‘Chicago Fire’ season 5, episode 14 review: Severide’s decision; did Boden get his crew back?
Tuesday night’s new episode of “Chicago Fire” started with two very-important issues that the team needed to solve. First, there was the drama of everything that transpired with Boden and Chief Anderson on last week’s new episode; then, there was an opportunity to see a little bit more news when it comes to Severide’s decision in regards to Springfield. Both stories were tied up by the end of the hour, and in ways that you probably expected.
Did Boden get the team back? – Yes, but not because of any corruption or digging or sabotaging Anderson. It all came down to his team at Firehouse 51 doing great work out in the field, and ensuring that they were able to help people in need at a hotel. It just turned out that one of those people was the Deputy Mayor. He was willing to do Boden a favor at the end of the episode, and that led to the transfers back!
This is a great thing, given that where the firefighters were before this was not exactly their idea of paradise. Brett and Stella were back at Stella’s former house, dealing with an angry and abusive Chief who didn’t want to listen to anyone under him. Meanwhile, Otis found himself having to desperately impress his new colleagues with stories, and Cruz and Capp were all on dispatch duty. Herrmann and Mouch, meanwhile, were stuck dealing with a Firehouse practically hit by the zombie apocalypse. It was interesting to briefly see the Chicago FD extended universe, as it were, but it was a relief to see everyone back in the end. This was a story that needed need to be dragged out, so it was easy to be happy for a quick ending here.
Severide’s choice – He’s sticking around! Given that the alternative meant that we would be losing Taylor Kinney from the series, it was rather hard to imagine a different outcome here in the slightest. He’s too good of a character to lose, and there’s no issue with him making this decision. The one thing that we do really wish is that there was an opportunity at some point within the episode to physically see Anna rather than having him tell her on the phone. We know that logically it was hard to justify him making the trip, but the goodbye for what was at one point a pretty epic story felt somewhat muted and detached.
Overall – This episode was certainly heartfelt, and featured Boden at his best, being heroic and trying not to become someone he wasn’t … even if he did briefly authorize Casey and Severide going against his typical wishes to try to take Anderson down before the hotel accident call came in. It was nice to see the larger world, though we do still wish that the show figured out a way to give us a farewell to Anna if this was meant to be the last time she was a part of this story. Grade: B.
Next week – The show will be airing on a special night, and kicking off a three-part crossover that includes “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Justice.” If you do want to get some further news on the subject of what’s coming up there, be sure to visit this link. (Photo: NBC.)