S03.E01: Always

[DrLar]

Mmm I think it came to who will be suffering these 6 weeks, this time was Severide, and of course the surviving paramedic partner.

 

A  year ago or so they were going all baby and they even shown some scenes with Shay laying down with a newborn with Severide at her side.. and now what?

[Sharkatefonz]

Yeah, I prefer the baby stuff. Not as a way of hooking up Severide and Shay. I love them as best friends, and I think if they handled it respectfully, and not made Shay a baby ragey psycho about it, (though I enjoyed her mood swings and felt for her urgency to experience motherhood. I'll never forget the way she held that baby from the emergency call and was really hoping she'd get that baby) they really could've been a voice for Modern families.

I loved the idea of two best friends starting a family together, being an example of a modern family. I said it in the other thread- that had great story potential for the significant others that would come into their lives and how they dealt with an extra person in the equation.

Not to mention being young parents in a dangerous job, asking Hermann how he dealt with that pressure, etc.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Sharkatefonz

[Chas411]

Yeah I agree. There was way more potential with Shay then without her. I have a feeling the powers that be might end up regretting this.
 

[Sharkatefonz]

I'm not gonna lie, I'm totally biased because I loved Shay, but I loved a lot of these characters. This big a changed dynamic, for me- it was too much. Not to mention, real life has enough really depressing things happen, and on CF we've already seen heartbreaking deaths on the calls they've gone on. I thought that was enough life and death drama.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Sharkatefonz

[dargosmydaddy]

I'm glad Forever looks to be a decent show. Good-bye, Chicago Fire.

[MaryHedwig]

Eh, this ties them at deaths, right? They both lost Darden. Casey lost Hallie. Severide lost Shay. Boom. Back to a tie. Casey also lost his instafamily (when their mom got out of prison early and moved with them) and his own prison mommy who ultimately took off (wish they'd address that disappearance). And, of course, he's got that pesky brain injury that COULD KILL HIM AT ANY TIME except ... not, I guess? That at least puts him on equal ground with Severide's losses. Personally, I give the edge on sucky life to Casey. But that's because he's stuck with Dawson. I'm not sure the show would see that as misery-inducing, but I sure do. Casey for the Win

 

Let's not also forget that Casey's mother murdered his father.  It is amazing that Casey forges on and copes at all (I am not sure a real life counterpart of him would do as well.)

[Neurochick]

When this show began, there were two very interesting female characters.  It would have been more interesting if Dawson wanted to be a firefighter from day one and that could have been what her story was about; that would have made Dawson interesting.  What they did to Dawson was to have her be all about the men; first Mills, then Casey.  And last season, I don't know what in the world they did to Shay's character; they made her completely un-interesting, as if the writers couldn't figure out story lines for Shay.  

 

If they put Dawson with Severide, then that really will be awful and offensive, because  it's teetering very close to the stereotype of the "hot Latina."  

 

Someone I know made an interesting comment about Dawson.  They said that true, she's a WOC, but the "right" color.  What does that mean?  It means that if Dawson was played by an actress the color of Lupita Nyong'o, she probably wouldn't have been in so many romantic entanglements; in fact, she might have gotten killed off because the writers wouldn't have known what to do with her either.  

 

That is what, IMO, happened on Person of Interest (sorry to bring up that show again).  Because you have a WOC like Taraq P. Henson, and you have a WOC like Sarah Shahi.  Technically, both are WOC, but where Henson is visibly a WOC, Shahi is somewhat, but not as much as Henson.  Does that matter?  Maybe.  Years ago I was reading a message board about the actress Jessica Alba and a young man commented that he really liked her, even though he found out that she wasn't Asian.  

 

My point is that Dawson is a "safe" character, the guys can all think she's hot and gorgeous because she's not too..."different" not too "exotic."  And that's why she stays.

 

Still, the Dawson/Shay relationship was one of the best between women on TV and it's a shame that it had to end like that.  What a lousy thing to do.

[Watermelon]

Have they ever explained how Latina Dawson HAS the last name of Dawson? 

 

I've always assumed her father was an american, of some ethnicity, but, it's sort of odd.

[MaryHedwig]

Have they ever explained how Latina Dawson HAS the last name of Dawson?  I've always assumed her father was an american, of some ethnicity, but, it's sort of odd.

Also, it Antonio her full sibling?  He looks like he is Latino on both sides and she looks (conceivably) half to me.  Then again, if Antonio is full Latino, why is his last name Dawson?  Back story, please.

[DrLar]

Well in real life her last name is Raymund, not so "latino" sounding but her mother is from the Dominican Republic, almost mirroring that in the show.

[Watermelon]

I"m fully aware Latin people can look like any number of ethnicities.

 

I would think in Chicago of all place and with nosy coworkers SOMEBODY would have said, "'Dawson' and you're Latina? How's that?" Because real world people are usually not PC and like answers.

 

I had an old coworker who had the whitest name ever(Thurston Howell levels of Caucasian), but because he knew Spanish and looked like Disney Prince Naveen my boss put him down as Latino.  I felt like I wanted to be sure since (I'm nosy and also) it was on paperwork so I asked, only to find out he was half West Indian.

Of course it didn't matter, but it's certainly normal to have had a curious and questioning coworker.

[iMonrey]

 

Final thought - how are they ever going to pull off Dawson eventually firefighting in 51? Casey is way too overprotective when it comes to her. In the job they're doing I can't see there being any doubt he'd end up putting her before his duties if there was a life or death situation.

 

My guess, Dawson will go to station 66 or whatever that other station is, with the mean guys, get sexually harassed, file a lawsuit, blah blah blah, and in the end she'll get transferred to 51. Either she and Casey will have broken up by then or else they'll pretend to be just so she can work there.

[Kel Varnsen]

My guess, Dawson will go to station 66 or whatever that other station is, with the mean guys, get sexually harassed, file a lawsuit, blah blah blah, and in the end she'll get transferred to 51. Either she and Casey will have broken up by then or else they'll pretend to be just so she can work there.

Knowing this show, she will probably make Squad by mid-season (after winning over the guys in 66 with how awesome she is of course). Honestly I am surprised there wasn't any mention this episode about Hermann passing the Lieutenant's test. I have no idea how promotions work, but you would think with his level of seniority and now passing the exam, he would have a promotion fairly quickly. I always thought that was an easy way to get Gabby back at 51, you move Hermann over to Engine Lieutenant, and then have her working under him. Although considering they never mention the actual Engine that the fire house is named after (and Boden constantly talks about how his house has two Lieutenants) I won't be holding my breath. 

[Watermelon]

Someone should have to leave right?  Unless they moved to a dfferent shift. The two Lieutenants on the shift we see are Casey and Severide. Clarke left last season because he passed the test and knew there was no place on shift for him.  There's no way for Herrmann to stand AND be a lieutenant 

[Kel Varnsen]

Someone should have to leave right?  Unless they moved to a dfferent shift. The two Lieutenants on the shift we see are Casey and Severide. Clarke left last season because he passed the test and knew there was no place on shift for him.  There's no way for Herrmann to stand AND be a lieutenant 

Except for the fact that firehouse 51 has 3 fire trucks.

[Fostersmom]

I don't remember the storyline about Mills looking for his father's family. Whoever he was watching from his truck could not have been his grandfather.

 

I vaguely remember him talking to the other guy last season, did he used to be a PI? but that's about it. The man he was watching has unknown brother written all over him. Grandfather is obviously out since that guy looked to be like 35, and it seems a stretch for uncle. And maybe I'm reading too much into a 30 second clip, but I got the impression we are supposed to assume the unknown guy is a racist hillbilly. 

[Watermelon]

I vaguely remember him talking to the other guy last season, did he used to be a PI? but that's about it. The man he was watching has unknown brother written all over him. Grandfather is obviously out since that guy looked to be like 35, and it seems a stretch for uncle. And maybe I'm reading too much into a 30 second clip, but I got the impression we are supposed to assume the unknown guy is a racist hillbilly. 

 

I took the unknown man to be a cousin.  For him to be a brother would mean both his parents stepped out, and poor lil Mills probably couldn't take that much shock.

[Dowel Jones]

 

So what caused the radios to crap out just before the explosion?

Apparently a large amount of handwavium had also been released into the building.  It's an all too common occurence when  producers need a plot complication.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Dowel Jones

[Bishop]

I loved Shay, and it sucks that she was killed, but I'm not going to stop watching.  She wasn't my only favorite character.  I love most of the characters on CF, but I don't care for Dawson or Mills.  I wish either of them had been killed off, but I get why they picked Shay.  It does impact the characters more if she was the on to have died.  I am enjoying anything Severide and Casey.  So that's a good thing.

 

On a shallow note:  Severide looked super hot chopping that wood with the sleeveless T and a couple days worth of facial hair.  

Edited September 29, 2014 by Bishop

[Princess Sparkle]

I did have a chuckle at someone once again referring to Peter Mills by his full name, instead of just "Peter" or "Mills" - he's getting to be like Veronica Mars.

[Ohmo]

I did have a chuckle at someone once again referring to Peter Mills by his full name, instead of just "Peter" or "Mills" - he's getting to be like Veronica Mars.

 

This happens all the time on The Good Wife with David Lee.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that the character's last name is short?  I have no idea why that would matter, but this phenomenon does occur in other shows as well.

 

Topic?  Just wanted to say that NBC's mini-marathon during the winter hiatus seems to have worked.  I watch Chicago PD, but I had resisted watching Chicago Fire because I knew I was several seasons behind and didn't want to make the effort to catch up.  Then I caught this episode on Tuesday, watched it, watched the rest of the mini-marathon, and now I'm watching for cheap S1 and S2 DVDs on eBay.