Last night’s Chicago Fire (Season 6 Episode 3) was the most entertaining episode of the NBC hit show in a really long time. Don’t get me wrong, I love this show, but lately there was kind of a set formula to which the episodes went by.
Random event happens, things are slow for half of the episode, and then something major happens and things finally get intense. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it can get a little boring sometimes.
But last night’s “An Even Bigger Surprise” had everything that made me fall in love with this show in the first place — it had drama, intrigue, a really, really interesting call, but it was also funny as hell, and that balance is what it’s all about. From the annoying new chief to Mouch planning a surprise birthday party for Joe, I enjoyed every second of it.
But let’s break this baby down, shall we?
Hope
I totally knew there was something up with this girl. From the moment she stepped into Firehouse 51, she gave off a bad news vibe right away. I really despised the way she looked at Sylvie, envy so clear in her eyes, and I knew she was up to something. Somehow, she managed to rope her way into 51, and consequently into Brett’s life, and I can only see this ending badly.
She got what she wanted, and managed to hook up with Severide. Kidd totally saw her for what she was — even if it was clouded by a wee bit of jealously. But the biggest surprise of them all was that she somehow managed to score a job at 51, thus ensuring that she stays in Chicago permanently.
The look on Sylvie’s face said everything, and she was most definitely not happy that Hope went behind her back and did everything she could to stay in town. If she’s bunking with Sylvie, I sure as hell hope she gets her own place.
And then, as if things weren’t bad enough, Connie found out that Hope actually stole ten thousand dollars from her last boss, so here’s hoping that she is not planning to do this again. Or even worse, pin it on our sweet Sylvie.
God, I really, really don’t like her. Kudos to Eloise Mumford, who has been doing her job as the hateful friend exceedingly well.
The new chief
Chief Boden had to teach a class at the academy that morning, so another Chief went in to sub for him for a few hours. The problem, though, was that this new Chief was a complete pain in the ass. It start out with him wanting everyone to do menial tasks that were not on schedule, annoying everyone to no end, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Casey immediately got on his bad side when he questioned the tasks, and the guy made it his life’s mission to go after our beloved Matt and dig up any and all dirt on him. When Severide hears that this dude was actually on the short list to be the next Commissioner, which could absolutely ruin Casey’s career if he really decided to go after him, we all started to actually worry.
Then, as if going after Matt wasn’t bad enough, he sets his sight on Dawson and Brett, and reprimands them for making a judgement call during one of their runs, that ended up saving two lives. But the guy is all about protocol, so he takes them out of service and makes them fill out an incident report, which just pisses Dawson (and Casey) even more.
And then later, during a call that had a guy trying to jump off a building, Casey did an absolutely fantastic job with an incredible save, but the Chief was still on his case about it. So Matt spends the rest of his shift thinking that he’s done for, and that his career is over, until Chief Boden finally returns and calls him up to his office.
He goes in, thinking that this is it, he’s about to get fired, but when he gets there, the annoying Chief actually starts praising him, and says that he did an outstanding job. Casey, Dawson and Severide are just staring at him like he’s just grown a second head, but the biggest surprise was still coming.
The pain in the ass Chief had decided to recommend a meritorious promotion, so now Lieutenant Casey is Captain Casey.
We did not see that coming and my jaw is still on the floor.
Mouch’s surprise
It seems that now that he has had a very close encounter with death, Mouch is living life to the fullest. So in order to thank Joe for all his support during his recovery, he planned a surprise birthday party for him. But that wasn’t the actual surprise. Mouch flew in Joe’s little brother Leon, who had run away from Chicago to escape his former gang years ago.
So the whole thing was obviously supposed to be a surprise, but Mouch nearly got caught so many times, that it just made for some hilarious moments, as they tried to hide Leon in the Firehouse.
In the end, the joke was on Mouch, because Joe figured it out and roped Leon into turning the tables on his friend. This entire surprise birthday party was as entertaining as it was hilarious, and that’s exactly why I love this show. And I missed seeing them party at Molly’s too.
Chicago Fire returns with an all new episode next Thursday, October 19, at 10/9C on NBC.