Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 10 Review: The Wrong Guy

Never, ever trust a floater at Firehouse 51. 

In this case, I’m not talking about the new paramedic that Violet hopes will become her partner full-time. It’s the new floater on Truck 51. On Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 10, “The Wrong Guy,” the new floater, Jack Damon, is just a little too eager and a little too obsessed with Severide and Firehouse 51 in general. 

He does, however, seem good at his job, and he makes a big move to help Stella after a call. It’s the episode’s one major call that happens near the beginning, where they work to save the driver of a car that has crashed through the wall of the building — but not on the first floor.

So the car is just hanging there, making this a dangerous task for our firefighters.  

The scene is done well, but it could have gotten a little more attention. There are a lot of moving pieces, and with Severide on one side and Stella on the other, there’s potential for more suspense and more detail. 

Still, it’s a hold-your-breath kind of scene that results in Stella nearly falling to the ground. She doesn’t, though. The crew gets the driver out safe and Stella hoists herself back up on that ladder without much of an issue.

She’s then approached by a news crew for an interview but has no interest. I’m not sure how much I buy that she’d hand the interview off to the floater instead of, say, Carter, but this is a key point in the story.

The reporter and Damon connect, and the reporter pushes Damon to try to get Stella to do an interview. 

Meanwhile, Stella has learned that the CFD is pulling funding from her Girls on Fire program, and Damon sees the obvious solution. He all but has the news crew ambush Stella at the firehouse, but gives her the explanation quickly and brings in some of her girls. 

The interview becomes focused not just on Stella’s incredible work during that call but on statistics about female firefighters and what the Girls on Fire program is doing to change things.

It’s a satisfying way to end the episode, and Damon’s motives seem genuine, no matter how suspicious he’s been acting. 

Shortly after, though, Ritter hears Damon on a phone call that proves otherwise. There’s no telling what he’s there for, and if whatever it is he’s hiding is actually malicious or not, but it’s he’s definitely up to something. 

This could be a good storyline for Chicago Fire if it weren’t so darn predictable. Oh, really? Another newcomer to the firehouse that can’t be trusted?

We’ve seen this so many times that I’d be more surprised to have someone come in as a floater who we could trust. 

Speaking of floaters, Violet has become dead set on getting Novak to stay on as her partner, and with good reason. She’d balance Violet well because of how good she is with people. 

Novak proves that once again on a call, this time with a girl who’s had an unfortunate accident with a metal straw — an accident that feels timely considering the Stanley Cup craze. I don’t know about you, but I’ll stick to standard water bottles after seeing this.

Violet sees it as a good partnership even though the potential for them to be good friends probably isn’t there. They’re too different. But when Severide — as ranking officer at the moment — offers her the permanent gig, she turns it down. She’d rather be a floater.

That certainly fits her personality, but the case Violet makes to her is a good one, and I’m curious to see how that will shake out.

Meanwhile, the episode’s most interesting storyline involves Cruz. That fact in itself is a good thing, and what happens gives Cruz the chance to show a range of emotions and delve a bit deeper into his character. 

It’s hauntingly reminiscent, at first, of when Casey and Gabby lost Louie. A family member has reached out and wants to spend time with Javi, and it’s understood that the family member could decide to contest the adoption and take custody.

Javi’s “uncle” seems friendly enough at first, but he turns on Joe quickly, threatening to take Javi away unless Joe pays him $50,000.

The fact that the social worker didn’t catch the fact that this wasn’t a real family member before connecting him with Javi is concerning, but maybe not unrealistic. Either way, it’s a relief that Joe figures it out as quickly as he does.

Joe gets some help from Severide and Chicago P.D. to set up a trap for the fake uncle, which works out perfectly. My complaint here, though, is we’ve yet again missed an opportunity to bring in characters we know from Chicago P.D.

Especially considering the connections they have with those characters, it’s almost unbelievable that the cops involved in this are instead people we’ve never even laid eyes on. It’s just unfortunate that with the way these shows used to be so interwoven that those opportunities have been forfeited so many times this season.

The happy ending here isn’t the fake uncle getting caught, though. It’s the way Javi responds to the news that this wasn’t a real family member.

He accepts it and tells Joe he has all the family he needs in them, and it’s a deeply emotional moment that Joe Minoso plays really well. Again, it’s just nice to see such a significant storyline for him at this point in the season.

Other thoughts:

• Poor Severide does not seem to enjoy being ranking officer. If Casey were still around, he’d be the one taking that on instead. It does seem to open up some questions, though, and I think we as the audience could use a refresher as to how everyone’s ranks work at the firehouse, especially since Boden being there is a bit of an exception. 
• I do enjoy seeing Herrmann tackle parenting issues, and the tracking bit is definitely a timely one to consider. What’s better is how Cindy catches him when she’s carrying around her daughter’s phone. It’s just a fun little moment.
• Violet and Carver’s dynamic continues to work well, even in the small moments and flirtations.

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!