‘Chicago Fire’ season 3, episode 11 review: Did Casey, Dawson break up in ‘Let Him Die’?

From start to finish tonight, “Chicago Fire” was exhausting. It was tiring when we were seeing the downfall of Casey and Dawson’s relationship, and it was exhausting seeing Chief Boden struggle before learning some good news about his child. Add to this Brett and Mills almost being killed, and you have an episode that put us through the emotional wringer.

With all of this being said, this does not exactly mean that “Let Him Die” was bad. On the contrary. This is the sort of episode that you want to see start off “Chicago Fire” in 2015, since it did move forward so many stories, while also making the emotional ramifications for them very clear.

For Casey and Dawson, the end of their relationship (or is it a separation?) does not necessarily mean the end, but this episode did make it clear enough that if they want to really make things work, they will have to press forward and figure out how they are able to tackle some of their major issues that they have as a couple. One of the biggest ones for now is separating the line between lovers and co-workers, and not having anyone get hurt or caught in the crossfire.

As we saw Brett and Mills eventually make it out of their situation alive, and hopefully more bonded than they were previously, we continued to had reminders that safety is something that these characters never really feel, whether it is physical or emotional. The scene at the tail end of the episode, which involves quite possibly an arsonist, was a reminder of that. It also sets the stage for next week, when Shay’s death could be reintroduced right when it was starting to become normal not seeing her around anymore.

“Chicago Fire” does know how to rip out your heart, and that happened plenty tonight. Luckily, at least the story does it without insulting your intelligence, or making you feel like you are watching the same thing many times over. Grade: B+.

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