Chicago Fire had even more eyes on it than usual heading into "Too Late." The promo for the episode teased the possibility of a character dying, so the experience of watching subplots develop was a bit stressful.
The episode opened with Chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) and a character we haven't seen in quite a while. His wife, Monica Pascal (KaDee Strickland) resurfaced after being away for a few weeks, and it made sense given the special occasion. The couple's wedding anniversary was coming up, and a reluctant Dom met with his sister-in-law to discuss dinner ideas. The annoyance was palpable.
Jack Damon gets into another work conflict
We expected there to be a focus on Pascal, given his prioritization in the aforementioned promo. We didn't expect Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) to play such a major role in the episode, though. He was praised by his former 51 peers for a daring rescue he made during a recent fire. The pats on the back were cut short by Damon's partner, Jenner, however.
As the episode unfolded, we came to learn that Jenner chickened out of the building fire at the last minute, and left Damon to fend for himself with the helpless victim. He later told his lieutenant that he got separated from Damon, and the latter went with the lie. The problem is, Jenner grew paranoid and threatened to ruin Damon's career if the young firefighter even spoke a word about what happened.
Damon has a bad habit of getting into tricky situations on the job. He went to Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) to ask for some brotherly advice, and the veteran firefighter told him not to rock the boat. He assured Damon that someone like Jenner was bound to get caught eventually. The problem is, the firefighter was almost immediately questioned by his lieutenant about the details of Jenner's story.
Chief Pascal's wife Monica dies
Damon eventually spills the beans. It doesn't take long for an enraged Jenner to confront his partner, but he chose the wrong place to do so: Molly's Pub. The entire 51 firehouse is present, and they get Damon's back. Jenner dishes out another ominous threat and leaves, and later refers to Damon as "nepo-baby" due to his Severide relation. No resolution here, so we expect to see both Damon and Jenner in future episodes.
Remember the death that we mentioned up top? Well that comes back around in a devastating manner. Chief Pascal makes anniversary dinner plans, and can be seen waiting on Monica to arrive. The problem is, Monica gets involved in a car accident, and flatlines while medics try to get her to the hospital. If the description seems sudden, it's because it feels sudden within the episode.
Pascal gets the call and rushes down to the hospital, but it's too late. His wife is dead, and she never made it to the anniversary dinner. The character breaks down in tears, as does Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), who was present for the entire situation. It's a bleak ending, even if it was ultimately a bit telegraphed by the promo. Our heart goes out to Pascal.