Chicago Fire 10×01 “Mayday” is about family. Not the family we are born with, though the show is in no way trying to put that down. Not everyone gets the luck of the draw regarding blood relatives, however, and if Chicago Fire understands something, it’s that even if you aren’t blessed with a family by birth, that doesn’t mean you never get to have a family. You can find your people. You can make your own family. And family …family is forever.
That’s what this show is about, and what this group of people have become. Family. It’s why the idea of change seems so worrisome. When you have found your people, when you feel like you finally belong, you just want to hold onto that. You never want it to change. Change is scary. No, change is downright frightening.
But change doesn’t always have to be bad. At some point, you gotta take a leap of faith and trust that the people who love you will love you throughout everything. That they will love you no matter where you are. Yes, this firehouse is a family, but family doesn’t end within those walls. Family is in the heart. And though other things might change, that doesn’t have to.
So, let’s touch a little on the emotions of Chicago Fire 10×01 “Mayday” as we discuss the ships, the moments that make a family, and what could be coming next:
UNLESS YOU WANT TO WATCH THE GAME?
The best thing about the moment in time we’re living with Stellaride is how casual the affection is, how much surety there is to their love. They’re not trying to prove anything, to each other, or to the world. They are just two people who love each other, and want to enjoy that, period. This, of course, doesn’t mean there won’t be obstacles, or people who doubt their love, or whether they can make it work (we’re just gonna ignore the issues you might cause for now, Mama Severide), but deep down, Stella and Kelly are bigger than those issues.
For another couple the issue to be discussed at the end of the day, once they’re finally together, would have been the risks Severide took, risks which could have cost him his life. But that’s not who these two are. They are one and the same in that, and they know that they would do anything to protect their family. Which is why that moment together is about more, it’s about affirming their love for each other. It’s about the way they’ve chosen to live.
Giving their all, in every moment. Putting everything on the line. And loving each other out loud, because we only have one life, and we don’t know when that life ends. So better enjoy the time you got with the people you love now, while you’re still around. And if that means Kelly threw that remote way harder than he needed to, well, so be it.
THE MOST OBVIOUS TO EVER OBVIOUS
In comparison, Matt and Sylvie seem to be trying to keep their relationship low-key, at least for now, with hilarious results, as absolutely everyone sees through them. We aren’t privy to the reasons why they were trying to keep their relationship a secret, but from the way they reacted to the knowledge that they weren’t exactly being stealth, it feels to me like it wasn’t about not being sure, or even about being worried about the reaction from the rest of their firehouse family, it was mostly about taking the time to be …them.
New relationships are hard, even when you’ve known each other for a while. And sometimes you just want to stay in a little bubble of your own making, to enjoy it, to find your footing as part of a twosome. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s the kind of mature decision that underscores the seriousness of a relationship. With the knowledge out in the open now, though, I anticipate we’ll get a lot more of the casual intimacy the beginning of a relationship is known for.
Well, that, and hopefully some good old-fashioned ribbing. Come on, these two deserve it at this point. Did they really think they were fooling anyone?
THE TRIO
Herrmann asks it as a joke, but the truth is, Violet, Gallo and Ritter are indeed almost always together, unless they’re in the middle of a call. And even then, they sort of gravitate towards each other. The show is playing up the dynamics between Violet and Gallo a lot, but I have this hope that they don’t intend to go in any long-term romantic relationship with them anytime soon. Not because I particularly dislike them, but because I like the dynamics as they are, and Violet is a character I would like to explore much more deeply outside of a relationship, before we even consider putting her in one.
My only worry is that, so far, all of their storylines have been mostly light. More often than not, it works, especially when serious stuff is going on around them. But that doesn’t mean that, at some point, these three shouldn’t face more serious issues, lest they become the afterthoughts in a show that has always done such a great job of giving everyone their due.
SOMEONE GIVE JOE CRUZ A HUG
Chicago Fire 10×01 “Mayday” wasn’t easy on Joe Cruz. First, he almost died. Then he had to grappled with the fac that he almost died, plus the obvious PTSD leftover from that near-death experience, which he is trying to just push through, something we know never, ever works. And then there’s the baby, an added beautiful stress to his life. Because the truth is, parenthood is both a blessing and, in many ways, the most worrisome endeavor you can attempt. Even if your job implies putting your life in danger every day.
But this episode once again reinforces the idea that Joe isn’t alone. Severide risks his life to save Joe, and Herrmann literally plans the perfect baby shower, just because he knows it’ll make Joe and Chloe happy, and almost as importantly, it’ll alleviate their mounting stress. This seems like just a nice thing family does for family, but I also think it’s meant to remind us that Joe has people. And he’s going to need those people if he wants to get over his clear issues.
Sometimes you can push through things, and sometimes you can’t. And the most mature thing you can do is accept when the second one is true, and act accordingly. I think Joe Cruz’s time will come, and for his family – the firehouse one, and the one he and Chloe are starting, I hope he makes the right choice.
STRONG ENOUGH TO HOLD
The themes of family are handled masterfully this episode, even if truly the only two people involved in this conversation that turns into a message for everyone, are Boden and Stella. For Stella, Boden is responsible for the family she has. He created the environment that has made this group a family, and Stella cannot imagine that changing. She doesn’t want to. Change, as I said before, is scary. And for Stella, who, as she herself shares, “did not grow up in a loving, happy house,” change is usually a bad thing.
For a moment there, the show hinted at maybe Boden changing his mind, or changing the way things are done, to ally’s Stella’s fears, but in the end, I’m glad they didn’t. I won’t necessarily be glad to see less of Boden, if that ends up being the case, but I am happy that the message of this episode was about having faith. Faith in the people you love, faith in the bonds you’ve created.
“We will always be a family,” Boden tells Stella. “No matter where any of us go.” And this is meant to reassure not just Stella, but viewers. The status quo of this show has changed, but somehow Chicago Fire has become, if possible, a stronger show for it. And though Boden won’t be around every day, and things might change because of it …that doesn’t mean these people will stop being a family.
I also feel this last moment is sending a message about Stella. We all know Stella is due to get a placement somewhere else, and I’ve been convinced for a while that the show was going to find a way to keep her around. I still think, long-term, they will, but perhaps first they’re going to let her go out and spread her wings. Go out and prove to herself that she can do this job, and that the people who love her …well, they will love her even if they don’t see her every second of every day.
“Each change is a little shift in the foundation,” Boden tells both Stella and us. “We just have to trust that what we built up here is strong enough to hold.”
I don’t know about you, but I’d say it definitely is. That’s the point. That’s why we’re still here, ten years later.
Things I think I think:
- I should have known by the previously on we were in for some PAIN to start with. I mean, realistically, I knew, but, like …. I didn’t know.
- Seeing Stella Kidd suffer hurts ME.
- I love that Casey was basically like, okay, I’m going in. It was unlikely he could do anything, but that’s Casey for you. That’s family for you.
- The look that passed between Stella and Matt as he promises he’ll get Severide? We need more of these two.
- Look, I’ll take more of Stella with everyone, more of Stella is always great, I say.
- Will I complain about seeing Crockett? Not one bit.
- Chloe taking Sylvie’s word over Joe’s is …well, on point. He’d lie.
- Gratuitous Brettsey makeout scene, followed by a beautiful Stellaride scene …shippers being fed this week.
- “Can you imagine how lame our wedding would have been if you’d drowned?”
- Too soon, Stella.
- Is anyone shocked Boden got the job? Anyone?
- The little moment with the Otis memorial was kinda nice.
- What I want to know is how Stella didn’t crack as she and Mouch were pranking Cruz. I would have laughed.
- The way Violet tells Gallo “you LIGHT them ON FIRE,” is forever seared in my brain.
- I actually really enjoy this dynamic they have now, can we not go full on romance there for like, a while?
- “He was either gonna come up with you, or not at all.” It’s okay, I’m not EMOTIONAL or anything.
- The way Sylvie handled that call that seemed like it could have escalated badly? I know she was dealing with the Queen, but that was Queen shit.
- No, Sylvie, you cannot make a low-key exit.
- “Do they not realize we all know they’re together?”/”How could we not know?”/”We knew a year before they did.”
- Family.
- My love for Stella Kidd has been well established, but like …Miranda at Molly’s? I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
- I like the storyline they’re setting up with Sylvie and this idea of the “frequent fliers.” Not sure where it’s going yet, but I like that she’s getting a storyline like this that’s her own.
- So, Severide’s mom sucks. Big shock.
- We were all Sylvie as Matt was playing hero on that roof.
- “I had it all under control, I promise.”/”Well, I’d still like you to never, ever do that again.”
- Casey’s reaction to the idea that everyone knows is to just …enjoy themselves in public.
- Look, that was a perfect baby shower. I said what I said.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago Fire 10×01 “Mayday”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.