This was such a great third episode of the season. I would have preferred this to have been the second episode; however, I do like the way that they managed to bring the Cruz storyline round to a happier moment after the passing of time.
First of all, I think it is most important to mention how good Joe Minoso is in this episode. He is great in every episode, but this was another level of insane talent. Joe’s mental breakdown when talking to Herrmann was so heart-wrenching; the emotion was so raw. It made me choke up watching him physically throw himself around with the body parts he still has movement of. I was just in awe of how good he was.
I loved that we brought back Herrmann’s guilt. He absolutely did not deal with it in the best way, and honestly, I was a little bit on Cruz’s side when he threw Otis’ cane back at him. Although I am a sucker for an Otis mention, it immediately brought back feelings of the old Chicago Fire.
I adored watching Herrmann and Cruz work out their differences by the end of the episode; it was so nice to watch them reconcile. You could feel the years of friendship and family bleed through the screen.
One of the biggest downfalls of this storyline is knowing that Cruz is no longer going to be in the show. After watching these episodes, it’s hard to believe that the show will ever be the same after he is officially gone.
Even the scenes with him helping Severide and helping the rest of Squad Three made me want him to stay. I don’t even care about seeing him as a firefighter. I just want to see more of him helping in whatever capacity that he can.
I am so glad that Tony is okay. The way the Chicago universe works could have had him dying whilst I was worrying about what was happening with Cruz.
I love intentional deception when it is used in a good way. We were essentially led to believe that Burke is the one to turn the valve, and it’s so perfect that it is actually McCaffrey. Especially after the way that he laid into Burke about him not pulling his weight. I’m also happy that it was McCaffrey because I haven’t liked him since we first met him, but I have liked Burke, so that’s good.
I honestly found his threat to Severide and Kidd so funny. I don’t know why he would even bother to threaten them because realistically, all it showed was that he is exactly who they thought he was and that he shouldn’t be a firefighter. Plus, Severide has never been one to play nice just so that he can have friends high up in the CFD. We always have Boden who can come back and vouch for him (which I do want to see).
I am so intrigued by Burke’s life. We finally got to know a little bit more about him and that his brother is in the hospital. We don’t know anything else other than that, but it gives so much perspective on why Burke is the way he is. I am looking forward to learning more about him.
Vasquez and Lizzie. I honestly don’t even know where to start with those two. It’s like they both want to have something real but also don’t want something real at the same time. I think eventually they will end up together, whether that be forever or just a short time. It will happen.
So much was packed into this episode, but that is one of the many reasons that I loved it so much. It felt like quite a nostalgic style episode to me. Hopefully, we get more episodes like this because this was such a great watch!
