It’s sunny in Chicago again! We’ve gone full circle with the weather. It’s a bit windy though. (Sorry, actual weather fascinates me because where I live it’s hot and then it’s a bit less hot and then it’s hot again and that’s basically it.) Anyway, Shay and HHF (Handsome Heroic Firefighter, our name for Severide) are having lunch on a rooftop café. It looks like they are going their separate ways accommodation-wise. What, no more sandwich making at Chez Shayveride? HHF’s got that ‘excited little kid’ look about him that he does so well. Shay, on the other hand, doesn’t look impressed. She’s done the Math and she reckons something’s off with Renee’s due date. HHF’s not very pleased about the suggestion that he may not be Baby Daddy after all. He storms off but spends plenty of time in the episode contemplating Shay’s calculations and wondering if she’s right (and treating us to his best brooding look – sigh). Seeing as Sarah Shahi is doing an amazing job as a total bad ass (Shaw) on Person of Interest, I’m not sure how much we’ll see of Renee or where this baby story arc is going to go. Hmmm.
As an aside, HHF looks spectacularly gorgeous in the blue shirt he’s wearing:
There’s a house fire that everyone from the station attends. It’s pretty intense especially after there’s an explosion and HHF ends up trapped in the basement looking for a non-existent victim. In a nifty trick, a car’s windows are smashed and the hose is fed through to the building. HHF ends up being pulled up out of the basement by the hose (hehe!). He notices that the house number is 1751 which is his badge number. Interesting….
Also interesting is the little look that is exchanged between Dawson and Casey – Casey’s just returned to work after a fishing trip. I predict the writers are going to string out the UST between these two for a bit longer yet. (Sorry, couldn’t get a screen cap of it as it was too quick for me!)
Mari, Mouch’s Japanese girlfriend, comes to the House to cook lunch. She’s adorable and Mouch is glowing. She’s a great cook and everyone’s really happy that Mouch is happy. Adorbs.
There’s a nice bromance moment between Casey and HHF – awww. I like that the relationship between these two is subtle – they have their differences but they’re still mates without their friendship being too overdone. It works this way, I think, and leaves room for other friendships to be explored.
It’s Michelle Forbes! Awesome. She’s playing the role of Gail McLeod , a consultant brought in to streamline and automate the CFD which is code for shutting down stations to cut costs. She’s already closed House 33 and needs to close two more and House 51 is in her sights. Man, this woman is tough; so tough a speech from CA (Chief Awesome, our name for Boden) has no impact on her. Wow. (As an aside, I sure hope we get a female firefighter one day so CA can stop talking about his ‘men’. Also, when he talks about his team, does he not mean the paramedics too? Who aren’t men? Although I suppose he’s a fire chief and the paramedics come under a paramedic chief?)
CA tells his team that there are going to be cost cutting measures so no more side trips to get ice cream. Spoil sport. I guess that means HHF can’t make any more unscheduled stops to deliver flowers to his girlfriend. Bummer. Also, there’s no more overtime and everyone has to share lockers to make space to store equipment from the House that was closed down.
Because of the closures, there are two new firefighters at the House. One guy is a totes keen jellybean, Clark, who will be on Rescue Squad. He calls HHF ‘sir’ and I am immediately suspicious.
Shay and Dawson are out the front of the ER when they witness a ‘drive by drop off’. They’re both incredible in this scene – Shay jumps out of the way and tries to use a gurney to stop the car. Cool. They work hard to save the guy but I guess four bullet wounds and being thrown out of a car were just too much for him.
CA tells Mills that one of the new guys will be in Rescue Squad. Mills is OK with it, so he says.
It’s coming up to the one year anniversary of Darden’s death. Heather seems to be doing OK although her older son gets upset when Casey pays a visit wearing a CFD shirt.
Later, she’s out with friends having a few drinks when Casey stops by. She’s still pretty keen on him, I think. (I LOLed when Casey stopped by, detouring in the fire truck, and told the others that if anyone asks, they found a cat up a tree.)
Business at Molly’s is slow. Cruz is sent over to Game Day on a spy mission and he reports back that the bar is ‘bland and corporate’.
But later, Otis finds videos on his phone of Cruz’s visit to the bar and it’s anything but that. Cruz says it’s the best bar. Ever. Oh and the guy Dawson is flirting with later is one of the cops from the spin off series, Chicago PD. (“What is this, spring break at Jersey Shore?” Gotta love that Dawson.)
Hi Antonio! He’s at the gym and he runs into Mills. (Nice guns, Antonio!) He lets Mills know that he’s aware of his CPD application. Mills says he was in a bad place when he put in the application and Antonio promises to keep stumm although he reckons Mills would make a great cop.
Dawson gives Casey the friends speech but you can tell these two are way more than that. (As an aside, Monica Raymund is simply stunning! Look at her beautiful eyes!)
Awww, Mari is going back to Osaka. She tells Mouch he is destined for great things.
Poor HHF, his car is on fire! The new guy, Clark, says it was caused by a homemade accelerant (he’s seen this kind of thing before apparently). Who would target HHF? And why?
The second incident of the episode is really tense. There’s a fire in an apartment building but also a woman with chest pains in the adjacent one. Shay and Dawson attend to the chest pain patient but end up trapped in the building a few floors up as the wind picks up and the fire spreads. Oh, this is awesome – the firefighters extend a ladder between the buildings and Shay and Dawson have to climb across to safety. The patient is eased across on a back board.
Casey comes on over and tries to put the fire out but it’s too intense. On his way back over the ladder, the window ledge gives way and he ends up hanging off the building by the hose. HHF and Mills pull him back up though.
The look on Gaby’s face when she sees he’s OK and the same for Casey with Dawson – adorbs!
Clark is called to Gail McLeod’s office. She wants him to be her eyes and ears at House 51 (because it’s a problem, you know, with missing prescription drugs and sexual harassment claims). She appeals to his military background and the whole chain of command thing. Oh, and the fact that she promoted and relocated him to House 51 after his House was closed down.
Mouch is running for Union president! “Atta boy, Mouch”, says Herrmann.
Oh, no, there’s a DUI accident in the final scene of the episode and a woman is suffering from head trauma. It’s one of Heather’s friends from earlier and Heather is arrested for drunk driving!
In sum:
This episode was a great start to the season and I understand it achieved good ratings. Yay! It had all the elements we’ve come to expect from this show – pretty spectacular rescues and good character development with the door opened on a few interesting arcs for the start of a new season.
the champ box 
I loved this episode!
1. Poor Shay :-(. But ouch, this is not a conversation that was ever going to go well, is it? She’s right though, I checked with an online due date calculator (but in an incognito window in case McGecko saw in the history and had heart failure). November 2nd, it came up with.
2. *sigh* Dawson and Casey’s little looks *sigh*
3. Yep, even *I* know not to park in front of a fire hydrant and we don’t even HAVE fire hydrants!
4. Michelle Forbes! Ooh, I am going to love to hate this character!
5. Severide just said ‘love you. Someone help me up please…
6. Go on Mouch, stop thinking about it and do it! Mouch for Prez!
7. Nooo, Mari’s leaving! She’s coming back though, right?
8. Oh, is this Dawson’s new guy? Um. No.
9. Awww, Dawson and Shay with their ‘share?’ ‘share’ moment with the lockers :-).
10. Oh FFS Mills, it’s not the new guy’s fault you didn’t make Squad, grow up and stop being such a child.
11. Er… why is no-one trying to put this fire out from the other side?
12. *sigh* Dawson and Casey *sigh*
13. Oh Cruz. Shallow much?
14. Yay, Mouch!
15. Nooo, Heather!!!
Some comments on your comments and my best bits:
1. Poor Shay for being the bearer of bad news. I see next week’s ep is called ‘Prove it’ so I guess the writers are going with the ‘not HHF’s baby’ angle. I’m a bit puzzled as to why Renee is even back – if they want to resolve the Shay baby thing there were other things they could have done with it.
2. The Casey-Dawson looks in this ep were EPIC!
4. I loved that CA’s Speech of Awesomeness had no impact on her at all.
5. Melt-worthy. So much brooding from him in this ep. His brooding face is perfect (well, actually his face is perfect in general but particularly the broody version).
7. I hope Mari comes back. She’s adorable. That lovely smile 🙂
10. Mills is still immature and petulant, I see.
11. LOL! I was focusing on the ladder between the buildings too much to care. And Shay and Dawson crawling across and then Casey hanging by the hose. Oh, and then the worried look on Gaby’s face and then relief when Casey was OK. Bless her.
13. I presume something will happen with Molly’s so that they bring in more customers. I think I read somewhere that Otis’s ingenuity is involved there. Hope so!
14. Glad Mouch is being developed more – they started the Union thing in the last season so good to see it being followed through.
15. IKR? I wonder what’s going to happen here. The TV Fanatic reviewer talked about coming full circle, with Voight’s son’s DUI accident in in the beginning of S1 and now Heather. Interesting to see how Casey reacts and where the writers go with this. I wondered whether Heather would be a recurring character.
You didn’t comment about CA telling his team that they couldn’t make any more detours to get ice cream! I loved that line.
Loved Shay and Dawson when they were out in front of the ER. They’re awesome!
1. I’m not sure why this storyline even existed in the first place. Surely they never actually intended to sideline one of their main characters for probably half a season?
4. She is the queen of the withering putdown!
15. I was thinking of it more in terms of coming full circle with his mother, that she just got released and now Heather’s going to prison and leaving Casey to look after her children the way his mother left him to look after himself (although he was a lot older than Heather’s children, but still).
I read the TV fanatic review and it’s not all that much like Voight’s son because Casey has no control over what happens to Heather now. I doubt he’ll want Heather to get off scot-free either.
The ice-cream line was awesome! And Casey’s ‘cat up a tree’ line as well. I did have them in my notes but I took them out because I was repeating you too much already. Bloody hive mind ;-).
1. Agreed. It doesn’t seem that plausible to have Shay with a baby.
15. Good point and agreed that Casey wouldn’t want Heather to get off scot-free. I didn’t really see the episode the way the TV Fanatic reviewer did but it’s always nice to read someone else’s take on it.
Hive mind indeed! I knew you’d love those lines 🙂 .
It is, I was surprised that reviewer saw it so differently. And the threat to the firehouse might not seem real to us because we know that it won’t be shut down, but the characters don’t know that. And really, you could say the same about almost any film or TV show. On H50, do we ever really doubt that the team will catch the bad guy and save the day? Of course not. But that’s not where the fun is, it’s in putting the characters into a situation and seeing how they react to it.
Well,exactly! And I don’t feel at all like it is a forced storyline.
The same thing happens when a main character is seriously injured – if we know the actor is not leaving the show, we can figure out that they’ll recover.
I loved the episode! The Casey and Dawson looked melted my cold cold heart 😉
I am ok with the slow burn (ha see what I did there?) developing of Casey and Dawson’s romance. They both need some time to make sure things are going to work out.
So glad Mouch decided to embrace his “narrow eyed” greatness. He will be a kick-a$$ President!
I loved it too! The Casey-Dawson looks were melt-worthy for sure. My favourite was after the second incident, when Dawson was relieved to find that Casey was ok.
LOLed at the slow burn. I think it’s going to be a very slow burn indeed but those two are so adorbs that I think I can handle it.
ACA re Mouch. I’m just glad the ‘lesser’ characters are being developed more. I love all of them (well, except for Mills – he’s a bit petulant for my liking). And we had some Antonio in this ep too!
‘Slow burn’ FTW!!
So, I don’t know, guys, if this is my show. I will give it a couple more episodes, but the Dick Wolf school of playing fast and loose with realism was tough for me. That was a lot of big fires for one fire station. I’m telling you, these guys would be on so many medical calls–and not cool ones; nope, it’s all old people falling down and heart attacks and the like–not so many actual fires.
Anyway.
I was so happy to see Michelle Forbes with her deep voice and commanding presence; she plays one helluva tough broad. That’s exciting. Shay and Dawson together is so great to watch, which makes me realize how few female friendships we see on TV, especially dramas. I was pretty touched by Mouch’s trying to figure out if he really was going to amount to something; that seems like a great way to salvage a sort of comic character.
So far–and I am only one episode in–I don’t care about Casey.
*crickets*
Sorry, I ran away to avoid any fangirl anger. I’m back. I am just not yet sure about this show. I’ll give it a couple more shots, but my TV plate is pretty full, so I don’t know just yet.
I will end with this: Severide is hawt. I get it. Grey hair, great smile, a good friend…yup, he’s watchable. (All this time, I thought is name would be pronounced sev-er-reed, not sev-er-ride. At the beginning of the episode, I thought someone was pronouncing it wrong. Then I realized it was me!)
I had the exact same thing with ‘Rollins’. When Freddie was talking about her in the plane I was thinking ‘why is he saying her name in that weird way?’. It took a while for it to dawn on me!
Casey’s puppy-dog eyes got me. I’m a sucker for puppy-dog eyes *sigh*. And I love Michelle Forbes, when she and Boden were knocking heads I had to keep reminding myself whose side I was on.
With the realism… yeah, I can imagine it’s not very true to life. It makes it easier to watch when you don’t know quite HOW unrealistic it is. If you can, 1.02 and 1.19 are well worth a watch, they were the standout episodes of Season 1 for me. Even though they made me howl like a baby. *sniff*
And… this is the CB sweetie, we don’t do fangirl anger here :-).
^^^
Clarica: feminist rage, yes. Fangirl anger, no. 😉
Hear me roaaaaaarrrrrrr!
Phew. Feminist rage is in my wheelhouse. Fangirl anger? Baffling.
Re: Casey, it wasn’t the best ep to showcase his character. If you do stick with the show, you might find you warm to him (groan).
Re: realism, I totally get where you are coming from. There was a show on here called Sea Patrol which was about a Navy patrol boat and every episode there was some major drama and a mate of McBriz’s, who’d been in the Navy for years on a patrol boat, said he hadn’t seen as much action in his entire career as in one episode of the show. Totes unrealistic but it made for great dram on the high seas! Also, I am like Alicia and know very little about firefighting so I’m not that bothered about whether it’s realistic or not. There were two big fires in this episode and it’s not always like that. Really, the firefighting is secondary anyway as the show is really all about the characters’ lives.
I agree with Alicia, have a look at 1.02 and 1.19 and you’ll get more of a feel for a typical episode. Also 1.23 was a good one although not typical as it had crossover stuff with the Chicago PD and I really liked that one.
And, yes, no fangirl anger here. If you don’t like the show, we’re still mates, don’t you worry about that, and we totally get that it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Remember, too, that Alicia forgives Westy and me for not feeling the same way as she does about Benedict Cumberbatch. Right, Alicia? *looks hopeful*
Actually, that one was touch and go.
(I’M KIDDING!!)
LOL!
So I shouldn’t tell you that Steph calls him Bandycoot Cabbagepatch?
Also, I can split the difference here–chalk it up to my gayness, if you must–I also adore him; he’s smart, funny, chooses great roles and acts the hell out of him. But I don’t not find him attractive in the slightest. Like not even a little. Now I will really duck out of the way.
That’s not even the worst one I’ve seen! The best one was Butwhiteboys Cantbekhan.
He’s like Marmite, isn’t he? Either you think he’s delicious or you just don’t get the appeal. He’s such an amazing actor though.
But I like Marmite. (kidding)
It must work the other way around in Australia, like water going down a plughole.
*snorts*
AAH, BC. He’s like a few english actors, like Hugh Grant before him — that face makes no fricking sense, I think it confuses men who wonder why their wives and girlfriends find that face attractive when according to all the rules of sense and beauty standards he is NOT good looking. 😆 But then, I don’t know, sometimes he just is! What can you do? 😀
“What can you do?”
Stare. 😉
And McGecko is on to me. When I told him I wanted the STID DVD for our wedding anniversary he said ‘I’m not buying you that FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY so you can perve at that guy you like!”. Rumbled. (Although I did not actually want it to perve at BC, I do genuinely want to see it again!).
I am not done with the show yet (Em and I have a two-episode trial rule because often the pilot/first episode us weird). I know it’s weird to worry about realism when I love H50, but I love that for other things AND last season was so frustrating because of the lack of realism *cough* North Korea *cough.* We’ll see. More Shay and Dawson and more Shay and Severide, and I could be hooked.
No, I think you have a valid point about the realism but again, it doesn’t impact as much on me as I don’t know much about firefighting and I kind of accept that IRL, firefighters spend a lot of time NOT attending to the kinds of incidents portrayed on the show. I guess it’s the same for medical dramas and other rescue type shows. We had a drama on our screens here for years that was set in a small country town, revolving around the police station, and you’d never set foot in an Australian country town EVER if you watched that show (way too dangerous). But if you can see past the realism thing and get to love the characters, you might find you enjoy it. Shay and Dawson and Shay and Severide are a big part of the reason why I love the show. See what you think anyway, after you’ve watched a few more eps.
Mmmmm, watch this week’s ep. Just a tip :-).
I was pleased with this premier. It picked up right where we left off (well, one not specifically defined fishing trip’s length after we left off, anyway) and didn’t try to go all crazy with an over the top “special” premier. If you were watching this ep in a row from the ones before it, you probably wouldn’t have even known it was the start of a new season, with the exception of the introduction of a few new characters.
I think Gabby totally friend-zoned Casey. She may not have meant to, but I think what he heard was “we are friends ONLY FRIENDS!!!!” when what she probably meant was “friends means intimate closeness so let’s continue on that path, baby!” That being said I’m blah on Casey/Dawson …. blah. I’m annoyed they turned PM into such a big baby. Why that means I don’t like Casey/Dawson, I don’t know. I’m just not feeling it I guess (yet!). I think with Heather in jail, with Casey looking after the kids, Gabby will be called in to help. Remember when he was first having problems with the fiance, it was about having kids, and he and Gabby had this conversation about how much she LOVED kids and her family was SO BIG and blah blah blah. I think there will be some cute “family” moments for Casey and Gabby coming up.
I thought it was great how Chief made his “skin melting in your hands” speech and businesslady was all…. “nope. Whatever.” But I think she’ll get hers. My current suspicion is that the guy she hired to be her eyes and ears is the one starting the fire. I only think this because he “found” all the starter devices. Perhaps this is too obvious a red herring. I don’t know. He seemed shifty though, didn’t he? And he was a squad guy from the house that was closed so maybe he wants to be the squad leader & is doing this to get rid of Severide. Just my speculations. Also, I must admit, I loled when she said that 51 was a problem House because of missing pills & sexual harassment claims…. so…. the problem with 51 is Severide!! Get rid of him, get rid of your problems. 😉
Good point about the episode rolling along nicely from the end of the first season. I enjoyed it immensely and I hope the writers settle in with more of the same this season and don’t try to be too clever or stray from the winning formula.
I agree, the writers have turned Mills into a big baby. I liked him at the start of last season and I think Dawson has good chemistry with both Mills and Casey. I do prefer the idea of Dawson with Casey as they just seem more suited and the friendship stuff makes the connection deeper, I think. However, I’m not that bothered if they don’t get together.
I know, Gail McLeod is pretty much the first person NOT to be moved by a CA speech. I thought the new guy seemed a bit shifty too but it could be a red herring as he seems a bit obvious to be the one starting the fires. We shall see.
The problem with 51 is Severide! I LOLed when I read that. Um, well, let’s see, the list is rather long, isn’t it? Shagging on the job, missing pills, hiding an injury from the boss, sexual harassment claims and taking the case into your own hands, Bringing Your Dad to Work Day and Causing Ructions, diverting the fire truck to deliver flowers to your girlfriend…. What else? The man sure is a problem 🙂 .
I like Gail but that could be because I adored Ensign Ro so much.
ACA about Mills – he started off well but he has the arrogance and entitlement of youth without enough likeability so it just comes off as petulance.
I love Dawson and Casey but I don’t think they plan on getting them together any time soon *sigh*. Poor Casey, he probably can’t work out which end is up. They’re stuck in the relationship equivalent of a handshake/hug dilemma spiral.
Without her Bajoran nose ridges I don’t even recognize her as the same actress!
I know! You wouldn’t think such a small prosthetic could have such a big effect, would you?
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