Chicago Fire season 8, episode 2 recap: A Real Shot In The Arm

Meet Blake Gallo

Another part of Chicago Fire‘s intense opener was the insane stunt a new recruit pulled during a rescue. That new recruit was Engine 90’s Blake Gallo, and the stunt he pulled? Well, that was scaling up the apartment complex to catch a mover whose life was literally hanging in the balance.

While Gallo turned into Spiderman, the rest of Firehouse 51 watched in awe for a moment at the sheer gall he had. After a beat, Casey and Severide sprang into action and got the ladder up to Gallo’s position so they could assist him with the rescue. The trio managed to get the rogue mover down to safety, and Gallo’s first impression on Casey and Severide was a positive one. Too bad their chief didn’t feel the same way.

See, Boden saw Gallo’s daredevil antics as foolish, and he told Casey just as much when he asked why Boden was hesitant to sign off on Gallo coming over to 51. “I have just buried a firefighter,” Wallace abruptly stated. “I’m not going to bury another one.”

Despite Boden’s initial brush-off, Matt was determined to get him to change his mind. The perfect opportunity came at Molly’s (where else?) when he, along with Severide, found Gallo sitting at a table. The three chatted, and the two leaders heard Gallo’s reasoning behind his brash actions.

Blake told Matt and Kelly that he did what he did because when he “did the mental calculus” he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if something happened to that man, and he had done nothing to stop it.

Matt immediately agreed with him, but what was interesting was Kelly’s reaction. He warned Blake that while it was a good move, it was also a stupid one that could have gotten him killed. Of course, Kelly’s attitude was slightly jaded after his lakeside afternoon with his girlfriend, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) turned into a rescue mission when a boy got caught underneath a boat.

That conversation gave Matt an idea though: show Boden who Gallo was as a firefighter. He did this by dropping off Blake’s file in the chief’s office. While a look through gave Boden reason to reconsider, it was Gallo’s heartfelt speech that won him over.

Gallo told Boden, Casey, and Severide that he knew coming into 51 was special, because the person whose place he would take was special. He made sure that they knew he did not take Otis’ legacy lightly; and that he would do everything in the spirit and celebration of his memory.