S05.E20: Carry Me

[WendyCR72]

Casey goes to drastic measures to help his friend Kannell. Lt. Severide helps an old widow come to terms with letting go, but realizes he may be the one needing help. Otis and Cruz deal with surprises when they find a new roommate to move in. Dawson and Brett get crafty to save a young girl.

[greyhorse]

Well, we all knew it was going to happen, but it was still hard to watch.  Poor Kelly.

I'm really starting to tire of Otis and Cruz.  I get that they are the comedic component of the show, but the act is wearing thin.  And Brett moving in with her ex-boyfriend?  Come on, let's get real.  

The internal decapitation climbing injury just seemed so out of place.  A few intense minutes, take the patient to Med, and that's it.  Not sure what was the point.

Will be curious to see how they integrate Kannell into the house, and who leaves, if any.

[watcher1006]

5 hours ago, greyhorse said:

Well, we all knew it was going to happen, but it was still hard to watch.  Poor Kelly.

I'm really starting to tire of Otis and Cruz.  I get that they are the comedic component of the show, but the act is wearing thin.  And Brett moving in with her ex-boyfriend?  Come on, let's get real.  

The internal decapitation climbing injury just seemed so out of place.  A few intense minutes, take the patient to Med, and that's it.  Not sure what was the point.

Will be curious to see how they integrate Kannell into the house, and who leaves, if any.

At least this one wasn't a Gabby Dawson centered episode. I like Monica Raymund but the show has been putting her character out front too much at the expense of the rest of the ensemble.

For once the F.D. powers that be were willing to help out Casey and Boden and go along with a solution that preserved honor for all. It seemed believable that Kannell simply didn't want to come back.

The Otis-Cruz-Brett roommate thing felt silly. Does she really want to live with these two jokers-I mean fellow first responders-whom she has to see on shift all the time? Good luck with that.

Finally Anna. Sad to see her go, but cancer is a hydra which often enough finds a way around the most aggressive treatments. After she got the bone marrow transplant I started worrying that they might be putting the cancer story behind them too easily. One can always have a positive outlook but it is difficult to be entirely free of cancer's shadow, and it can take a while. That it would recur and take her so quickly is sadly something that happens often enough.

[backformore]

I hate the trope that women move in with a man or men, and immediately start organizing men's stuff.  

[Artsda]

Aww I liked Anna. I figured when she got worse she wouldn't last long, but I didn't expect it this fast. 

So I guess someone by the finale is leaving or dying to get the new guy a spot? Just hope it's not Kelly. 

Brett moving in with 2 ex's is a stupid idea. 

Edited May 3, 2017 by Artsda

[FnkyChkn34]

7 hours ago, greyhorse said:

The internal decapitation climbing injury just seemed so out of place.  A few intense minutes, take the patient to Med, and that's it.  Not sure what was the point.

Yes, I agree.  I figured that had to go somewhere, but was never mentioned again.  They didn't even tell anyone about the patient when they got back to the house, like a "hey, we just had a weird call" kind of thing.  Completely one off from the rest of the episode and then nothing.

1 hour ago, watcher1006 said:

At least this one wasn't a Gabby Dawson centered episode. I like Monica Raymund but the show has been putting her character out front too much at the expense of the rest of the ensemble.

I also agree with this.  I don't mind the actress or even the character, but I mind that she's always involved in everything.  This was a good change.

As for Anna... that was so sad.  Taylor really did some great acting in this episode, and I felt for him.  His new friendship with Ellie was sweet too.

I don't know what to think about Cruz, Otis, and Brett.  On one hand, it's nice to see them finally get a storyline?  On the other hand, I agree that it's stupid.  But, I'd like to have Brett come clean my house!  I can see why Brett would want to live in that particular apartment - it was huge and beautiful.  But with those two guys?  Yeah, I don't know...

[dreamcatcher]

Taylor did an amazing job in this episode! But I hate the writers for what they're doing. So the only ones who get a happy ending with a few "obstacles" (most of which were completely made up crap and nothing too serious) are Dawson and Casey. Meanwhile Kelly is the "bad boy who doesn't give a damn" and yet he cares about everyone and he has lost pretty much everyone he ever loved. I'm so mad because I love Severide and I wanted him to finally be happy. They could have given them at least one season. They killed her so fast that it was obvious they only brought Anna in to kill her.

and they wasted half the episode on a guy nobody cares about.good job. At least Brett got more lines than what she had the rest of the season combined so there's that.

[CoyoteBlue]

28 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

Meanwhile Kelly is the "bad boy who doesn't give a damn" and yet he cares about everyone and he has lost pretty much everyone he ever loved. I'm so mad because I love Severide and I wanted him to finally be happy.

Yeah, when Shay died, that just killed me. I was kinda hoping he'd be Shay's babydaddy and they'd settle down as co-parenting roommates. 'Cause Kelly deserves all the love.

[LittleIggy]

I knew the answer to that "one guard always lies, the other always tells the truth" question. Learned it from the movie "Labyrinth"! 

Anybody from Chicago who would know how much rent Kelly and the Three Amigos' apartments would go for?

[iMonrey]

Well, that was hard to watch. Anna wasn't really on the show long enough for her death to have the impact that it could have, but Taylor Kinney really sold it. It's too bad shows like this don't get a lot of Emmy love against Netflix and HBO series because I thought he turned in a pretty moving performance. Anyone who has ever lost someone couldn't help feel that a little bit I think. 

Quote

Yes, I agree.  I figured that had to go somewhere, but was never mentioned again.  They didn't even tell anyone about the patient when they got back to the house, like a "hey, we just had a weird call" kind of thing.  Completely one off from the rest of the episode and then nothing.

I agree that felt disconnected from the rest of the episode. And what a gruesome injury - internal decapitation? I'm assuming there's no way to fix that and she's going to be a quadriplegic for the rest of her life. 

Quote

So the only ones who get a happy ending with a few "obstacles" (most of which were completely made up crap and nothing too serious) are Dawson and Casey.

Somehow I doubt they're going to end up happy. They've already faced every obstacle imaginable and it can't be too long now before the next Louie comes along. 

I had to look up the actress who played Ellie, certain I would recognize the name - but it wasn't a familiar one (Jenny O'Hara) - but she's definitely "hey it's that actress." Been on every show known to mankind.

Quote

I knew the answer to that "one guard always lies, the other always tells the truth" question. Learned it from the movie "Labyrinth"! 

I used to . . . but I forgot it. What is it?

Edited May 3, 2017 by iMonrey

[Waterston Fan]

I don't like what they did for Kannel and wouldn't the guy who survive tell people what happened? That part didn't make sense either. 

I think we did know Anna would die but I thought it was a bit too quick and one thing totally bugged me is, her dad. Why the hell is he outside the room when she was dying? 

I liked that Severide helped the woman in the house at the end. 

Boden is BOSS!! 

The three roommates won't last long for sure but it's weird. The joke about the guard, I haven't heard that so can you please tell what the answer is? 

[greyhorse]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I knew the answer to that "one guard always lies, the other always tells the truth" question. Learned it from the movie "Labyrinth"! 

Anybody from Chicago who would know how much rent Kelly and the Three Amigos' apartments would go for?

I thought the roommate Jeopardy questioning was so stupid.  But I also do recall the answer to the guard question.  You ask "Which door would the other guard point to if I asked which door led to freedom?"  If you ask the Truth guard, he will say that the Liar guard would point to the door that leads to death.  If you asked the Liar guard, he will say the Truth guard would point to the door that leads to death.  So either way, both guards have identified which door would lead to death, so you always pick the other door no matter who you ask.

As far as the apartments, I was thinking the same thing.  Kelly's loft looks amazing.  The Three Stooges place looks smaller, but I saw a staircase so it must be two levels and also really nice.  And all this on a firefighter's salary?  I call shenanigans.

[dreamcatcher]

Yeah I agree about the dad. Plus he ended up comforting Kelly. And if we're being honest, they weren't even together for long.

and yes "dawsey" have been through a lot but it was always something stupid. I mean Dawson was madly in love with Casey, wanted to marry him and then she didn't. Casey was always longing for children, then he didn't want kids, then he loved parenting Louie. That's what i mean that they get their happy ending. And they're not breaking up. Never ever. Not gonna happen. In the meantime, the rest of the cast can't even get a date. And then there's Kelly who is a category on his own.

[watcher1006]

53 minutes ago, dreamcatcher said:

Yeah I agree about the dad. Plus he ended up comforting Kelly. And if we're being honest, they weren't even together for long.

Kelly and the Dad... well I appreciated the time they had together on screen. Was anything ever said about Anna's mom? Anna could have been fleshed out a bit more as a person. What of her girlfriends with whom she used to go out with after work? Wouldn't they come by to see a friend who might be leaving them soon? Kelly could have met them too. It didn't have to just be Kelly and Dad, although I suppose there's only so much screen time to be shared between all the actors and just so much budget for guest actors.

[Laurie4H]

Firefighters make good salaries.  I know one who is only 35 and makes over 100K.  I would think they all could afford to live alone on their salaries.

I knew Anna was going to die this episode or sometime soon when she was so excited to eat the hamburger.  My grandmother had no appetite and the night before she passed away she felt good and ate Mexican food.

Edited May 3, 2017 by Laurie4H

[annie7]

5 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

So the only ones who get a happy ending with a few "obstacles" (most of which were completely made up crap and nothing too serious) are Dawson and Casey. Meanwhile Kelly is the "bad boy who doesn't give a damn" and yet he cares about everyone and he has lost pretty much everyone he ever loved. 

This. Unlike Gabby which they make look like a saint every single episode and when they have problems with Casey it's always about her, we know Kelly is the bad boy and he knows it too. But when he really loves someone, it's real and not at all pushy.

The writers should stop putting him in relationships this meaningful if they won't last, because it feels unnatural at this point. They should put him with someone inside the 51 so "Dawsey" gets some competition as they are literally the only couple so we don't get much to choose from. 

[dreamcatcher]

i agree that they should stop giving him meaningful relationships if they aren't meant to last. BUT I don't want him to date inside the house too. Dawson can go back to being under Casey so I would assume that Severide can't date (officially) a collegue either. And i'm tired of having drama just to have some drama. It's like they stopped developing stories and they just write whatever they need to make 22-23 episodes. Anna was only a plot point. Louie was just a plot point because suddenly they both forgot how much they wanted to have a baby (just as suddenly as Dawson's desire for babies appeared actually). They're not trying to develop these characters, they're just adding drama. As for Kelly, i don't know where his story goes from here. He can't go back to having one night stands with random women, but he needs some time before finding another "big love". AND if he's the one leaving to bring in the new guy, i'm gonna start a riot. If they wanted to write him an exit story, he could have taken the chief position.

[spunky]

These writers must be really sadistic. First they pull Louie, now they kill Anna. Speaking of Anna, how many one true loves will Severide have? The writers either write him as a man hoe and when that becomes boring he falls head over heels in 2.5 seconds. I can't say I'll miss Anna, because she came and left in the matter of a few episodes.

I loved Gabby encouraging Matt not to give up on Jason. I understand his reason for wanting to take the blame. Chief Boden and Matt getting him cleared shows that Cheif Boden is a great leader. 

The whole Sylvie living with Cruz and Otis just seemed to be filler. It's bad enough she works with her ex, now she's not only living with him, she's also living with his best friend who had a crush on her for months. 

[Lillybee]

Stella is the best female character on all of the Chicago shows.

 

The woman with the fire should have had insurance on her home and perhaps hired Casey is fix it up.

[NJRadioGuy]

1 hour ago, Lillybee said:

The woman with the fire should have had insurance on her home and perhaps hired Casey is fix it up.

Agreed. The building looked sound. A kitchen fire with some extension into the soffit and roof. Meh. House sure looked structurally sound. Get some guys to patch the roof and replace damaged timbers, and redo the cabinets and appliances. Might be catastrophic if she didn't have insurance, but that in itself could have been a good plot. And again, WTF is it with Engine not getting in there with water straight away--although with that kitchen fire, two hand cans would probably have gotten it knocked down, with a single handline or two for inside the walls during overhaul. for once, a structure fire response that 1 and 1 with a Squad and a chief can handle :).

The climbing accident was actually an interesting case but had no dramatic payoff, at least as of now. I'm fine with calls like that every so often because it's the way things really are. Given the nature of the injury, I don't see her competing on Dancing With the Stars anytime soon, let's put it that way. There's no positive outcome from that call.

The roommate thing bored me.

I think Severide will end up with Stella (which can happen in show cannon since they're on different apparatus and she's not under his command). She'll be his rock during his grief and, probably be the end of the season, eventually they'll realize they're more than friends. I like Stella's character and I believe Severide has grown up very quickly this season so if it's written well, I'd like to see it work.

Kannell looks like a good new prospect but where can he fit in? He's just off a squad and they never got into his early history, so we don't know if he was a trained truckee or a engineman before getting on the Rescue. Obviously he won't be going on the ghost Engine, so that leaves Truck or Squad. Who's expendable here? I'd vote for Dawson, of course, but we all know that ain't happening. Capp maybe? Unless they 86 one of regulars on Truck in the finale (leave Mouch and Hermann alone, goddamn you, writers, I'm warning you), I'm drawing a blank.

[dreamcatcher]

I liked Kelly and Stella but now I don't want them together anymore. Maybe they could write them a great story but I doubt that. If they end up together, then stella spent the whole season secretely pining on Kelly and helping him with his new girlfriend as she was now supposed to be his friend. That's actually the vibe I got from their interactions but maybe that's not what the writers were going for. Anyway now she is trying to be there for him, which is what he needs, but to me it's a cheap and overused story (girl helps boy gets better, they think they are friends,oops they are not). Then again, i don't think they can bring in a new character for him either. Anna could have been great though. 

[Dowel Jones]

8 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

And again, WTF is it with Engine not getting in there with water straight away-

It's not worth a rewatch to be sure, but I thought that Squad did call for the Engine crew to bring in a hoseline on arrival.  As usual, we never get to actually see water flowing out of the end of the hose, unless for some reason the Squad or Truck guys actually pick one up.

[NJRadioGuy]

He did. I still think with smoke visible upon arrival you'd have at least one hand line charged and in there to protect the primary search, no? I'd also bet that real-world CFD protocol calls for the first- or second-due truck to initiate the primary with the squad only responding to multiple alarms, since there are only a handful of rescue squads in the entire city, and they're generally held back for heavy or specialized rescue work, extrications, crashes, etc.

[Dowel Jones]

And incidents where they need star power to accomplish a rescue.

[FnkyChkn34]

I know that both Chicago Fire and Chicago PD work closely with real firefighters and policemen as consultants, to try to get their stories as accurate as possible.  I don't think firefighters can just rush in with water blasting away when they don't know that the house is empty.  The force of the water could injure or maybe even kill a person, yeah?  They have to rescue everyone first (squad) and then put out the fire (truck and engine).  I don't know much about firefighting, but it makes sense to me.  (Plus, water is extra special effects, and if it's not absolutely necessary, then they probably want to keep their budget down.)

[NJRadioGuy]

CFD and CPD advisors can only do so much, but reality would get in the way of storytelling, unfortunately. I just love to snark the hell out of their "techniques" :) I actually just had this come across my FB feed yesterday. Movie firefighting vs real-world firefighting (with helmetcam footage) and explanations. It's a good read: Hollywood vs Real-life firefighting.

It's not a question of opening up the nozzle and going in guns blazing. Water is a very controlled tool in firefighting today. You go in with a hoseline (or two) charged but the nozzle closed until you see the red stuff. If you have a flareup behind you it could be the difference between seeing your kids again and not. And besides, unless the interior is fully involved, why damage things you don't have to? But at the same time, if you're on scene with smoke visible but can't find the source of the fire easily (i.e. it ain't blowin' out the windows), then it's either a small fire like the one shown, or in the walls, which is a potential widowmaker if you go in there with no water and it gets some oxygen.

The CFD advisors must have dents in their skulls from all the banging of their heads against the desks when they read the scripts. Have we ever once seen a truck company on the show open the roof and control the doors while Engine goes in with the water?

Fire science is an absolutely fascinating thing to understand. As an example, calculate the size of a burning room, open up in a mist for a certain time and close the door. The water will turn to steam and will extinguish the fire that way.

Edited May 5, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[FnkyChkn34]

2 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

The CFD advisors must have dents in their skulls from all the banging of their heads against the desks when they read the scripts. Have we ever once seen a truck company on the show open the roof and control the doors while Engine goes in with the water?

Tony, on squad, is a real-life firefighter.  So are a lot of their extras.  But yes, I agree with you that it must be sensationalized and can't be completely like real-life.  They probably do get frustrated.

But we have seen them vent the roof.  Isn't that usually one of the first things Boden says?  We rarely ever see Engine though, so I see what you mean there.

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

CFD and CPD advisors can only do so much, but reality would get in the way of storytelling, unfortunately

Such as putting on the SCBA, entering the smoke filled room, and doing the primary search.  All without ever putting on the mask.  I finally got over that one by accepting the fact that the actors want their faces to be shown.  My favorite so far is the last episode where the flammable gas was building up in the tunnel ( a variable LEL?  Hmm.) and the firefighters above ground are leaning into the entrance and calling out for Casey.  Think this through for a minute, guys.   Firefighters shouldn't watch firefighter shows; cops shouldn't watch cop shows; attorneys shouldn't watch law shows. 

[dreamcatcher]

But I think that's fine. I mean except for some very stupid "mistakes", most of the stuff are fine for me. I don't really care about the realistic stuff we are missing because if they chose to shoot those, we would have to lose many of the other scenes we're getting. And I totally understand that some stuff need to be cut. I think in the first season they talked about venting etc all the time, but i'm pretty sure if they included similar scenes in every episode of 5 seasons we would be tired of it.

[juliet73]

Not to sound heartless, but I'm glad the Anna storyline got wrapped up - it went on way too long IMO.  Same with the Louie stuff.  Severide will have the next episode to mourn and then the following episode he'll be hooking up again.  

I don't care about Casey's friend.  And how do they have a spot for him at 51?  And if he did something shady, why would you want him on your crew?

Otis, Cruz, Brett living together?  Come on!  That's soooo stupid!!  Like Brett couldn't find a roommate outside of work?  Brett and Cruz dated for quite some time, he didn't notice then that she was super organized?  I would love to know where they live because that was some huge apartment!! It seems like everyone on this show has a nice, updated, large apartment/house.  

[NJRadioGuy]

On 5/6/2017 at 3:22 PM, dreamcatcher said:

But I think that's fine. I mean except for some very stupid "mistakes", most of the stuff are fine for me. I don't really care about the realistic stuff we are missing because if they chose to shoot those, we would have to lose many of the other scenes we're getting. And I totally understand that some stuff need to be cut. I think in the first season they talked about venting etc all the time, but i'm pretty sure if they included similar scenes in every episode of 5 seasons we would be tired of it.

I think the pilot showed what happened when venting the roof didn't happen, IIRC. It's been a while. But I'm just using this as an example. They routinely do things for dramatic effect that either can't physically happen, or if they did, they'd kill people.

This is a soap opera centered around the Fire Service, but out of respect for all the men and women who answer the bell in real life, when they're on the job I just wish TPTB would bring a little more to real life in the small details.

On 5/5/2017 at 2:03 PM, Dowel Jones said:

Such as putting on the SCBA, entering the smoke filled room, and doing the primary search.  All without ever putting on the mask.  I finally got over that one by accepting the fact that the actors want their faces to be shown.  My favorite so far is the last episode where the flammable gas was building up in the tunnel ( a variable LEL?  Hmm.) and the firefighters above ground are leaning into the entrance and calling out for Casey.  Think this through for a minute, guys.   Firefighters shouldn't watch firefighter shows; cops shouldn't watch cop shows; attorneys shouldn't watch law shows. 

That's a big bone of contention for George RR Martin, and I remember his commentary about warriors not wearing helms during the second season of Game of Thrones. He even did an audio commentary on the Blackwater episode about this. So yeah, I get not wearing full masks and SCBA on screen--but it still bugs nevertheless. And likewise, inside the fire building I get that they have to have it lit for the cameras, but gas jets inside window frames are really a bit obvious! But they incorporate a few things in the show that really bother me.

More inside baseball to follow here, feel free to ignore if you're in it for the hot FFs and the drama <grin>: Companies that truly hate each other. Ummmm. No. Just...no. FFs that would ever dare to put a brother or sister in jeopardy. Week after week of not going in with a charged line when there are other FFs in doing a search or opening up walls on the inside. Or how one engine, one truck, a heavy rescue and a battalion chief are going to put out a 6 story warehouse that's fully involved on arrival, protecting all exposures and not getting themselves killed in the process. Again, I get it. TV budgets, but still. Boden should be sizing up a block away, striking the 2nd or 3rd, then having a Division Chief or higher take command (and barking orders to "apparatus" out of camera range), while our Boden manages his own men/women. I absolutely loved that in "Emergency!" Stanley would call for the deuce, you'd hear (real-world LACoFd) dispatcher Paul Lannier tone out a typical 2nd alarm response and have B-roll shots of arriving apparatus and the Division Chief herding those cats. It made it feel real.

I love that we have a high-rated FD drama on primetime network TV and I do understand the constraints, but damnit, there are so many ways to show what the job is really like and still give the audience a fun filled roller coaster ride every Tuesday night. Almost a half a century later, I regularly hear real world FFs and paramedics that I know saying they joined the service because of Johnny and Roy in the '70s. In 45 years from now, I wonder how many will say they joined because of Kelley Severide or Matt Casey. Or (ugh) Dawson.

Edited May 9, 2017 by NJRadioGuy

[FnkyChkn34]

Actually, I think one of the behind the scenes extra clips addressed the SCBA - they have specially made ones that wouldn't work in real life, but are made that way so that the audience can see the actors' faces.  So, they are trying?

Edited May 9, 2017 by FnkyChkn34

[NJRadioGuy]

Yeah, that's pretty spiffy. I think they're at their best doing MVA extrications and other difficult rescue scenarios. They're at their worst (speaking technically) in structure fires and FD politics. Still wondering how Otis keeps his nickname since the neighbourhood that 51 serves is basically all low-rise single or two family dwellings and warehouse-style construction. Nothing with elevators.

[SnarkySheep]

I may stand alone here, but I really never got a sense of who Anna WAS, other than "Cancer Girl." So while her death was supposed to be devastating, largely because of Severide's love for her, it didn't really impact me much. I guess I never really understood what the attraction for Severide really was, because of not getting any personality. IMO they could have done this storyline a bit better.

[dreamcatcher]

On 5/9/2017 at 7:26 PM, NJRadioGuy said:

Yeah, that's pretty spiffy. I think they're at their best doing MVA extrications and other difficult rescue scenarios. They're at their worst (speaking technically) in structure fires and FD politics. Still wondering how Otis keeps his nickname since the neighbourhood that 51 serves is basically all low-rise single or two family dwellings and warehouse-style construction. Nothing with elevators.

I thought that he got his nickname because he is the "elevator guy", the one who is always in charge of the elevator/staircase/whatever they are using. But I never really payed attention to that so now I'm confused.

[NJRadioGuy]

That's my understanding, from the pilot. If they were a house that regularly did high rise calls and elevator extrications, or he came from one that specialized in that type of rescue, it would make sense. A good character that deserves better development. He's still basically comic relief or part of the Greek Chorus.

[StevedeMena]

On 5/3/2017 at 10:31 AM, iMonrey said:

Well, that was hard to watch. Anna wasn't really on the show long enough for her death to have the impact that it could have, but Taylor Kinney really sold it. It's too bad shows like this don't get a lot of Emmy love against Netflix and HBO series because I thought he turned in a pretty moving performance. Anyone who has ever lost someone couldn't help feel that a little bit I think. 

I agree that felt disconnected from the rest of the episode. And what a gruesome injury - internal decapitation? I'm assuming there's no way to fix that and she's going to be a quadriplegic for the rest of her life. 

Somehow I doubt they're going to end up happy. They've already faced every obstacle imaginable and it can't be too long now before the next Louie comes along. 

I had to look up the actress who played Ellie, certain I would recognize the name - but it wasn't a familiar one (Jenny O'Hara) - but she's definitely "hey it's that actress." Been on every show known to mankind.

The actress who played Ellie played Doug's mother on the sitcom "The King of Queens".