Chicago Fire season 8, episode 13 takeaways: A Chicago Welcome
Chicago Fire put the focus on family during A Chicago Welcome. Look deeper into the episode with our Chicago Fire season 8, episode 13 takeaways.
The latest Chicago Fire was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, so what can One Chicago fans take away from this episode?
“A Chicago Welcome” told the terrible story of Tim Larson (wonderfully played by David Selby), as he lost his wife in a house fire just a month after they had moved to the city. As Firehouse 51 tried to rally around Tim, old nemesis Jerry Gorsch (recurring guest star Steven Boyer) also appeared to try and make amends—or were they just a means to an end?
SPOILER ALERT: This postmortem contains detailed spoilers from the latest Chicago Fire episode. If you haven’t seen the entire episode, you can catch up with our recap here.
Here are the biggest takeaways from this week’s Chicago Fire and why they’re moments you need to know. Let us know your thoughts about this episode in the comments at the end of this article.
1. Who wants to give Tim a hug?
The scene: Tim Larson (David Selby) explains that he and his wife were newcomers to Chicago, and as such, there’s no one to call after Gail dies in the fire that opens the episode. Tim is alone at the funeral home when it comes time for Gail’s service—until Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) walk in, followed by the rest of Firehouse 51 and several random citizens who have heard about Tim’s story through Casey’s press contacts. Tim is so stunned by this outpouring of support from total strangers that he openly sobs.
The takeaway: Normally, we’re talking up the performances of Chicago Fire‘s stars. But this episode’s most valuable player was clearly David Selby, the veteran actor whose long resume includes playing Quentin Collins in the original Dark Shadows and a more recent recurring role in FX’s Legion. He brought the audience so completely into Tim’s experience, losing not only his wife but the only person he had to lean on, and hopefully finding new people who would support him. It was terrible and beautiful at the same time.
Guest star roles are always tricky, because they have to be condensed into the one episode. We only meet them that hour, and so we don’t get to know a lot about them. They often don’t feel like completely fleshed-out characters. But even though Tim only appeared in this episode, he felt real. We learned enough about his journey to understand him, and we could identify with his pain. And most important of all, the way the episode ended gave us hope that he’s going to be okay. Maybe he’ll pop up again someday and we can check in with him; we’d certainly like that.