Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 22 Review: Red Waterfall

Once again, Chicago Fire ends a season with one heck of a cliffhanger. At least one of those cliffhangers could result in some excellent news. 

Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 22, “Red Waterfall,” brings Casey back thanks to a lead on the Homeland Security case. It’s a wild way to bring him back, to be sure, but it works okay especially since this storyline has already been established. And this time, he even calls Brett ahead of time to let her know he’s coming.

Brett, meanwhile, is focused on adopting Amber’s baby, though Amber is hesitant about her plan.

Some of this feels a little forced — Amber’s dad’s reaction to a visit from Sylvie’s closest friends at the firehouse, and even Amber’s uncertainty are a bit awkward and unnatural. But what works is Sylvie’s deep passion over the entire situation. If nothing else is believable, the fact that she’s fallen madly in love with this baby girl and wants nothing more to be her mother is perfectly authentic and emotional. 

It’s also noteworthy that Matt tags along to talk to Amber about Sylvie, plus his reaction when Sylvie tells him what she’s trying to do is one less of surprise and more of total understanding. 

On the other hand, Dylan ends things with Sylvie not only because he sees they’re in different places in their lives, but also because it’s clear to him that Sylvie never got over Matt.

Well, that’s perfect timing.

I’ve complained for a lot of this season that Sylvie hasn’t gotten much in the way of substantial storylines, but now she has something that’s powerful and fitting for her character. It also lines up perfectly with Casey’s return.

While the logistics of this seem like they’d be hard to manage considering why Casey left for Portland in the first place, his proposal to Sylvie fills me with hope. So much energy went into developing their relationship, and if it could really come back around to let the two of them have a happy ending, that would be one incredibly satisfying story.

His proposal is sweet and authentic, confident, and romantic, especially as he does it in the same spot where he notes they had their first kiss. 

We don’t get to hear her answer, but goodness, it’s a great moment, and it’s the perfect way to end this season. It’s one of the most satisfying story arcs the show has had in a long time.

Meanwhile, Stella remains worried about Severide, which continues to feel like a recycled storyline. It wasn’t long ago that Stella did the exact same thing to Kelly, and in both cases, it’s not fitting with their characters one bit.

Needing to come up with a story to write out Severide for a while since Taylor Kinney is on a leave of absence is one thing, but it feels hurried, strange, and completely unbelievable.

I do like that Stella decides to take off to go see him, so at least there’s that.

Now for the other cliffhanger.

Early on in the episode, Herrmann gets a palm reading (pretty much against his will) from a victim he helps during a call. She tells Herrmann he will experience great pain very soon.

He’s not interested in entertaining it, but he also can’t stop thinking about it. Of course, everyone makes fun of him over it too, but it haunts him nonetheless.

Then, there is the incident with the sniper and the whole Homeland Security case. It’s a well-done scene, and seeing Casey take command of a situation again is great to watch, although it’s a bit much that they all go rogue to try and take down a shooter.

Then again, what else do we expect to happen with this crew?

They’re successful, and the entire threat is apparently neutralized because of it. There’s just one problem — Mouch gets hit in the crossfire.

And while it sounds like he’s going to be ok at first, Herrmann notices he’s getting paler while at his bedside. And then he sees that Mouch is bleeding out.  

A great pain for Herrmann. 

Not to mention, a worried audience. Mouch would be a painful character to lose, that’s for sure. We’ll have to wait until next season to find out if he’s able to be saved. 

What did you think of the Chicago Fire Season 11 finale? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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