We’re back with Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 8, and the storytelling? Well, it’s still a chore.
Not one, but four of the stories from “A Man Possessed” irked me. And yes, I’ve earned the right to complain.
It’s shocking how far this show has fallen from its heyday. Why do I feel this way? Let’s take a look.
First of all, Kelly Severide and Tom Van Meter have the fire senses of bags of potatoes. (Annoyance #1)
I can smell a barbecue from blocks away, and we can even smell the smoke from Canadian fires all the way in the faraway land of Pittsburgh.
But Kelly and Tom? They can’t smell a fire that’s literally raging on two sides of them in an apartment building.
I’ve always believed smoke detectors are for nighttime. You can smell smoke when you’re awake, and I’d like to think that you can really smell it if it’s your job.
But not Kelly and Tom. That fire had worked its way up several floors before they heard alarms that finally alerted them to the danger at their doorstep.
I’m sorry, but that story is ridiculously embarrassing. It’s even worse that this could be what takes out Van Meter.
I would rather have seen them cut him because of budget cuts (and, good golly, that is another storyline I want to punch in the face).
And I get that kids hate teachers. But when did it ever become acceptable to make threats against them?
Posting actual threats on social media goes beyond venting. It’s actionable, especially when someone makes good on the threat. It means every kid has to go into protection mode.
Sheesh. What a mess the kids in this fictional Chicago are. Other than Isiaha, every kid in Chicago seems like a basket case.
Storytelling devices are usually that foster kids are nightmares. But in this case, it’s every other kid in the city who has issues. Isaiah is a literal dream of a kid, while kids with families are a mess.
From smirking (but very pretty) Lily to the budding filmmaker Malcolm, they are all teetering on the edge of common sense and the common good.
If one kid might have done the deed, more were complicit in either hiding the suspect or just sitting on what turned out to be explosive behavior.
Just because it was Wyatt’s father, not Wyatt himself or one of his friends, who set fire to Mr. Cole’s place doesn’t mean the kids couldn’t have done something to stop it.
Parents get just as wrapped up in the shenanigans as kids, and sometimes more. They feel things so deeply that they get caught up in bad behavior that hurts rather than helps kids.
What’s really weird about this whole story is how they’re painting Kelly as “A Man Possessed,” even going so far as to boot him off the arson investigation.
He’s the last arson fighter standing, from what we’ve seen. There are probably more people on Van Meter’s team, but if Severide has to be called in so often, they can’t be that good.
In my opinion, you’d want someone super passionate about the investigation to be running it. Severide will always find an answer. That’s why we love him.
But they’re doing something weird with Severide this time out, which was obvious when Stella whined to Mouch that he’s “too wrapped up” in the case to even keep her in the loop. He’s always like that when investigating arson.
This is the same Stella who used some kind of magic carpet to get from Cleveland to Chicago when she got wind of the fire. (Annoyance #2) Kelly was still getting the news about Van Meter’s health, and Stella was already home.
Give the guy some time to wrap his head around it, why don’t you? He was almost burned to death, too.
Meanwhile, it’s a five-hour drive from Cleveland to Chicago, and the trip would be longer if they flew (security is a drag). How did she get there before Kelly had even had a chance to change?
Little things like that can really suck the life out of a story. I’d like at least a little reality to go with my drama.
Speaking of drama, we also had the “Mouch and Engine 51 are getting cut” storyline. (Annoyance #3)
Thanks to a Redditor, I understand Engine is responsible for putting water on the fire. Water on the fire. What is the point of a firehouse that can’t, you know, put out fires?
And even worse, the person behind the request? The Mayor’s office. The mayor we have never seen, with a chief of staff who is romantically involved with 51’s captain.
Who thought this story was a good idea, especially on the wings of “winning the war” at the expense of Dom Pascal’s current team, hoping he can sidle with her to do more for the city?
Why not just ask him instead of taking his future into your hands? What a concept. Does Annette really dig Pascal romantically or not? Is she using him for her own purposes, as he said, and trying to blind him to it with a little romance?
Now, for the umpeenth time, Mouch is forced to fight for his job, scouring past performance reviews and talking to legal counsel. But this time, part of it is due to someone who has professional and personal hots for Pascal.
How demeaning.
It’s time for Mouch and Herrmann to get storylines that speak to their tenure and expertise, having lasted decades in the CFD. Anything else is unacceptable at this point.
Then we have the romantic interlude. Maybe. Probably. Oh no, not again.
Didn’t anyone read Jasmine’s article about letting Violet stay single for a while? OK, maybe Violet’s not into Vasquez, but the writing sure seems to be on the wall. (Annoyance #4)
He’s “unique”? WTF does that mean?
Even if they’re not setting them up for a romantic entanglement, they’re doing the fancy footwork to make it seem like they are, which is just as bad.
Any time you see Violet with her hair curled, you know it’s for more than a night at Molly’s.
One good thing I can say about Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 8 is that it went quickly. The story generally went nowhere, but it got there fast.
The case isn’t solved. We don’t know if Van Meter will survive. We don’t know who is coming on board to float with Violet and Novak. And Isaiah didn’t get to talk to his mom’s physician team in Cleveland.
There sure is a lot more we don’t know than we do. But we do have another episode coming, so there’s that.
What did you think of “A Man Possessed”? Is this Chicago Fire at its best, its worst, or somewhere in between?
Vote in our poll below, and drop into the comments to let ’em rip.
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