 hours ago, anna0852 said:

They already have a reason for him to be off screen, but local. He transfers to OFI like they were discussing. They can still be together just off screen. And it allows Taylor to do the occasional guest spot if he wants to.

That could work but I thought Taylor wanted out.

[FnkyChkn34]

15 hours ago, Attatude said:

That could work but I thought Taylor wanted out.

Has he ever actually said this?  I think there's only been a lot of speculation and he's remained quiet.

On 2/14/2024 at 11:51 AM, Rapunel said:

He forgave her and still married her after the disappearing act she pulled for months with her “Girls on Fire” tour. They were engaged and she flat out ghosted him for months. He never got all pissy with her about it, forgave her and still married her. I so wish he would remind her of this time when she gets all put out because he wants to work a case in AZ for a couple weeks. She’s almost worse than Dawson was on the show. Both had to have everything their way no matter how illogical, selfish and stupid. I really hope Stella leaves the show. Kill her off, or let her have an affair and get pregnant by the other guy or have her get an offer to join another house in another state. Then find Kelly someone more his equal who actually appreciates him. 

Yes and no - he did get pretty pissed off.  It took him several episodes to forgive her, and even accused her of cheating on him.  He asked if she met someone else and that's why she wouldn't come home.  He held a grudge for a while, but yes, by now he has gotten over it.  

[iMonrey]

On 2/15/2024 at 5:44 PM, Attatude said:

That could work but I thought Taylor wanted out.

As far as I know he left the show last season to take care of some kind of family issue. I haven't heard that we wants to leave permanently, and I wouldn't think he'd be back this season if that were the case.

[Attatude]

On 2/16/2024 at 6:49 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Has he ever actually said this?  I think there's only been a lot of speculation and he's remained quiet.

Yes and no - he did get pretty pissed off.  It took him several episodes to forgive her, and even accused her of cheating on him.  He asked if she met someone else and that's why she wouldn't come home.  He held a grudge for a while, but yes, by now he has gotten over it.  

What I read at the time is that he was protesting that a producer left the show or was fired. Then a few months ago I read that he wants to leave the show.  I don’t remember where I read it so it could have been speculation, not fact, just what was said about his original reason may be too.  

Edited February 18 by Attatude