We knew Violet would end up playing detective in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 17. What was causing the gym bros medical emergencies?
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for Chicago Fire season 13, episode 17.
The promo for the new episode focused on Violet and Novak’s storyline, as they are called into two similar medical emergencies. When Violet gets stuck on a mystery, she sticks with it, which is surprising considering Novak is the true crime junkie.
Meanwhile, Kidd and the rest of Truck are off duty as their fire truck is in service. That’s not going to stop her from being at Firehouse 51, because she kept Girls on Fire training on the books.
It didn’t take long for Damon and Novak to hook up in Chicago Fire season 13, episode 17
It was clear that something was going to happen between Novak and Damon. Both of them are young and good looking, and they are both clearly interested in each other. Well, the episode opens with the alarm at Novak’s going off and Damon jumping out of the bed. This has been going on a while, but Damon points out that they should stop now that they are both at Firehouse 51. Damon cannot mess this up.
Well, Novak agrees with that. She isn’t one for serious relationships, so that’s not all that surprising. However, I can’t see this relationship not going somewhere in the future. Will we get the next Stellaride?
Damon is focused on learning while he’s at the firehouse, though. He follows Herrmann and takes in every word. We definitely see a different side to this character, showing that people can change. And people can, so I’m glad the series is showing this.
Herrmann has good things to say about Damon at first. Is that the way it will stay?
Everyone continues to support Damon's training
Something that I love about Firehouse 51 is that they are a family, and new people are welcomed in when they prove themselves. Sure, Damon lied, but he also proved himself as a good firefighter, and he's coming back in with his head held high.
Cruz helps Damon succeed as a drill, and that leads to the two of them breaking the firehouse record. It wasn't just anyone who set that record, either. Herrmann points out that Severide and Gallo set that record, and nobody thought anyone would break it. It's high praise from Herrmann for Damon to take the win.
When Herrmann realizes that Damon hasn't unpacked anything in the locker and made it his own, it's clear that Damon isn't expecting to stay. This is why he's been so hard on himself. He thinks he'll mess up and go back into the floater pool. With this, Herrmann goes to see Damon to make it clear Damon's home is at Firehouse 51.
Chief Pascal struggles to act at first
For Pascal, the episode starts with the guy from earlier in the season turning up. You know, the guy who Pascal punched when he thought the guy was hitting on his wife? Well, it looks like this guy was interested in Monica, but he was consistently rejected. Monica always wanted and loved Dom.
Things are still too fresh for Pascal during the episode. The first call involves a car that has driven into the mall and run over someone. He didn't see the car accident, so it's natural for him to look at this scene and wonder if it's something that his wife's accident looked like. It's also natural for Pascal to get angry at the driver of the vehicle when the young girl who was under the car is taken to Med. It's not actually the blow-up I expected from him, and I don't blame him for losing his composure for a few seconds. I'm surprised the dad of the young girl didn't!
It was easy up to this point to forget that Pascal was someone for Novak to lean on a little earlier in the season. Once you remember that, it isn't that surprising to see that Novak is the one to offer some support, giving the same advice that Pascal previously gave to her. As he thinks back to that moment, there's a small smile on his face. It's clear he is happy that he made a difference for someone.
We don't just get to see Pascal at the firehouse, though. We see him at home as well, where he's starting to gather up all of Monica's things. That is except a couple if items. He needs some sort of reminder that his wife once lived there, and it's absolutely heartbreaking to watch him grieve.
Kidd gets a new Girls on Fire recruit in Chicago Fire
At the firehouse, a young girl comes in to see Kidd. She's interested in Girls on Fire, but Kidd is quick to point out that it's only for high schoolers. This girl is only 13, but it's clear that she's tough, and she needs some encouragement rather than being pushed away, so Kidd decides to get her to come back to the next session to help set it up.
When the girl goes missing, Kidd goes looking for her, only to find her smoking what looks like weed. Kidd isn't going to take that, and makes it very clear that this girl is only welcome back if she isn't looking to "get a buzz."
When she doesn't turn back up, Kidd decides to ask Girls on Fire if they know her. Nobody does, which makes the mystery of this teen even more intriguing. Natalie was at the Horizons community center, and Kidd is able to get some answers from Amy who works there. This is when the mystery continues to deepen. Amy never talked to Natalie about Kidd's history with the CFD, so how did Natalie know that Kidd worked up the career ladder so quickly?
Sure, Kidd is trying to keep herself busy to take her mind off the adoption stuff, but she also knows a girl in need when she sees one. She isn't going to forget about Natalie. It's a good thing that she does decide to look into Natalie, as it turns out that she's "living" at a business site.
Kidd decided it was time to do some digging into Natalie. It turned out that she was a four-year-girl Kidd rescued from a housefire back when Kidd was at Firehouse 27. I get a sense that Natalie is going to be back, and I can't help but feel like she'll be the kid that Stellaride adopt.
Violet plays detective in Chicago Fire
We knew that Violet would end up playing detective, and the second call of Chicago Fire season 13, episode 17 sets up that storyline. She and Novak are called to a local gym, where the bar bell stand has fallen on top of someone who was working out. It turns out that this guy was loopy and staggering around, but he wouldn't allow anyone to spot him. With his oxygen low, Violet starts to play detective. This guy had been taking heavy duty pain meds in the past, so it could have been an opioid overdose.
When the treatment doesn't work, Violet is stumped. All they can do right now is get the guy to Med.
Maybe the second emergency can help. This time it's to an apartment, where a man is on a bed in serious pain. There's a mark on his leg that looks like it's some sort of infection. What is going on?
Violet is quick to note that it's an injection mark, and it's probably infected. Violet's thoughts that the guy took something was right, despite the roommate saying that gym bro was on a clean diet. As they leave the apartment with the guy, Violet notices his gym bag. There's the same emblem as in the gym, suggesting that there is a connection.
It turns out that Connor, victim No. 2 had a vet sedative in his toxocology report. He wasn't the only one. The first guy had the same street drug in his system, and now we get the connection between the two and their medical issues. The owner of the gym was cutting steroids with the sedative, and so, the cops are called in to search the gym and arrest the boss.
It's always fun to see a member of Firehouse 51 play Sherlock for an episode. In this case, we got to see how much Violet cared to make sure others were saved.
Violet also gets some personal development throughout the episode. After spending the previous episode ghosting Flynn, Violet decides that she needs to call him and go on a date. It's hard to tell whether she's trying to convince herself that Flynn is a good guy or not, but it's clear that she's not quite into him. She won't open up about the darkness of her job, and they just seem so standoffish right now. Plus, we know that Flynn isn't really a good guy, right?
Trouble is sure to come soon. Carver is coming back next shift.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.