Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 9 Review: Fighting is At Least Talking

Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 9 ‘Crime of Passion‘ is a somewhat disjointed episode that sees Kelly continue with the Van Meter investigation (with the help of Cruz), while the rest of Firehouse 51 tries to help Mouch keep his job. It’s not a terrible hour, but as sometimes happens when Severide is busy doing OFI stuff, the pieces of the puzzle don’t truly come together as well as they should.

This show is always best when Stella and Kelly deal with problems together, and though they’re not completely apart this episode, we don’t get time to sit with them and what’s happening with Isaiah because Severide is still busy investigating what happened to Van Meter. And when we do get time with them, they’re not seeing eye to eye. Having Cruz with Severide helps ground the storylines a little bit, but not fully. Kelly and Stella still need to talk.

And then there’s the Mouch, who is trying everything he can to keep his job. But am I the only one who thinks it’s futile? Or that the only way forward is for Pascal to make some sort of deal with the devil? We’ll see where this storyline is going, but I can’t imagine Firehouse 51 or this show without Mouch, and right now, I don’t know how we keep him.

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FAMILY

Stella and Kelly have been great foster parents for Isaiah, and part of being a great foster parent is understanding that you’re a temporary solution. In this, it seems like the two of them are perfectly in sync. They’ve cared for Isaiah, they’ve helped him get his mom the best care possible, and now they have to let him go. Because that’s what’s best for him.

That, of course, doesn’t erase what Stella and Kelly have come to mean to Isaiah, or the little family unit that they’ve formed. If Firehouse 51 has taught us anything, it’s the power of found family, and Isaiah can always be part of that. But he’s not Stella and Kelly’s kid. He’s got a mom.

Now the question becomes, do Kelly and Stella still want a family? And can they take the next step towards having one without addressing the elephant in the room that is Stella’s miscarriage? Since this is a TV show, the answer is probably no. It should be no. And honestly, the two of them having an honest conversation about what they lost and what they want is long overdue. One that isn’t about recriminations, though I’ll be honest, even the fight feels like a step forward.

Because, in the moment, I understand that Isaiah was a great distraction. He needed them, and his presence allowed them to ignore the issue, at least for a bit. But you can only avoid an issue this big for so long. We need Stella to verbalize what she wants, whether that is still adoption or to try to get pregnant again. We need both Stella and Kelly to open up about how they felt about the miscarriage. And we need them to have a plan for what their family looks like going forward, one they can make together.

Tick-tock.

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HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE VASQUEZ?

If there was one thing we didn’t need from Vasquez, it was for him to end up in the middle of a love triangle between Violet and Lizzy. Not just because it feels like Violet should really not be dating anyone in the firehouse for a while, but also because the way it’s being framed doesn’t really give us much about Lizzy. If he’s going to be in the middle of the two of them, it should at least be advancing the plot for the one character we don’t know all that much about yet.

But it’s also just… the closest female friendship we have on the show, and we’re going to throw a new guy in the middle of it? It’s been 0.2 seconds since Carver! And Lizzy is still flirting with Dr. Frost, too. If anything, Vasquez made more sense as a possible love interest for Lizzy, albeit one that would take a bit to materialize. Instead, we’re stuck with… whatever this is.

Sure, Chicago Fire typically likes to have a secondary couple, and right now we only have Stella and Kelly, who are solid, so there’s no relationship drama there (and we don’t want any, leave them alone). But that can be achieved without a love triangle that could hurt Violet and Lizzy’s friendship. Because that’s the most important thing for us. Who cares who ends up with Vasquez?

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Things I think I think:

• Kelly, go home.
• Also, Van Meter has family!
• Okay, what’s the Hail Mary for Mouch? Does Pascal have to play nice with Annabeth Gish?
• “No idea. We don’t keep in touch.” Yes, this is going to come back to bite us. All of us.
• Oh, Isaiah’s mom is awake! I love how happy Stella is. I don’t think she realizes how hard it is going to be for her when he leaves, though.
• Budget cuts are so bad that it’s only Stella and Vasquez at this call, lol
• Pascal is fighting dirty. I like it.
• “All bets are off.”
• Of course, he didn’t eat, Joe. You know him.
• “I’m the brains of this whole operation. You need me.” I’VE MISSED THEIR FRIENDSHIP.
• I like how Violet sees right through her partner.
• Okay, at least Kelly and Stella are still talking about things.
• “We’ll figure this out.”
• I’m glad Violet asked Lizzy about Vasquez.
• Stella is so good with Isaiah.
• “Everything that I am doing here, I’m doing it alone.”
• Look, this is as close as we’ve gotten to Stella and Kelly expressing feelings in a while, so I’ll take it.
• “See you soon, bud.” I’m not crying, you are.
• “We loved every minute of it.” Okay, now TALK.
• Yeah, Kelly, you’re in the doghouse.
• Okay, so this is setup for a talk, right? Right?
• I hate Violet and Vasquez.
• Taylor Kinney kinda broke me in that last scene.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 9 ‘Crime of Passion’? Share with us in the comments below! And if you have your own opinion on the show, leave a review/rating on our Chicago Fire hub!

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