One of 51's own needs the support of the entire house to recover from a near disaster. Herrmann has to figure out a way to reopen Molly's after it gets shut down. Severide digs deeper into the arson investigation, while struggling to cope with one of his toughest days yet.
Last week's episode of Chicago Fire ended on the ridiculous double cliffhanger of Gaby discovering that her arson investigation files had gone missing and then doubling over in pain due to complications with her pregnancy. It was all a tad too much just crammed into the final minutes of the episode. Both of those stories needed to be addressed in "Your Day Is Coming." They weren't sustainable for that long. So Gaby is in the hospital fighting to stay alive with Casey and Boden by her side while Severide picks up the pieces of the investigation. It creates one truly dynamic and emotional episode that is basically the best episode of the season so far.However, it's no longer a surprising tactic for shows to make a character pregnant only for her to tragically lose the baby a few episodes later. It provides some great emotional stakes for the character in a way that can easily resonate with the audience. It's also not all that surprising that this is the outcome for Gaby. Chicago Fire has done pregnancy arcs before with both Boden and Herrmann. They all got complicated in some way. But babies were born who then impacted those characters' lives. And yet, those babies have offscreen mothers who can take care of them without it impacting the dramatic stakes of the show. Yes, they pop up every now and again in order to showcase the humanity of those characters. But they don't always need to. Gaby's pregnancy was different because her relationship with Casey is one of the most important relationships on the show. If they had a baby, it would change up their dynamic and require more focus than any of the previous newborns. Of course, that's something the show could still find a way to do well. It just choose not to mess up a winning formula right now - which is very understandable.
So Gaby is in the hospital and requires surgery. The baby is developing in the wrong spot and causing internal bleeding. It's the early days of the pregnancy so the doctors can only realistically save Gaby. It's not even a choice that has to be made - even though Casey wants to say it out loud. It's more complicated than one surgery though. "Your Day Is Coming" puts Gaby's life in peril for the majority of its running time. It's precarious because when she does wake up she's in shock and then starts to crash again. Everyone at 51 rallies around her. She is a member of the family. They care about her and want to make sure she gets out of this okay with the love and support of her family. But it's still highly emotional that she and Casey lose the baby. Casey has to break that news to her a couple of times. It's hard on him every time he has to do it. But in the end, he is there for her no matter what. He wasn't just committed to this relationship because of the baby. He wants Gaby more than anything else right now. So even though they have this huge trauma to deal with, their love should be able to heal those wounds with a little bit of time.
Firehouse 51 still has to do their jobs though. Casey and Boden are able to take the day off in order to be with Gaby around the clock. Everyone else has to make sure things continue to run smoothly back on the job. Herrmann and Patterson rise to the occasion - even though they are also dealing with the arson investigation and Molly's being shut down. This is an episode with several big revelations and hard emotions. It's a difficult shift for everyone involved. And yet, it's also a nice reminder of all the good things they do on this job. When they are called to a children's party to save a young boy trapped in a blow up house by a damaged power line, it's a tense situation. But Severide saves the kid who then shows his gratitude later in the hour. It's moments like that that can be life-changing to these firefighters. It's the light that shines through despite all the darkness.
And there is a considerable amount of darkness in Severide's life right now. He still feels betrayed by his lawyer girlfriend who decided to represent the man the firehouse believes started a ton of fires to lower property costs. It's simply a business arrangement for her. It has nothing personal to do with her relationship with Severide. She wants to prove that to him. But it's actually another figure in his life who has some repenting to do. When it was revealed that Gaby's files went missing, there were only two real suspects. It was either her boss Duff or her co-worker Suzy. They were the only two people who worked with her at arson. But only one of them appears in this episode. So, it's revealed that Duff stole the files as a part of some relationship with the corrupt real estate developer. But now, his conscience is getting the better of him and is driven to the point of suicide.
Severide has a relationship with Duff. He was like a father to him when his own father was too busy with his life as a firefighter. That's how Severide was able to get this assignment so easily for Gaby. And yet, Severide and Duff's relationship had never been important onscreen until this episode. So it's not as much a visceral emotional reveal to the audience as it is to Severide. But it's still powerful to see Severide willing to do anything in order to make sure that Duff can continue to help them with this investigation. When Duff jumps from the bridge, Severide is right beyond to find the body before he drowns. That's how serious this relationship is for Severide. It creates a couple of tense moments for the show as Severide pleads for Duff to choose life and deal with the fallout of his actions. But it's even more heroic when Severide saves him. It may create tension in the future. And yet, it's all for the pursuit of learning the truth and seeking justice.
Some more thoughts:
- "Your Day Is Coming" was written by Jill Weinberger and directed by Reza Tabrizi.
- Molly's shutting down for a day is a compelling story because it leads to Herrmann's big moment about choosing Gaby over the bar. And yet, it was never going to be closed for that long. It's become a cornerstone place for the franchise. Plus, the Portland hipsters are so broadly defined that it's hilarious whenever they appear and some regular character interacts with them.
- Also, how in the world did Herrmann and Otis not know that Molly's didn't meet the city's code when it comes to being 15 feet away from the curb? Didn't they have an inspection before they bought it or before it opened? It seemed like one big contrivance to put the bar in danger alongside Gaby.
- Herrmann's message to Gaby was heartbreaking but also empowering. It's a difficult time for all of them. But he knows she'll find the strength to return from this and still become a great mom with Casey by her side.
- There is definitely a flirtatious spark between Jimmy and Chili. They are the ones who come together to find a way to save Molly's. How long until that becomes something more?
- Chili and Brett's call to the morgue to deal with the man who wasn't really dead was a tad too silly in context of the rest of the episode. Still, it was amusing for a couple of minutes.
- Of course Severide likes the picture the kid drew of him because of how tall he was in comparison to the fire truck.
