On the heels of Peter Mills’ departure (which I’m nowhere close to being over, more on that later), we jump right in to Firehouse 51’s introduction to the new PIC Jessica Chilton, aka Chili. The house’s reaction to her says it all – we miss Mills. It’s nothing personal against Chili, she seems very nice and could turn out to be a great addition to the house. But for now, the house (and myself) don’t care, we just want Mills back.
Papa Boden gives his “children” a stern talking-to after their less than warm reception of Chili. “You can’t expect us to just flip the switch and get over it,” says Otis. Well, that’s exactly what he expects. I’ll try, Boden, but it’s going to be difficult!
The only fire call of the episode saw the recovery of two victims. The man living downstairs, Billy Carson, makes it out with the help of Dawson and Otis. Though the woman does make it out, she’s badly burned and her survival seems unlikely.
Later, Antonio stops by to talk to Dawson. Finally! I’ve been missing seeing these two onscreen together. Antonio has questions about Billy Carson in relation to the fire. After being admitted to the hospital, it was discovered that the woman who was badly burned was raped just before the fire and now, Billy is the suspect.
Dawson enlists the help of Severide to go and further investigate the fire. Let me briefly say how much I love Dawson and Severide’s scenes together, I wish we had many more of them. While on scene, they discover the fire didn’t start in Billy’s apartment where they first suspected but rather in the upstairs apartment where the woman lived. Now, the team is looking at arson, rape, and attempted murder. So naturally, whose help do they enlist? Why the Chicago PD and SVU casts, of course!
Elsewhere…
During the call, Rice tells Severide he’s not getting air through his mask. So of course, Severide tells him to go outside. Otis and Cruz once again become very suspicious of Rice and I can’t say that I blame them. I want to like Rice, especially after learning more about his family. I can’t deny it, he seems a little shady. Severide, for the time being, shuts the Rice suspicion down. But don’t for one second think we’ve seen the last of this storyline!
Sylvie gives Chili the warmest reception, and I think these two have potential to work very well together. But at the same time, they seem to be very different and might not mesh as well as Sylvie did with Mills or Dawson. They both make a valiant effort which is why I see potential, so I’m hoping for the best. But, there’s definitely more to Chili than she’s letting on. She comes off as chill (pun intended), relaxed, and very easy going, but I have a feeling there’s something very serious bubbling just beneath the surface.
To start, Chili tells Sylvie that even though she’s the PIC, she’s very easy going. But, their solo call of the episode leads me to believe that these two will have some differences of opinion before too long. I don’t know who the PIC was between Sylvie and Mills, but they seemed to work as an equal duo; it was a true partnership. Chili says she’s easy going, but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that “I’m the boss” card played before the season’s end.
But there is an upside, or at least the glimmer of an upside, to Peter’s departure. The writers didn’t kill him, which means there is absolutely potential we will see him again. Heck, we still see Shay! I am convinced we will see Peter again not only because he’s alive (thank goodness) but also because of how he left things with Dawson (still not over that fantastic closing scene).
Before Dawson gets the chance to tell Billy his name has been cleared, she receives a message from him that leads her to believe he’s going to kill himself. Sure enough, they are able to track Billy to a bridge, where he stands on the ledge ready to jump. The poor man thinks he’s responsible for the fire and feels so guilty he wants to die. The talented duo Casey and Severide harness in and move to approach Billy from either side. Billy’s having none of it, so Dawson clips in and goes on the ledge herself. The rope catches and Dawson is forced to unclip to reach Billy. He nearly goes over the edge, which also would have been the end of Dawson. Of course, they are both pulled back and make it out just fine. What did we learn from this scene? Not that Dawson is fearless, we already knew that. Casey is still crazy in love with Dawson. Oh, we knew that too? Well never mind then, nothing was learned from this scene.
When Casey asks for help with installation for the club, Otis and Cruz are not so quick to volunteer this time around. He wouldn’t have needed their help for much longer, as it becomes apparent that the club owner is all kinds of shady and Casey doesn’t except the expansion offer. Instead, he agrees to finish the current project and then call it done.Surprisingly, it’s Dawson who volunteers, and the two share some flirty jokes. Don’t get me wrong, I love that these two are moving back towards their normal selves, but after last episode’s ending between Mills and Dawson, I might just be jumping ship (gasp!).
I’ve thought a lot about this since the previous episode – probably more than I should have. Here’s what I’ve realized: I’m not necessarily a Casey/Dawson shipper, I’m a Casey shipper. I think Casey deserves better than what Dawson has given him but because I know that she is who will make him the happiest, I root for the two of them. Mills and Dawson have always had an undeniable chemistry. Back when they were dating, Mills still had a lot of growing up to do. Now that he has, I really do feel that these two are better suited for each other. Think about it, Dawson treated Mills a whole lot better than she did Casey (yes, including their breakup).
What did you think of the episode? The more appropriate title of the episode would have been Truth Comes Out. While not many truths were spoken, many storylines with hidden truths were threatened. What is the truth about Chili? Who is she, really? It’s apparent that Casey still loves Dawson, but what does Dawson think after how things ended (or rather, didn’t end) with Mills? Will she tell Casey? Is Rice a good guy?
