Chicago Fire Season 4 Episode 12 Review: “Not Everyone Makes It”

This week on Chicago Fire, Herrmann and Chili have to look their losses straight in the face. Whether or not they can move on in a healthy way, time will tell.

Freddie’s trial arrives and Herrmann is forced to face what happened to him. He testifies in court against Freddie, describing the attack in excruciating detail. Freddie is no longer a struggling kid to Herrmann, just another street thug. He hopes that this is where it ends, but that isn’t happening. Herrmann gets a call from Freddie’s father who is a convicted murderer. He calls his on his son’s behalf wanting a face-to-face. Curiosity gets the better of Herrmann, so he pays a visit to Freddie’s father in prison. His father doesn’t ask Herrmann to change Freddie’s circumstances, it’s too late for that regardless. What he does ask of Herrmann is to forgive Freddie. If anything, this request seems even more impossible to Herrmann.

If it was just his life, Herrmann probably wouldn’t hesitate. But his life is tied to his wife, his children, and his firehouse family. Herrmann always thinks about others first, and his anger with what Freddie did is that it could have left the people he loved alone. More than that, Herrmann is so good at heart, he is angry that Freddie’s actions took his faith away, even if for a moment. This is Herrmann though, and he always believes in people. He asks the judge for leniency so that both he and Freddie can begin to heal.

Severide spends the night with the federal agent he helped last week (and later scoffs at Mouch’s suggestion that he give monogamy a try). His lady friend asks him to sign an affadavid regarding the circumstances of their search and the explosive materials they found. Severide refuses to sign his name to it unless he is more informed about the circumstances of the case. She tells him what she can, off the record, then asks him back to her hotel to sign the document. It occurs to me that Severide’s longest relationship was with a lesbian.

Casey’s protective instincts kick in when he gets a call that the boy he rescued from the tornado last week is missing. Casey ends up finding the boy in tears in the remnants of his house, grieving his father. When Casey brings the boy back to his mother at the shelter he finds out that the shelter is at risk of being shut down. The district alderman asks Casey to come to a press conference to rally funds. Casey is caught off-guard, but he steps up and gives a good speech which makes a difference in the fundraising. Unfortunately Casey gets word that the shelter is still closing. Casey realizes he has been duped into pulling in funds for a crooked alderman who is keeping the funds for himself. I don’t see Casey dropping this.

Armed with the knowledge of what happened to Chili’s sister, Boden is better prepared to handle Chili’s situation. He tries to be sympathetic to her grief, but he can’t ignore the fact that she nearly killed a patient and is insisting that she is fine. Chili gets one more chance and then she’s out. Furious that Brett told Boden about her mistake, Chili’s temperament only worsens. On a bad call a patient attacks Brett and Chili saves her life by knocking the guy out. Brett is grateful so agrees not to say anything. Dawson sets Chili straight on her attitude, and Chili is finally able to open up to her friends. Chili explains the circumstances of her sister’s death and makes peace with the girls. Chili’s grief runs too deep though, and Dawson and Brett are still worried that the worst is yet to come.

Do you think Chili will continue to spiral?