The Chicago Fire winter premiere was an intense episode for Severide, who spent the episode chasing down leads in hopes of finding the person responsible for starting the fire that landed Van Meter in the hospital fighting for his life. Season 14, episode 9, “Crime of Passion” continues this storyline with the episode opening with Severide waking up after falling asleep at the hospital sitting at Van Meter’s bedside.
When Severide arrives at the firehouse, Kidd shares some good news. Isaiah’s mom has come out of her coma. While she’s not talking yet and has a long road still ahead of her before she can care for Isaiah again, it’s a major step in her recovery.
After getting back from his anniversary trip, Cruz drops by the hospital to check on Severide and see how Van Meter is doing. Severide turns to Cruz for help in reviewing some photos from the fire which seem off and tells Cruz he’s been pulled off the case. Severide thinks the second fire is one that’s a crime of passion when mistakes get made, but the police aren’t looking in the right spot. Cruz quickly offers his help and the pair head out to check out the crime scene together.
Cruz and Severide head to the apartment building where the second fire was set and Cruz questions how the arsonist was able to set fire to both stairs without getting noticed. As they check out the scene, Severide finds stains on the stairs that appear to be oil, something that would burn much more slowly than gas. Severide theorizes that the arsonist used a mix of oil and gasoline and that this also wasn’t their first fire set.
Back at 51, Kidd gets to tell Isaiah the good news about his mom. Later that day, Kidd meets with Terry, and he informs her that he has an update for her. Through a facilitator, his mom contacted a friend, Lydia, who she wants to care for Isaiah until she can do so herself. Kidd questions the decision, and Terry says the issue is that the friend has already agreed to move with him to Cleveland and it’s what Isaiah’s mom wants. Terry is going to arrange a meeting with Lydia to meet Isaiah, but it’s looking like Isaiah could be pulled from Kidd and Severide’s care.
Kidd brings Severide up to speed, and he suggests they try to take things one step at a time. Their conversation is cut short when he gets a call saying some files he asked to be pulled are ready, but before he leaves he assures Kidd they’ll figure things out.
Cruz and Severide begin looking into the files for a lead. As they look through old case files, Cruz finds an unsolved arson case from 2005 with the same motive and the suspect list happens to have a familiar name on it. Turns out the suspect is Kevin Moore, information Severide takes to Detective Gerard. He’s not happy with Severide at first for working the case when he had been pulled off, but agrees they should follow the lead.
As Severide works the case, Kidd and Isaiah meet with Terry and Lydia. Lydia and Isaiah seem to hit it off right away as Kidd watches on with a heartbroken look on her face as the idea of losing Isaiah becomes more of a reality to her.
Severide heads home and gives Kidd an update on the case, and Kidd informs him that Isaiah is leaving. Things get tense between the two as Severide confronts Kidd about how things have played out and she quickly reminds him that she’s doing this alone. While she doesn’t blame him for working the case, and she wants him to catch the person responsible, it’s clear she’s struggling with not being able to lean on Severide through things.
After the heated exchange, Severide heads down to the precinct where he and Detective Gerard question Kevin about his involvement in the fire. Kevin maintains his innocence, but the evidence is stacking up against him and it's clear he won't get away with setting the fire.
It looks like Severide is going to miss his chance at saying goodbye to Isaiah, he arrives just in time and is able to see him off as he reveals they got the man responsible for the fire. Lydia thanks them, but Severide assures her no thanks is needed as they loved every minute of it. After watching Isaiah drive off, Kidd heads back to the firehouse to finish a report as Severide heads upstairs and takes in the empty room where Isaiah had been staying before leaving the apartment to head to the hospital.
While Severide managed to bring the arsonist to justice, Van Meter’s fate remains up in the air as the episode comes to a close.
Elsewhere in the episode
Vasquez and Violet grow closer as she helps him investigate a faulty airbag
As the day begins, Vasquez has gotten a rental to drive until he finds a new car and we learn he hasn’t talked with his dad since he showed up at the firehouse weeks earlier. The action quickly moves on to the first call of the episode, where Vasquez is injured after an airbag goes off and knocks him to the ground. Violet performs a check and he seems to be fine, but he’s uncertain of how the airbag went off when they had already disconnected power.
When they arrive back at 51, Vasquez can’t shake the feeling that something is off. Vasquez begins looking into the car model but can’t seem to get answers. He wants to check out the vehicle, but it’s at a junkyard at the moment. Novak and Violet mention they know the owner of the junkyard and he might be able to help and he asks them to join him. Violet agrees, but Novak has plans and declines the invite.
As shift comes to a close, Violet asks if Novak has feelings for Vasquez and she assures her that there is nothing between them, and then turns it around asking if Violet has feelings for him and she shuts the idea down.
Violet and Vasquez head to the junkyard after shift to look into the car and Vasquez is able to get the airbag out of the passenger side. He notices that the material is not correct, and that the airbag is a counterfeit. They come up with a plan to head to the repair shop linked to the repair, and it’s clear something is developing between them as sparks seem to fly during their investigation.
The pair go to see the owner of the shop who installed the faulty airbags and he assures them they’ll start making some calls. Vasquez says he’ll need the name of the supplier so he can get the airbags off the market for good, his former days as a cop coming in handy in the moment. As they leave the pair exchange flirty looks before she invites him to Molly’s, but he heads home instead. It’s clear we’re building towards something and we’re honestly excited to see what that might be!
Mouch gets to keep his job, but there’s a catch
Early in the episode, Mouch heads downtown to meet with the employment division and he learns that the department has been furloughed due to budget cuts.
With his options running low, Pascal gives Mouch the go-ahead to call the press in hopes that using the media can help to raise awareness and save Mouch’s job. Mouch meets with his union rep, who assures him he’ll do all he can to get the story out there. The only problem is he’s not sure the public will pay attention as he fears the public has gone numb to the news.
After the story is sent out to the press, Mouch can’t help but closely keep an eye out for an update. Platt ends up sending him to Molly’s to get him out of the house and he jokes with Herrmann about the lack of respect elders tend to get. As the friends joke about moving to a country that respects their elders, Mouch gets an alert about the story getting picked up by a major paper.
Later, as Mouch enjoys a drink at Molly’s, his union rep shows up to inform him that his job is safe. The catch is that he’s being transferred to Firehouse 40. It’s either that or he is forced into retirement, news that his union rep notes comes as it seems 51 has a serious enemy in City Hall.