Chicago Fire Review: Blow This Up Somehow (Season 9 Episode 6)
We’re making progress, ChiHards.
On Chicago Fire Season 9 Episode 6, “Blow This Up Somehow,” Kelly and Stella finally have a much-needed conversation, Casey gains some clarity, and Mackey and Gallo decide they aren’t going to let Cruz stand in the way of their chemistry.
Each of those moments feels satisfying in its own way, but nothing quite compares to that honest moment between Kelly and Stella.
When Kelly learns Stella is considering putting off the lieutenant exam, he realizes it’s time to be honest. He was being distant because it’s what he thought was best, and he didn’t tell her why he needed to be distant because he didn’t want that bringing her down.
But it doesn’t faze Stella one bit to hear what people are saying — that she’s climbing the ladder so quickly because of Severide.
Because of the things that have happened in her life and the work she’s put in with her career, she’s not concerned with those things at all, but as Miranda Rae Mayo said in a recent interview, the moment Kelly pulls back emotionally, she starts to question everything about her relationship.
Her confidence is unshakable. She just needs encouragement and consistency from her partner.
The two of them are so passionate, and that honest conversation is exactly what they needed.
For Casey, it’s the attention of another woman that makes him realize how significant his feelings for Sylvie Brett are. Maybe that’s a little cliche, but the good news is that he’s stepping away from Sydney.
Now if he and Brett could just get on the same page. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to see two television characters get together this badly — that’s a testament to the story itself, of course, but it’s also becoming that much more frustrating to watch.
Mackey and Gallo, meanwhile, have decided they aren’t going to let Joe Cruz call the shots. It’s fun to see how they react to each other — and Mackey’s energy has been great for the show overall.
She brings that energy to scenes with Gallo as well, and she’s a woman who isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. Speaking of women with confidence, she has plenty of that too. I do hope we get more backstory about her relationship with Cruz soon, though.
The romantic relationships aren’t the only ones that make progress on this episode, though. Two key professional relationships have big moments as well.
Brett has Mackey’s back immediately when she’s accused of stealing medicine, and the two work well together to figure out what really happened to the medicine that was swapped.
That whole story itself is fascinating, and it feels like the sort of thing that’s very unique to Chicago Fire in what’s becoming a sea of shows about first responders.
When it’s all said and done, they’re able to find the scammers who’d been stealing drugs and have them arrested. Mackey thanks Brett later for being on her side without hesitation — and she replies it’s because they’re a team.
Brett hasn’t quite wanted to open up to Mackey, in part because by now, she’s lost so many partners, and in part because this particular dynamic makes Brett more of a mentor. So when she finally opens up a bit, it means even more.
Something similar happens with Casey and Gallo. Once again, Gallo tries to be a rogue hero and defies an order on a call. He saves a life in the process, but Casey is having none of it and sends him home for the day.
Too harsh? It seems so at first, and Casey has admittedly been a bit different lately thanks to those relationship woes.
But he sits down with Gallo at the end, buys him a beer, and explains exactly why it’s so important to follow protocol. Gallo could have been killed, and no one would have known where he was. And ultimately, as the captain, Casey is responsible and is to be held accountable.
He does know what it’s like to lose one of his own, which he shares as well — once again continuing a theme of remembering the fallen that we’ve seen throughout the season.
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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
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Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.