‘Chicago Fire’ season 5, episode 12 review: Are Brett, Antonio over? Severide’s offer

When it comes to “Chicago Fire,” there seems to be one clear constant: Nothing ever seems to go great when it comes to Dawson and Casey. First, they lose Louie. Then, they struggle to deal with what happened tonight. There was a notion that someone from his past could come howling back for revenge, and this put the entire firehouse into a relative state of unease.

Eddie was a threat from Casey’s past, and tonight, he did his best to try to take him out by luring him out to a scene. We’ve absolutely seen threats to the firefighters before, but not so much in this form where there was a man trying to blow them and/or shoot at them. This was, easily, one of the more violent threats that they’ve faced … but it was also one that he was able to overcome with some help. The best thing about Casey is that no matter what happens to him, we don’t tend to see many things shake him up forever. He always bounces back.

Could Severide get a promotion? – This was a question that was floated at first tonight, which was nice to hear — yet, at the same time we spent most of the episode getting torn up over the fact that Anna was barely getting a mention … at least until the very end. That’s where Kelly got an offer to go to Springfield, where he’d get both a promotion and a chance to be closer to Anna. It’s an offer he’ll have a hard time saying no to given what it would mean.

Drama for Brett and Antonio – This relationship had been going well for a good stretch of time, but unfortunately, we started to see that change tonight courtesy of the arrival of Antonio’s ex to the Firehouse. Brett had been doing him a favor in looking after his son, and the boy’s mother did NOT appreciate that. In turn, it made Brett wonder whether or not Antonio was ready for another relationship, and she said this to him in a testy confrontation.

What was especially interesting about the entire exchange is that the one thing Brett was seemingly the most upset about was Antonio’s ex generalizing her with the term “blonde,” making it seem as though she was nothing more than the color of her hair — which we’d certainly understand if we were her. Luckily Antonio did show up at the end of the episode to her and apologized, making it clear that he made the problem worse and that she “deserved” better than what he could offer.

Are they really over? This conversation between the two definitely made it seem that way … at least for now. This didn’t necessarily seem like it was the end of the relationship so much as they were in separate places for not. He was too wrapped up in his job and his family, and he recognized he didn’t have the right amount of time to give to her.

Surprise wedding reception! – There were so many struggles in this episode that it was nice to see the show end with Dawson and Casey being celebrated at Molly’s with just about everyone from Firehouse 51 in attendance. For everyone out there worried about your favorite “Chicago Fire” ‘ship, consider this a beacon of hope that someday, any of them could work things out.

Overall – Basically, everything that you want in a “Chicago Fire” episode in between drama and character development. We just wish that Brett and Antonio could make things work for now! Grade: B+.

Next week – Excited to find out what’s coming up? If you head over here, you can get some further news regarding what you can expect to see moving forward. (Photo: NBC.)