Chicago Fire season 9, episode 3 recap: Smash Therapy

Looking toward the future

Seeing that Casey still can’t get his ex-wife off his mind, Brett makes up hers: “What happened between us can’t happen again. Ever.” She asks him for space, too, so Chicago Fire has just burned that down to the ground. He looks perplexed as she goes into the bathroom to compose herself.

Ambulance 61 is then called to a woman who’s been hit in the face by a drone. While they’re tending to what’s left of her nose, another drone pops up and Gianna whacks it out of the sky with a shovel. This is what she calls “smash therapy,” and she encourages Brett to beat the drone into tiny pieces while she finishes with their patient.

Severide lets his new friend back into the warehouse, where they survey what’s left of his dad’s car and everything else. “How the hell were you planning on getting out of here with a car?” Kelly points out, before they discover the vehicle is pretty much unharmed under a tarp. The heat blew out one tire, but otherwise, it’s a miracle. The man thanks him for his help.

Herrmann enlists Kylie and Gallo in the hunt for some paperwork because after his conversation, he’s got a theory about what caused the ladder malfunction. The next day, he shows Casey and Mouch recall paperwork—that model of truck has “intermittent issues,” and guess who’s to blame for them never being fixed? Our old nemesis Jerry Gorsch (an unseen Steven Boyer). Casey finally apologizes to Mouch, and Mouch appreciates Herrmann’s faith in him.

Casey also decides to unburden himself to Severide, telling him that “these last few months, I haven’t had any contact with Gabby or even thought much about her. Sylvie’s been the only one on my mind.” Brett, for her part, vents to Stella and encourages Gianna to go after Gallo.

The episode winds down at Molly’s, which is semi-awkward because almost everyone is there (including the guy who got free drinks for life in the last episode). As Casey shoots a look over at Brett, the show cuts to Severide helping his new acquaintance with his car. In return, the man offers to let him be the first one to drive it, and he ignores a call from Stella to do so.

What’s also important, though, is Chicago Fire gives us a nod to Connie, played by the late DuShon Monique Brown. Herrmann tells Kylie that Boden’s only assistant to last more than two months was Connie, because “she was tougher than him.” Thank you, show, for that important and sweet tribute.

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