Chicago Fire Review: It Wasn’t Enough (Season 6 Episode 1)

After months of worrying, we can all now breathe a sigh of relief.

Despite Matt Casey having such certainty that he was going to die in that fire that he took off his mask and said goodbye to Gabby, and despite a fully unresponsive Mouch, the fire from the end of Chicago Fire Season 5 didn’t claim the lives of any of our beloved members of Firehouse 51.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Chicago Fire Season 6 Episode 1, “It Wasn’t Enough,” doesn’t make us think for a few moments that it’s claimed the life of Matt Casey.

Talk about a fake out.

What appears at first to be a ceremony honoring his life turns out to be one honoring his work — the first clue is when Boden uses present tense to say he’s proud to call Casey a friend, and the second clue is the smile that spreads across Gabby’s face.

It’s almost a little too predictable, and the fake out is a little much. But I’ll let it slide, because Matt Casey is alive and well.

Boden’s risky decision to open up the water canons, a last resort that could have done a great deal of harm, is what saves his men. Even Mouch is rescued in time and able to recover from his heart attack.

What happened in that fire still has an effect on this team, though.

In fact, it’s a bit jarring that the cliffhanger is resolved so quickly — within minutes into the season premiere we know that everyone is okay after experiencing a time jump. It happens so quickly that there’s little payoff. That is, until we realize that there is that lasting effect.

Gabby is trying to act like everything is back to normal, but her father points out that the trauma of hearing Matt say goodbye is something clearly still not over. Gabby’s experienced a lot of loss in recent years — from the death of Shay to having to say goodbye to Louie.

And in that moment, she thought was losing her husband too. That’s too much for one person to bear.

Mouch also has a new outlook on life. He’s focused on staying healthy and staying in shape, so much so that it’s borderline absurd — but in a good way. Mouch has been given this second chance, and he’s not going to let it slip through his fingers.

Oh, and his plan to retire? No more. He’s not leaving Firehouse 51 any time soon.

It isn’t just staying alive and healthy that matters to him. He wants to live more — as in, really live. Hence the title of this episode. “It wasn’t enough.”

That’s what he tells his fellow firefighters when they brush off his suggestion that they participate in the muster.

In those moments when he was sure he was going to die, all he could think, was that it wasn’t enough. That he didn’t have enough time with the people he cared about, and he didn’t have enough time to do the things he loved the most.

Mouch: I treasure these moments when we’re together, and I don’t want to be looking down the dark end of that tunnel ever again thinking that it wasn’t enough.

One of my favorite things about Chicago Fire is watching this team come together and support one another, which, after Mouch’s speech, is exactly what happens.

There isn’t much that’s more satisfying than seeing our heroes rally behind one another. This is a show with a lot of heart, and it always makes me feel inspired.

What makes this episode work so well, and quite frankly, what makes this show work so well as a whole, is how it manages to balance a lightness of tone with drama, suspense, and emotion.

Joe running around trying to cater to Mouch is sweet and funny at the same time, and Gabby’s mention that there aren’t so many lawyers anymore hanging out at Molly’s is a joke that we can only get as fans.

Oh, and there’s a new character who is clearly going to cause some problems when it comes to Kelly Severide. I don’t trust hope as far as I can throw her, and I remain in constant worry over Kelly. (Speaking of someone who has been through too much for one person to bear.)

Maybe Stella moving in will be a good thing? Something tells me she’ll be there longer than just a few weeks. (By the way, how amazing is Stella? I especially enjoyed her correcting Hope on what to call a firefighter.)

Of course, there’s another fire that the team has to deal with on this episode, and it’s terrifying. Donna has recently taken a new job at the high school, which makes it that much more upsetting to learn that the school is on fire.

It’s utter chaos, but none of the kids are killed. There is, however, a casualty — the chemistry teacher. What’s worse is the bomb we get at the end of the hour: the fire wasn’t an accident.

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, and don’t forget to give the episode your own rating!

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Chicago Fire airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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