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Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
(Content warning: this article discusses a scene that depicted a suicide attempt.)
It feels like the season just started, and it’s already time for Chicago Fire‘s midseason break. What is time, anyway?
Overall, the episode was enjoyable, a little stressful, and we finally got a morsel of insight into both Pascal and Lizzie’s characters after months of waiting.
Where in the world is Kelly Severide?
Notably, one main Chicago Fire character was missing this week.
Stellaride fans hoped for a sweet moment between Kelly and Stella to hold us over during the winter break. Sadly, Severide made no appearance.
The script explained away his absence with a casual mention of travel, but it still felt odd for him to be excluded from an episode as significant as the midseason finale.
We won’t have to wait long for his return — he’s in the promo for the next episode airing in January.
It’s also not the first time we’ve gone an episode (or more) without Severide.
Still, the 51 isn’t the same without him.
The Lizzie-Centric We’ve Been Waiting For
I’ve made no secret of the fact that Lizzie Novak is my favorite character on the show, and this week was a bit of a treat.
From the opening scene, the episode centered Lizzie in a way she hasn’t been before.
It gave Jocelyn Hudon a chance to flex a little, and flex she did.
In a couple of emotional scenes, Lizzie’s walls started to come down, and we finally learned a little about where she came from.
Based on her reaction to a call, it’s assumed that one of her parents died by suicide when she was a child. Obviously, she’s still carrying a ton of trauma as a result.
The call in question was graphic, and social media circles are already buzzing about whether the network handled it appropriately.
Should Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 8 Have Included a Trigger Warning?
A trigger warning was not given to prep viewers for the graphic depiction of a suicide attempt that was shown midway through the episode. That was … a choice.
I’m a firm advocate for telling stories of mental health and suicide on television. However, I think viewers deserve a heads-up before they’re thrust into a scene so graphic.
Trigger warnings are easy to add, and they offer folks the opportunity to make an informed decision about the media they’re consuming.
Unfortunately, this particular scene came without any warning, presumably in a bid to have the audience feel a bit like Lizzie did when the door opened.
It was abrupt and clearly triggering for her, as evidenced by the way she shouted at the victim.
I wish the network had handled that with a little more care, but I have to give Jocelyn Hudon her flowers. She portrayed a trauma response incredibly realistically, and I felt my heart break watching her unravel.
Pascal, Exposed
After months of waiting, we finally got to see a little more of Pascal’s personal life. I now have a lot to chew on about this character.
I’ve been hot and cold about him all season long, I know.
In my defense, Pascal himself has been pretty hot and cold, and I could never quite get a feel for who he was as a person and as a chief.
After half a season spent oscillating between being wildly distrustful of the mysterious newcomer and hopelessly in love with him, I think this episode finally gave me the clarity I was looking for.
While there’s still a lot unsaid about his past, his history in Miami, and his relationship with his wife, we saw a new, more vulnerable side of Pascal in the fall finale.
He took the time to encourage Lizzie when she clearly needed it, allowed Fridge to hang around the station until the dog could go home to his owner, and offered Monica an olive branch after an argument.
Pascal is a Complex, Human Character
Each of those moments, soft and uncertain in their delivery, proved that Pascal is inherently a good person.
Whatever has happened to him has turned him into someone who is afraid to let people in, even his own wife.
That seems like a sensible enough explanation for why so many of his actions so far have seemed a little shady, so I’ve decided to operate under the assumption that Pascal just needs some time to warm up so he can thaw.
That said, his relationship with Monica leaves something to be desired. It’s a constant source of confusion for me when they’re on screen.
Our first glimpse of the couple showed Monica throwing Dom’s clothes out of the house. Now, eight episodes in, she tells him she doesn’t like being without him.
It baffles me that two people can be simultaneously codependent and emotionally distant, but these two pull it off.
The Past Comes Back to Haunt Cruz
Cruz took center stage for a good portion of the hour, and it wasn’t as fun as when he accidentally stole a bicycle from a child.
Receiving threats of any kind? Objectively awful.
Receiving threats in the form of hollow bullet pendants filled with cremated human remains? Well, that’s downright ominous.
Naturally, it all came to a head quickly. Cruz was confronted with a horrifying explanation that was scarier than expected.
You may remember Cruz’s decision not to rescue Flaco Rodriguez, the leader of a dangerous gang called the Insane Kings, from way back on Chicago Fire Season 1 Episode 10.
It was a loaded decision, but he did what he felt he had to do for the greater good, and no one can blame him for that.
Except, maybe, for Flaco’s cousin.
Leon showed up at the station to tell Cruz that Junior, Flaco’s cousin and fellow member of the Insane Kings, is out of prison.
They don’t have confirmation that they’re in danger at first, but when Cruz is followed into a church by the man himself, the proof is laid bare.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger; Cruz stands in front of Junior looking terrified while Junior looks hell-bent on revenge.
I’ll be honest; I was waiting for a gunshot to close out the episode, but it never came.
It was still a harrowing scene, and it set Cruz up for a compelling storyline when the show returns next year.
Bits and Bobs from Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 8
- Ritter’s anxiety about moving in with Dwayne is totally justified, but I do hope those two are able to meet each other in a compromise somehow.
- I’m pretty sure Fridge was inserted as a plot device for two reasons: one, to soften our opinions of Carver after he’s been insufferable all season, and two, so he had an in to reveal that he and Tori finally split.
- Mouch and Herrmann being grumpy old men and having a grumpy old friendship will always be so special to me. Mouch’s Certs made me think of my late grandfather — they’ve been “old man” mints for decades.
- I’ve gone over it and over it, and I cannot come up with a reasonable explanation for Pascal preparing only one steak (what about Monica?) and choosing to bake it in the oven.
- Violet’s choice to blow off a date without a second of hesitation in order to be there for Lizzy proved, once again, how incredible Chicago Fire’s friendships are.
- I missed seeing Steven Strait in this episode, but the Violet/Lizzie moment was worth it.
As usual, a lot happened in this episode, and now we have to wait a painful seven weeks before Chicago Fire is back with a new installment.
For now, hit the comments with all your thoughts and theories so we can chat about the episode!
There’s time to binge the entire series if you’re due for a rewatch, and it might just be a good idea since the writers are bringing back storylines from so long ago.
Chicago Fire will return on Wednesday, January 8, at 9/8c on NBC.
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