Chicago Fire season 8, episode 19 recap: Light Things Up
Social media mayhem
The police show up, but it’s just one patrol car, much to Herrmann’s annoyance. And Chicago Fire ups the ante by having those social media posts incite a small mob that marches up the driveway about a minute later. “This is our firehouse now,” one of them says before they all push their way inside. Boden’s words apparently mean don’t do anything, period, as our heroes just let these people walk in and continue to live stream stuff. The most that happens is Severide slaps a guy’s phone away and gets yelled at for it.
So what happens now? Boden is afraid of violence, injuries and subsequent bad press. He wants everyone to chill out until the people from headquarters arrive to talk to the mob that continues to grow. Seeing the continued numbers, Boden orders Herrmann to formally shut down the firehouse. In so doing, he starts talking with one of the protesters, who says he’s doing this for his kids. He says they tried phone calls and in-person visits, and even going to the newspapers, before it got this far. “When you took action,” he asks, “how’d you get them to hear you?”
“I lit a sofa on fire,” Herrmann admits.
Stella runs into Boden’s office with social media video of Severide’s cell phone incident. Steps behind her, Casey tells him that the person sent from headquarters is the tone-deaf Chief Carver. Carver explains that the closure of 87 was City Hall’s decision, and tells the cops to “do what you have to do.” He also calls the protesters “thugs,” which isn’t going to help anyone.
Despite to keep Carver from making the situation worse, Casey offers to use his old contacts to find the Alderman who made the call to close 87. Carver gives him 15 minutes. What is he, Jack Bauer? Actually, come to think of it, Jack Bauer would be very useful in this situation.
With that deadline in mind, Boden reconsiders Gallo and Ritter’s idea and asks them to use their social media to “show there are no sides to this…we all want the same thing.” And Foster, while she and Brett go through some applications for Stella’s mentoring program, suggests that her partner take some time off. But that’s about ten seconds before a cop sticks his head in and says there’s someone insisting on talking to Brett.
Yep, it’s Scott. Brett asks him why he looks so panicked. “I can’t take care of that little girl,” he replies. “I need you to take her.”
Chicago Fire cuts to the two of them in the firehouse, with Scott insisting that he and Julie never wanted kids, that he can’t raise the baby on his own, and that if Brett won’t do it then he’s going to give her up for adoption. Brett looks stricken as Scott storms off.
Elsewhere, Casey invites himself into the office of Alderman Rivas, and asks why he shut down Firehouse 87. Rivas passes the buck, saying it was a “mutual decision,” but when Casey threatens to give him bad press, he reconsiders. Notice how everyone seems to be the most worried about negative press?
Gallo and Ritter try to interview another one of the protesters (the “this is our firehouse” guy), who’s the traditional Negative Nancy. He got turned down by the fire academy and would rather stand there and rant about nepotism and laziness than put together a constructive argument.
While that uselessness goes on, Stella finds Cruz pacing around angrily; he’s seen one of the mob members climbing on Otis’s memorial like it’s a perch. That scene hurts, but what hurts more is Cruz being reminded that his best friend won’t be here for his wedding day. “He will be,” Stella says, trying to comfort Cruz.