S05.E13: Trading In Scuttlebutt

[WendyCR72]

When truck and squad are summoned to the scene of a dangerous accident, Chief Boden makes a split-second decision that overrides Chief Anderson, the incident commander whose house was the first to respond to the call. Feeling his authority was undercut and his reputation damaged, Anderson uses his power to make things miserable for Boden and all of House 51 feels the repercussions. Meanwhile, Severide contemplates a major life-changing decision, Herrmann does a good deed and Brett looks to make some personal changes to herself.

[LittleIggy]

OMG, that fatass, lard butt SOB! I wanted my Chief Bowden to punch him into next week! He obviously got his promotion by bending over.

[Crs97]

Jim was so ridiculously inept at every single level that I can't even care about yet another attack on 51 storyline.  Writers want drama.  You know what's dramatic?  Fire.  Give us more rescues and fewer relationship woes please.

I liked Christopher's storyline, but there is no way Greg was interviewing for a job with a signing bonus.  I would have preferred if the envelope had held the receipt for the suit and leftover change while Greg talked about a repayment plan. Then it would've been really cool if Christopher had told him to keep the money until he was able to get settled in an apartment.   When Christopher told him that he was drinking for free that night, did anyone else wonder if perhaps his wife divorced him because he was an alcoholic and Christopher just derailed his recovery? Just me? Okay, then.

[MakeMeLaugh]

Yes, crs, I too thought offering free drinks to someone who had been down on his luck was a really stupid idea.

I cannot believe we get ANOTHER manufactured, persecuted by the higher ups Boden storyline. Come on, Show--you are so unoriginal. I don't even care anymore--just get rid of him if he's that much of a lightning rod for the brass. Really tiresome. 

Why does Springfield think Severide would do a good job as a battalion chief? Why would he have those skills and training? And yes, Stella, he would hate Springfield.

Edited February 15, 2017 by MakeMeLaugh

[iMonrey]

Quote

Jim was so ridiculously inept at every single level that I can't even care about yet another attack on 51 storyline.  Writers want drama.  You know what's dramatic?  Fire.  Give us more rescues and fewer relationship woes please.

I know, right? What this show has taught us thus far is that all the other people in Chicago are assholes. And everyone is out to get 51. This Anderson guy was such an over-the-top cartoon character it defies all logic he would ever have risen to any position of power unless nepotism was somehow involved. 

I don't watch any of the other Chicago shows but it feels like Dick Wolf has abandoned the flagship to focus on the spin-offs. Anymore, this show just feels like the writers are phoning it in.

What on earth was supposed to be going on with that guy who asked Herrmann for money? Was he going to rob the place at first? Who the hell would just wander into a bar and ask to borrow 300 dollars? And the bank hired him? WTF? 

[Dowel Jones]

My question is why would a deputy assistant chief (as his turnout coat was printed) be bossing around an engine crew on an incident?  That's an admin position, and they don't normally respond to calls.  And then, why did he immediately suspect the 51 crew of spreading the rumors? I know, because he's an asshole, but there was an entirely different crew there also.  If you're going to go for drama, show, at least get the background right.  And believe me, the CFD union would be all over his case for his actions in dispersing the entire house.

The BC job offer is also a bit off.  The hierarchy in fire departments is usually (in reverse order) firefighter, lieutenant, captain, BC, AC, and so forth.  Cities don't normally skip a rank when they're hiring, i.e., a BC would come from the captain ranks, not a lieutenant. And Kelly's prospective girlfriend didn't seem to be all that enthusiastic about his moving there either.

What was Brett drinking? 

I feel bad for the fool who took the fire escape ladder through the gut.  Heavy, blunt object penetration injury?  That's going to leave a mark for sure.  And the suits at the party were sure in full on CYA mode.  Don't worry, guys.  Nobody ever gossips in the business world.

By the way, did Severide get a brand new Mustang after the wreck?  He must have picked the right insurance company.

Edited February 15, 2017 by Dowel Jones
One more thing...

[juliet73]

Brett thinks Gabby and Casey have a perfect relationship?!!  I just threw up in my mouth!  Casey is so whipped and Gabby is a total beeyotch!  I would think if Brett wanted to admire a relationship, it would be Hermann who has been married forever, not a couple who has broken up more than they've been together!  Wasn't someone else trying to force Boden out and close down 51 last season and the season before?  I agree about the show needing to have more rescues and less BS personal drama.  I know it's expensive to film the fire scenes, etc, but all the rescues don't have to be so extreme.  I'd much rather watch 51 save a cat from a tree now and then than to watch another "Firehouse 51, you're going down" scene. Or maybe have some personal scenes with Otis and/or Cruz without it consisting of some frat boy behavior, instead of the constant Severide girlfriend crap.  Why does "small town Springfield" get all the lastest and greatest equipment? The whole stranger walking into the bar asking for money plot was odd.  Was he going to rob the place and had a change of heart?  Obviously, the bar was closed so it was after 2am. The dude had an interview with a bank in the morning so when did he have the time to buy a suit and get a haircut?  I'm surprised Hermann didn't hire him to work behind the bar...they've only used that story line once so far.

Edited February 15, 2017 by juliet73

[SuzieQ]

6 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I know, right? What this show has taught us thus far is that all the other people in Chicago are assholes.

LMAO! We're really not! :)

[MaryHedwig]

Quote

The whole stranger walking into the bar asking for money plot was odd.  Was he going to rob the place and had a change of heart?  Obviously, the bar was closed so it was after 2am. The dude had an interview with a bank in the morning so when did he have the time to buy a suit and get a haircut?

For all the reasons above, the stranger's story made absolutely so sense. But he did have that "Jesus in disguise" thing going. I was reminded of this Bible verse (Blame Catholic school that I know this one. By the way, I think Hermann was blaming Catholic school as well.)

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2

[msani19]

My family moved to Springfield IL (most likely the true Springfield location on the Simpsons, lol) when I was a sophomore in college. From Florida. It was shocking on every possible level imaginable. Culturally, geographically, emotionally. I was used to coming back to warm weather from my cold Northern school. All of a sudden I was going to Springfield freaking IL. It was awful. I would think that Severide would absolutely hate it. Although it really does depend on what you are looking for...in Springfield I can't imagine what that would be. Eventually, my parents regained their sanity and moved to Chicago. 

Now Casey and Gabbie as the perfect couple is the height of comedy! Is the show trolling us? Brett was so stupid throughout the episode, I have nothing more to say about her. 

If Boden is threatened to be "taken" down every season, which he has been quite frequently, then they are out of ideas. 

I don't even watch that often, maybe every 6th episode or so. What will happen is that I think I'm watching a repeat or I have no trouble catching up. That's not a good thing. 

[spunky]

Writers please stop the whole, every Tom,Dick, Harry and Jane are out to get Chief Boden's job. As for chief sensitive, please put him back on the Acme lot where you found him. Sylvie has got to be delusional if she thinks that Dawson and Casey are the perfect couple. Don't get me wrong I've always been rooting for them, but they have broken up multiple times. Kelly needs to be single for a while.

[NJRadioGuy]

What the actual f@#k did I just watch? The first words out of Anderson's mouth should have been "Boden, I owe you my life, brother, and the lives of my men." Boden had a perspective Anderson did not. It happens. You stop work and rectify the danger. If you don't recognize that you have no business being on the job at all, let alone in a white helmet. 128's incident reports should have put paid to any field command aspirations by Anderson, and relegated him to desk duty forthwith. How the hell would any firefighter willingly serve under a jackass like that knowing the next time that tones drop it may be their ass in a sling—on in the morgue.

Here is where Emergency! excelled and CF is a fourth alarm pile of flaming dung—and what the writers refuse to show. Firefighters are a brotherhood. Doesn't matter what department, what rank, what assignment—engineman, truck, rescue squad, whatever. There's an overarching responsibility: at the end of shift you go home safe to your family and make damn sure your brothers (and sisters) goes home to theirs. Naturally rivalries exist between companies and departments but when the bells go off you're all on the same team. You against the Beast. Every time.

And that's what's so frustrating about this show. They reach for the low-hanging fruit every time. The bullshit drama that just couldn't exist naturally on the job, when there are a million good rescues and fires that could steal the show, and form the basis for the crews to bond, and yes, maybe fall in love. I'd rather see that MVA call run longer, Boden catches Anderson's fuckup, saves 128's crew and the victims and show how a friendship evolves rather than how enmity breaks out that will undoubtedly be resolved next week or the week after (in Boden's favor, naturally). I like the interactions with PD and Med as well. Tell better stories and incorporate all aspects of first response more often. I'd watch the hell out of that.

[NJRadioGuy]

Duplicate post; sorry.

Edited February 16, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[iMonrey]

Quote

Now Casey and Gabbie as the perfect couple is the height of comedy! Is the show trolling us? 

Sadly this speaks to how out of touch the writers are with the reality of what they're putting on the screen. 

And yeah, we've had this "station 51 is in trouble" storyline three or four times by now. Why can't they put some effort into giving someone like Capp, Tony, Otis, Mouch or Cruz a decent story for a change, or even something for Boden that doesn't involve a threat to his job and position? Talk about the writers just phoning it in.

[Dowel Jones]

You know, following each of the players in the 51 drama as they work a shift in different houses might even make for interesting tv.  They can still meet at Molly's and talk things over. 

[NJRadioGuy]

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

You know, following each of the players in the 51 drama as they work a shift in different houses might even make for interesting tv.  They can still meet at Molly's and talk things over. 

Yup, what I was thinking. Plus you'd get more supporting characters that way--and frankly, those are what make or break a show for me. Mouch and Hermann are far more real to me than Casey or Dawson. And all the lateral moves from squad to rescue to truck would be unnecessary. Notice how nobody's moved to Engine yet. Funny that.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 2/15/2017 at 0:57 PM, Dowel Jones said:

The BC job offer is also a bit off.  The hierarchy in fire departments is usually (in reverse order) firefighter, lieutenant, captain, BC, AC, and so forth.  Cities don't normally skip a rank when they're hiring, i.e., a BC would come from the captain ranks, not a lieutenant. And Kelly's prospective girlfriend didn't seem to be all that enthusiastic about his moving there either.

Also would a city really offer a management position like that to someone like Severide just because the guy making the offer is friends with Severide's dad? With no actual job application or interview? Wouldn't that be the kind of thing that is super transparent and by the book so no one thinks you are just giving the job to your buddy's son without making sure he is the best candidate?

On 2/15/2017 at 5:57 PM, juliet73 said:

Brett thinks Gabby and Casey have a perfect relationship?!!  I just threw up in my mouth!  Casey is so whipped and Gabby is a total beeyotch!  I would think if Brett wanted to admire a relationship, it would be Hermann who has been married forever, not a couple who has broken up more than they've been together!  

Interesting that when Gabby mentioned all her failed relationships with guys not as good as Casey, she didn't mention Halstead from PD.

[Court]

24 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Also would a city really offer a management position like that to someone like Severide just because the guy making the offer is friends with Severide's dad? With no actual job application or interview? Wouldn't that be the kind of thing that is super transparent and by the book so no one thinks you are just giving the job to your buddy's son without making sure he is the best candidate?

Interesting that when Gabby mentioned all her failed relationships with guys not as good as Casey, she didn't mention Halstead from PD.

Did she mention Peter Mills? I was only half paying attention since it was Gabby talking.

[NJRadioGuy]

16 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Also would a city really offer a management position like that to someone like Severide just because the guy making the offer is friends with Severide's dad? With no actual job application or interview? Wouldn't that be the kind of thing that is super transparent and by the book so no one thinks you are just giving the job to your buddy's son without making sure he is the best candidate.

I dunno. I think it might put some noses out of joint from the local ranks (and maybe the union would have something to say about it), but if you know that guy you got your eye on is the Real Deal, I could see it. There are also multiple BCs in every department depending on the size of the department, number of firehouses and FFs. Springfield (in real life), has 10 Engine companies, 3 trucks, 3 rescues and 2 BCs positions. Depending on their schedules, there are probably 6 to 8 people of that rank, so Severide wouldn't become the Big Cheese, just one of several small cheeses. And you know what they say, what a friend we have in cheeses. Springfield, IL FD Website

[Ailianna]

I have decided to save Chief Boden's "We are in agreement" for the next time an asshole boss puts me in a no-win situation.  He totally made it impossible to rebuke him, but also stood up for himself.  Much better than anything I've ever come up with.

[dreamcatcher]

I was also wondering how it's possible for Severide to become a bc before even getting a promotion to captain. That was completely random, but much better as a storyline than another attack on 51 and Boden. I'm not sure if the fact that I just binge watched the show made it seem like they have used this storyline in every single season, but it's annoying. I would understand a storyline like a random firefighter coming in to cover for somebody and then fighting to get a permanent position or something, since that does seem much more plausible than people screwing over an entire house just because they had nothing better to do with their free time.

[MakeMeLaugh]

What's really funny to me about Boden being unfairly persecuted every single season by the brass is that a) he never does anything wrong and doesn't seem at all like a shady character, while b) his counterpart on Chicago PD, Voight, is ALWAYS doing things wrong, sometimes really wrong, and is hardly ever even called out on it, never mind being suspended; PD also seems to offer many more opportunities for misbehavior than Fire but the PD writers don't really go there. 

[momtoall]

 

What's really funny to me about Boden being unfairly persecuted every single season by the brass is that a) he never does anything wrong and doesn't seem at all like a shady character, 

I really tried of this scenario.  At least one a season, Boden's job/rank is in jeopardy.  Stop.It.

[annie7]

On 20. 2. 2017 at 8:52 PM, MakeMeLaugh said:

...PD also seems to offer many more opportunities for misbehavior than Fire but the PD writers don't really go there. 

Which is funny because both shows have the same writers. They're just inconsistent.

[Dowel Jones]

One other fault with the AC's decision to gut firehouse 51, I would like to point out, is that each of those employees has to be replaced at 51 by someone of equal rank and qualifications.  Which, of course, means that you have to gut some other station or stations to get squad and truck people over to 51.  The ripple effect would be instantly noticeable and draw attention from a lot of influential people, and attention is the last thing that newly promoted AC Dickhead needs right now.

[NYCFree]

On 2/20/2017 at 1:25 PM, dreamcatcher said:

I was also wondering how it's possible for Severide to become a bc before even getting a promotion to captain. That was completely random, but much better as a storyline than another attack on 51 and Boden. I'm not sure if the fact that I just binge watched the show made it seem like they have used this storyline in every single season, but it's annoying. I would understand a storyline like a random firefighter coming in to cover for somebody and then fighting to get a permanent position or something, since that does seem much more plausible than people screwing over an entire house just because they had nothing better to do with their free time.

Where did you binge watch It? I just started a few episodes into this season, so I'd like to go back.

[FnkyChkn34]

11 hours ago, NYCFree said:

Where did you binge watch It? I just started a few episodes into this season, so I'd like to go back.

I'm getting the DVDs in the mail from Netflix.  Old school, but it's working so far.  If there's a better (faster) way, I'd also like to know please!  (I ended up just buying the Chicago PD DVDs from Amazon for a few reasons - I like that show better, and I had a gift card.  I don't really want to buy Fire.)

[dreamcatcher]

12 hours ago, NYCFree said:

Where did you binge watch It? I just started a few episodes into this season, so I'd like to go back.

I'm watching most of my shows online as I'm not in the US and we don't have anything like Netflix here soo I don't have other options!

[jay741982]

On 2/15/2017 at 10:35 PM, spunky said:

Writers please stop the whole, every Tom,Dick, Harry and Jane are out to get Chief Boden's job. As for chief sensitive, please put him back on the Acme lot where you found him. Sylvie has got to be delusional if she thinks that Dawson and Casey are the perfect couple. Don't get me wrong I've always been rooting for them, but they have broken up multiple times. Kelly needs to be single for a while.

Lol Kelly HAS been single for a while. I've never seen him have a serious girlfriend . Unless they are setting up Stella to be the serious girlfriend which that's no guarantee 

On 2/16/2017 at 11:21 PM, Court said:

Did she mention Peter Mills? I was only half paying attention since it was Gabby talking.

Lol she didn't mention him! I was like "really writers"?

[spunky]

5 hours ago, jay741982 said:

Lol Kelly HAS been single for a while. I've never seen him have a serious girlfriend . Unless they are setting up Stella to be the serious girlfriend which that's no guarantee 

Lol she didn't mention him! I was like "really writers"?

I like Stella, just not for Kelly. He needs to think long and hard about what he wants in a woman . I'm not sure if they did. I was ignoring Sofie and her insecurity issues. I mean really she dated Antonio for 10 minutes and she's all depressed.

[Sandman]

On 2017-02-15 at 0:57 PM, Dowel Jones said:

By the way, did Severide get a brand new Mustang after the wreck?  He must have picked the right insurance company.

I've just decided Severide has a cute insurance adjuster and he gives her the Severide Sex Eye. Maybe even calls her "Mustang Sally." Lowest deductible in the state!