Chicago Fire season 8, episode 17 recap: Protect A Child

Warehouse rescue

Stella struggles to find a sponsor, getting called a “schemer” over breakfast (that she paid for, of course) while Brett brings Julie to meet the realtor and winds up getting asked out. When Brett waffles on accepting the offer, Julie insists that she’s “hung up on Matt.” Who is visiting Jenni in the hospital…at the same time that the DCFS rep shows up to inform her that Noah is being taken away by the state. Thus Chicago Fire gives us the scene of Noah crying for his mom and vice versa.

Casey and Gallo update Boden, who tells them to focus on doing their jobs, while Severide suggests that Stella call Wendy Seager (guest star Andy Allo) from the Office of Fire Investigation, and Brett tells everyone else about her getting propositioned…right after she watches Casey walk by, of course. All of these little pieces lead up to our second call of the night, which is a rescue in which a forklift has tipped over on a poor warehouse employee. And then the shelves start falling, which only makes it worse.

Herrmann devises a plan to extract the now-unconscious worker, who is rushed to Chicago Med while his stunned colleagues look on. This sparks something in Casey, who tells Stella that he has a stop to make before they return to Firehouse 51.

He and Gallo visit the DCFS rep at her office and explain about the warehouse call. Casey explains that a whole room of able-bodied warehouse workers couldn’t help their colleague, proving that Noah wasn’t in any more danger than anyone else who’s in a fire. “Character’s defined by action,” he says. “That woman put being a mother over everything, including her own safety.” He also explains about Louie, and urges her to tear up her report and reunite Jenni and Noah.

Chicago Fire cuts back to Firehouse 51, where Herrmann’s office has burned down, thanks to his use of a plastic shower curtain as a wall. So now he gets to go to “remedial fire responsibility training.” And Seager drops by to see Stella, becoming immediately enthusiastic about her idea. She agrees to be Stella’s co-sponsor: “Whatever you need, sign me up.”

The episode ends with Brett taking a follow-up call from Nicholas, the realtor. He deserves an answer to his date offer. Unfortunately for him, she says she’s “not ready” and has some things to sort out. And because Chicago Fire cuts away from her to show Casey again, we can guess what those things are. Brett watches Casey leave, and he drives to the hospital to see Noah reunited with his mother. He walks back into the elevator without saying a word. All’s well that ends well?

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