After taking an unexpected week off, Chicago Fire returned with answers to what happened to Cruz. Meanwhile, Kidd had to deal with a poisoning in the school. Take a look at what happened to Chicago Fire season 13, episode 10.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago Fire season 13, episode 10.
The episode opened off the back of the previous episode. Cruz had to figure out who to call in the aftermath of the shooting. Initially, he was going to call 911, but that would be a mistake. All gunshot wounds have to be reported. So, who better to call than his brother Leon?
Leon is all grown up looking out for his big brother. He quickly made it clear that Cruz had to go home and pretend like nothing had happened. That meant he had to lie to Chloe about where he’d been. Telling her that Cindy and Herrmann were arguing was not a good idea. If you’re going to lie, make it believable that doesn’t come up afterward!
Kidd takes control at a school incident in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 10
The big call of the night was to the high school. It was in the eventual promo released for the episode, which shared that there was some sort of poisoning at a school. With kids still inside, Firehouse 51 had to figure out how to get in and keep everyone safe.
Nobody initially thinks that it’s poison. Squad 3 goes in with their normal gear, although Pascal wants hazmat in. It’s clear that it’s something that affects people fast. Cruz takes his mask off to give to a kid and quickly feels the effects from the as in the room.
It’s when Kidd learns from Ritter that the first kids to get sick were outside that everyone starts to piece together what it was. What I find completely crazy is that they just go in without any masks at all. Without knowing what they were dealing with, they should have suited up. It would only be okay to take their masks off when they learned that a training center close by was working with tear gas and pepper spray on their recruits.
At least Cruz got a telling off by Severide for taking his mask off. The best thing to do would have been to rush the kid out of the place since he’d already been exposed.
Kidd needs to deal with the training facility
Finding out that there was a training facility in the neighborhood, the entire Firehouse 51 wanted to understand how this was possible. Why would the city approve such a thing close to the school? While it hadn’t caused a problem in the past, it did this time.
Well, with Kidd on the case, you know she’ll do everything possible to get the center shut down and move. I would love to know how Firehouse 51 (or even any of the firefighters in Chicago) didn’t know about this before it got to this point. For something like this, there would have been news reports or something to alert them.
While it was all just a series of small events, known as Chaos Theory, Kidd is able to get the facility moved. I’m not sure I like Violet’s boyfriend anymore, though. That guy seems smarmy. Everything about him reminds me of a guy I went on a couple of dates with and very quickly walked away from once I saw the fake charm.
The episode offers a great look at how Kidd inspires people. Amy, the teacher, has seen Kidd hanging up flyers for Girls on Fire, and she starts to beat herself up about how she didn’t do enough. This is an important look at how people react in an emergency. We all know what we should do, but it doesn’t mean that we will. The guilt of how we didn’t act sits with us, and that’s why I never judge how someone acts in an emergency.
As Amy starts to rethink her career and tries to join Girls on Fire, Kidd won’t let her. It’s not because Amy wouldn’t make a great firefighter, but because she already makes a great teacher. I love this moment of respect between the two women.
Chief Pascal wants to get to the bottom of the OFI investigation
Finding out that OFI had got a tip about a fire from 12 years ago, Chief Pascal decided to stick his head into the situation. He called Cruz and Severide into it, although really, it was Cruz under investigation. While Severide was quick to just push off the idea that the OFI call was just someone looking for a payday from the city, Pascal thought the timing was suspect.
It’s clear that Pascal knows a lot more is going on around him. He was curious about Cruz at the end of the previous episode, but didn’t say anything. Now he thinks that the call to OFI isn’t all that coincidental.
Pascal is sure that there’s something going on, so he goes digging into Flaco. It doesn’t take long to find out about Junior. I don’t get why Pascal is so focused on Cruz. It’s like he wants to find a flaw in Firehouse 51. He was so focused on not having turnover, and now it’s like he’s causing one. Pascal doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I do hope we see Herrmann as chief one day. I know in this episode Herrmann started to wonder if he really wanted the job, but he would look out for the firehouse so much better.
The only good thing to come from Pascal pushing is that Cruz turns to Severide. Not only is Severide able to be an understanding and listening ear, Severide is also able to help Cruz understand that there was no way Flaco would have survived the fire even without Cruz’s intervention. Well, Severide can tell him. Will Cruz ever believe that?
By the end of the episode, I do wonder if Pascal just wants to make sure only the right firefighters are on the job. He’s worked with dirty firefighters in the past, and he wants to make sure there are no others in his firehouse. That’s something I can respect, and he doesn’t know Firehouse 51 like we do, so I can let it pass.
Cruz still wants to do the “right” thing, though. He decides to turn to Atwater at Intelligence to give his statement. The state attorney doesn’t have the evidence to support Cruz’s statement, which means they won’t be going forward. Instead, Cruz can help with the investigation into the shooting at the paint shop that killed Junior. Maybe that can be his “repentance.”
While Pascal is disappointed that Cruz lied to him and withheld information, he was impressed that Cruz confessed despite knowing that Severide had cleared him via the OFI investigation. This is what makes me really think Pascal is just after a strong team and wants good firefighters on his side. Cruz doing this pushed him up in Pascal’s eyes.
Chicago Fire airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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