Chicago Fire season 8, episode 5 takeaways: Buckle Up

What can Chicago Fire fans learn from Buckle Up? Look closer at this week’s episode with our Chicago Fire season 8, episode 5 takeaways.

What did One Chicago fans learn from the latest Chicago Fire episode? Here’s what we took away from this week’s installment, “Buckle Up.”

“Buckle Up” featured Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) investigating when two car accidents looked disturbingly similar, and once again getting in over his head. Elsewhere, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) impressed at a firefighter conference.

If you missed any of this week’s episode or just want a refresher on the events that we’re about to discuss, you can catch up with our Chicago Fire recap.

Below are our takeaways from this week’s episode:

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1) Was the ending obvious?

The plot twist in “Buckle Up” was that the tow truck driver who appeared at the first accident scene was actually part of a concerted scam effort. But, if you looked closely at that scene, you probably knew that from moment one.

It was incredibly suspicious that the truck driver was lurking under a bridge just far enough away from the scene—and was just standing there doing nothing whatsoever. If he’d been an innocent bystander, he would have been moving, whether it was fixing a flat tire, getting on his phone, or just doing paperwork.

Instead, he was just staring blankly off, which was a huge giveaway that he was lurking around the crash before he was called over to help. Chicago Fire‘s plot twist wasn’t much of one at all.

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2) Severide should get his PI license

This was another Chicago Fire episode where Severide took matters into his own hands, did some investigating, and wound up cracking the case. It’s a plot device the show has gone to quite a few times, sometimes by pairing him with Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) and other times on his own. For a firefighter, Severide’s a pretty good cop.

One thing, though: did anyone else squeak when Severide told the scammers he was on to them? That’s like telling the murderer you know they’re guilty; it paints a giant target on your back. It was even more obvious with the four of them in a confined space—what stopped the truck driver and his buddy from taking a swing at Severide, or trying to smother their accomplice with a pillow when he walked out?

3) Brett’s awkward day

Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) gets bonus points for reuniting Chloe (Kristen Gutoskie) and Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso). But in a way, Chicago Fire using Brett for that storyline was also a bit awkward, since she’s also Cruz’s ex-girlfriend.

First, there was Cruz accidentally bringing up broken engagements to Brett (who’s run away from two potential husbands now), and then Brett acting as re-matchmaker to Chloe by asking her out for coffee. It made sense since Sylvie’s a romantic, but it also felt weird since she was so intent on fixing her own ex’s love life. This is one of those times canon makes a story point unintentionally a bit strange.

For the latest Chicago Fire season 8 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.