Chicago Fire season 9, episode 9 recap: Double Red

This week’s Chicago Fire was full of bumps, bruises and other maladies, but nothing too out of the ordinary for One Chicago’s firefights and paramedics.

Wednesday’s episode “Double Red” saw Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) suffer a head injury and deal with the consequences, while also being reunited with his sister for the first time in several seasons.

Meanwhile, four members of Firehouse 51 went off for a training day that reunited Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) with his ex-girlfriend in front of his current “casual” girlfriend Gianna Mackey (Adriyan Rae).

Here’s what happened in the latest Chicago Fire episode for each of your favorite characters, starting with:

Chicago Fire season 9, episode 9 recap

Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) tells Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) that she got “something” for their apartment but refuses to say what, which isn’t a good sign. Meanwhile, Chief Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) tells his newest team members that they all need to report to Firehouse 33 for training, and so does Mouch (Christian Stolte) because he never took said class five years earlier.

Elsewhere, Casey runs into Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and tells her that he appreciates her calling him out for his behavior in the previous episode. But Brett is not thrilled, and even less happy about Mackey’s replacement Dave Diggins. He, on the other hand, is enthusiastic about working with her.

Chicago Fire brings everyone out to an accident scene involving a drunk rideshare driver. When Casey tries to forcibly turn the car’s engine off, he gets dragged down the street until he’s thrown from the vehicle. The driver is promptly arrested, while Stella tells Casey that he’s got a nice bump on the head; he insists he’s fine (which means he isn’t).

There’s a brief cut to Firehouse 33 where Gallo realizes one of the other people in the class is the other paramedic he used to date, and where Mouch acts like he’s the second instructor.

But then we go back to the main story as Brett wonders why Diggins is being so nice to her. He says he applied to be a Big Buddy and needs a reference. While she remains skeptical of the “new him,” Severide checks on Casey—and asks if he knows what Stella bought. “I don’t deal well with change,” he admits. Casey offers to move out if it’s time, but Severide repeats that he hates change.

Casey eventually wanders into the bathroom where Chicago Fire makes clear that he’s not okay with plenty of close-up shots, off-kilter camera angles and of course, blurs. He emerges and is lost when Boden talks to him, but happy when his sister Christie (Nicole Forester) reappears for the first time since season 3. Christie tells him their uncle Jake left a safe deposit box that they both have to open; he’s not that interested but agrees to meet her the next afternoon.

Mouch is still trying to take over the training class, so the instructor tells him to “show us how it’s done.” That line and the music swell prove that he’s going to show off. Mouch does an almost Spider-Man like rescue that earns him a round of applause, while Gallo admits that being with his ex and his current girlfriend is “definitely” weird.

Diggins asks Stella about her taking the lieutenant’s exam and decides to shoot his mouth off about “[being] careful what you wish for,” but changes his tune when Brett walks into the room. Luckily there’s another call: a guy who’s impaled himself on his workout equipment. They literally cut him loose.

As the training course wraps up, Mackey beats Gallo’s ex in a race and is promptly offered a promotion to be Paramedic in Charge at Firehouse 33. She asks for time to think it over. She and everyone else take their graduation paperwork and go home, except for Mouch. His stunt earlier means he has to take the course again.

Chicago Fire has Casey back in the bathroom, this time hiding in one of the stalls, while Diggins hands Brett his Big Buddy paperwork. She tries to tell him he shouldn’t work with kids, before she realizes he wants to adopt a cat. That makes it perfectly okay for her to help him out. As a satisfied Diggins runs off, Casey meets his sister to open their uncle’s safe deposit box. Inside they find just a Rolex watch; he convinces her that they should sell it and split the money. But later on, he’s looking at his medical paperwork, which tells him another head injury could be “debilitating.” Well, yeah, considering how much this show beats up on him.

Mackey discusses her job offer with Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso). She’s worried about working at 51 again, this time because she’s concerned about him. Cruz tells her that he thinks she should take the transfer, while Boden confronts Mouch about failing the training course. Mouch explodes on the boss: “I’m never the hero, Chief. I haven’t been for a long time.” He says he’ll take the course again and walks out dejected before Boden can respond to him.

A still-listing Casey finds Brett in the locker room to ask for help, but they’re both called outside to help a guy who’s fallen off his truck and is now stuck upside down. A lot of screaming later, Earl is liberated and sent off in Ambulance 61, but not before Casey assures Brett that he’s fine. Severide chooses this moment to ask Stella about her decor choice again, but she won’t talk, while Boden follows up with Mouch. He’s called in a favor with the training course instructor to get him to pass Mouch, and tells him that he’s a hero every time he shows up for work, especially in the relationship he’s built with Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri).

Brett is talking to Mackey about her transfer (although Mackey doesn’t tell her it’s also a promotion) when Diggins shows up with his new cat that he hates. Or that hates him. He dumps the cat on Brett while Mackey gets her transfer paperwork signed off by Boden, with Cruz assuring her that he’s going to check on her at Firehouse 33. And Gallo’s ex pops up at 51 immediately thereafter. No, Chicago Fire didn’t hint at that whatsoever.

In the final few minutes, Casey finds out his uncle’s Rolex has the initials “JMD” on it. Though it’s worth $80,000, he turns the money down because those are the initials of his uncle’s wife. When he tells Christie, she advises him to keep the watch himself and instructs him to get his head looked at. But he gets home just in time to find out that what Stella ordered is a basketball machine. Much ado about nothing.

Next. This month's complete Chicago Fire schedule. dark

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