After a lengthy break, Chicago Fire season 13, episode 9 saw Cruz’s job come back to haunt him. Let’s take a look inside the episode.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago Fire season 13, episode 9.
The Chicago Med season 13 winter finale did not disappoint. We got a chance to celebrate promotions, and saw Cruz tackle the problem that came up at the end of the fall finale. How would it all play out? That was our biggest question.
Also, if you were hoping to see some faces from the past, there was good news. One character made a return.
Junior tries to blackmail Cruz in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 9
The winter premiere made it clear that Junior would be a threat. He turned up at the start of the episode, making it clear that he needed Cruz to do a job for him. Cruz wasn’t interested.
Junior is willing to tell everyone about the way Cruz left his cousin to die. This was years ago, though. It’s going to be hard for anyone to prove that at this point, and Cruz likely knows that. He has called Junior’s bluff.
Well, Junior took the chance. He made a call into OFI to suggest that the fire was arson. Now Cruz is worried. With OFI on the case, there is a chance that he’ll be caught out. Is there enough there, though? Now I’ll admit that my memory of Chicago Fire season 1 is rusty, but I don’t remember it being rusty, and it wouldn’t be all that easy to prove that Cruz knew Flaco was there at the time of the fire.
Cruz now feels like he doesn’t have a choice. I get that Cruz is worried for his own job and for Chloe and the kids, but this still feels a little too easy for Junior to get Cruz to do his bidding. And when have we ever known a criminal allow one job and that’s it? Cruz is going to have to find a way to deal with Junior.
Cruz does come to his senses, but it’s not enough. Junior forces him at gunpoint to go through with the plan. It looks like the storyline is going to come to an end before it even begins. Junior is killed in a shootout in the place he’s trying to get his money back from. We’re sure to see this come back up for Cruz at a later point, especially with the end of the episode showing us that Cruz was hit in the arm with a stray bullet.
A change at the firehouse for the shift in Chicago Fire
At the firehouse, we started the episode of Chicago Fire learning that both Herrmann and Mouch passed their exams. As Captain, Herrmann would now make the biggest decisions on the calls. With Kidd out on a Girls on Fire gig in Maryland, Mouch would act as Lieutenant on Truck 81. This meant a new driver was needed, and that was passed onto Carver.
Is this something that we’ll see happen more often? It’s going to be interesting to see how all this plays out. Herrmann now needs to take the Chief exam so that he can take the spot Boden wanted him to take. That opens the door for Mouch to be Lieutenant on Engine 81. We just have to see how it happens.
What I will say is that I loved having Mouch as a Lieutenant. He took control right away and was clear in his orders. This was a job he was always meant to have.
The first call of the night set up Mouch’s story for the episode. We knew he would search for a next of kin for a victim. Well, this was a much bigger problem, as it turned out the unconscious man in the structure fire had actually been “dead for days,” according to Violet.
This is one of those heartbreaking cases of that reminder of people who don’t have anyone. There are all sorts of reasons we can lose contact with people in our lives. Brilliant Minds touched on this in the season 1 finale. Keep an eye on your neighbors, especially the ones who live on their own and don’t get out much.
This one cuts a little deeper, though. The woman who manages the motel the victim was staying at had already packed up his things and was just going to throw them out at the end of her shift. It shows how disconnected we are from people, forgetting that they were human.
In the end, Mouch doesn’t get the answers that he needs, but he does come to a sense of peace about it. He is able to write an obituary for the papers in the hope that someone who knew him can pay their respects. It’s a beautiful touch, and in the end, Mouch became the person he was looking for.
Severide takes up a teaching job at the Academy in Chicago Fire
With Kidd away, Severide has more time on his hands. He also loves arson. So, when an opportunity comes to teach an arson class at the Academy, he takes it.
This does hint at a bigger storyline to come for Severide. Chief Pascal points out that Severide is juggling a lot. This is a strange turnaround. Up to this point, Pascal was happy to have Severide juggling it all. He knew that arson investigations are important. Now, all of a sudden, he’s worried about how Severide is able to manage it all?
Pascal takes matter into his own hands, though. He decides to pay Van Meter a visit, questioning why Van Meter didn’t come to him instead. Part of me wonders in this episode whether Pascal is trying to just show off his position of authority. Does he feel undermined or at risk, especially now that Herrmann is rising through the ranks and is Boden’s No. 1 pick for Chief at 51?
If you felt like the Jack Damon storyline had come to an end a little too quickly, it’s clear Chicago Fire isn’t done with it. Severide and Damon end up coming face-to-face at the class. Damon says he isn’t taking the class just to follow the Severide family legacy and that he’s just taking every class he can to be a better firefighter, but is that the truth? I feel like there’s going to be more to this.
Chicago Fire airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Catch up the following day on Peacock.
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