Chicago Fire season 8, episode 14 takeaways: Shut It Down

What can Chicago Fire fans learn from Shut It Down? Look closer at this week’s episode with our Chicago Fire season 8, episode 14 takeaways.

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

“Shut It Down” featured Firehouse 51 looking for the source of multiple gas leaks across their district, worried that some sort of foul play was happening. Meanwhile, Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) got a letter from her birth mother after last week’s reveal that the woman was looking for her.

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 Casey a cat in a past life?

This has been discussed by Chicago Fire fans and even on the show before, but Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) seems to be a magnet for life-threatening experiences. There were two more scenes in “Shut It Down” where he could have been seriously injured, if not killed.

To be fair, part of both situations is that being the Captain, of course Casey is going to be the last one out of any given scene. If you’re a great leader, you put your team before yourself. Where it gets funny is the fact that something almost always seems to happen to him on the way out.

Only Casey could end up having the fiery moat caused by the gas leak decide it wants to turn him extra crispy and then, in true TV fashion, be saved at the literal last second. It really is starting to feel like the universe has it out for him, for no apparent reason.

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2) Was Brett kind of insufferable this week?

This wasn’t a good week for Brett. You can understand her being nervous and upset about getting an unexpected letter from her mother. But she was nearly histrionic about it, and also leaning way too much on Casey.

Brett’s a strong woman, yet she insists on giving Casey the letter and practically demanding that he throw it away. She even gets angry at him when he hasn’t done it! Why couldn’t she just throw it away herself? Why does he have to do it for her? And why is she constantly at a 10 the whole episode?

Maybe Chicago Fire thought that her freaking out was funny, but it wasn’t. It made her seem like somebody who couldn’t breathe, let alone make a decision that should have been hers rather than passing it off to somebody else. Let’s try this storyline again next week.

3) Why isn’t Daniel Kyri a series regular?

“Shut It Down” was a great episode for Firehouse 51’s two newest firefighters, which has us once again wondering about the future of Daniel Kyri, who plays Darren Ritter. Alberto Rosende was made a series regular a few months ago, and Rosende has been on the show much less time than Kyri. So why hasn’t Kyri gotten the same call?

It could be the actor isn’t available on that level; maybe he’s been busy with other projects. But if it’s that the producers aren’t sure about him, there’s nothing to be unsure about. He’s a great part of Chicago Fire, and hopefully he continues to get episodes like this one, if he doesn’t outright end up with a promotion.

(Other interesting fact: Alberto Rosende, despite being a regular now, was still credited as a guest star in this episode. Weird.)

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.