A dangerous situation leaves Casey and Naomi in peril. Foster and Brett are in charge of planning a field trip visit to the station. Severide and Kidd go through tough times.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. Premieres and finales may feature longer reviews. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of NBC's Chicago Fire.
"Inside These Walls" was written by Matt Whitney and directed by Jono Oliver
It has been awhile since both Casey and Severide were single at the same time. That's where they are at the conclusion of this hour though. Naomi and Kidd break up with them for various reasons. With Naomi, it somewhat makes since because Casey shouldn't commit so quickly after getting out of his marriage with Gabby. And yet, he and Naomi had some great chemistry with the most recent episodes committing to them so fiercely. The cliffhanger over the brief winter hiatus featured their lives in danger as well. They were the victims of arson. Their investigative work has put them in harm's way. This company is so over-the-top in its corruption though. It makes it really easy for the show to wrap up this entire investigation here. For Naomi, it was important to expose them for fraud regarding their trailer units. But now, they even get arrested for attempted murder because of the actions they took to silence Naomi and Casey. They wanted this story to completely disappear and didn't care just how obvious the attempted assassination actually was. There was no doubt in the mind's of the firefighters who responded. It was painfully obvious. Even though they found resistance from the detective, Casey and Naomi make quick progress in solving this case. That just leads to the reveal that Naomi's work is now sending her to Zurich. That means this nice relationship is coming to an end. That means Casey will have to focus on rebuilding his life. The firehouse rallies around him to ensure that he is taken care of and won't have to think about anything. That connection is very special and strong. Everyone steps up so that he doesn't have to worry. Of course, that leads to a very silly subplot in which Brett and Foster believe they are planning a presentation for high school schools only for senior citizens to show up. It's a story that doesn't work in the slightest because Mouch is apparently the only person who knows what is truly going on. He says this is something that the firehouse does every couple of years. He says that despite seemingly knowing most of the people who come for the presentation. With the younger firefighters, it's understandable that they don't have any reference point for this event. But Mouch isn't the only veteran firefighter of the house either. And no one was able to read the letter of instructions correctly. It's just too silly and doesn't work at all. Meanwhile, Severide is off in a plot that is really just introducing something new for him entirely. Now, he has always been great when interacting with children. He seems more interested in this kid than his actual father is. That too can have an interesting dynamic following the death of Benny. But it's also him deflecting the emotions of losing a parent and continuing to lash out at Kidd. Sure, it was always obvious that Tyler had a crush on her which would ultimately ruin their friendship. That doesn't excuse Severide's recent behavior though. Kidd is right to call him on that as well. That can't be the crutch used to prop up this relationship once more. Now, the two of them may still be the end game. This may just be a new way for the writers to throw a wrench in their plans. But now is the time for everyone to explore something new and hopefully commit to it instead of pining after something that shouldn't be.
