Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 1 Review: Barely Gone
Well, that was anticlimactic. Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 1, “Barely Gone,” uses a six-month time jump to answer every burning question the audience could have in a matter of minutes.
The combination of cliffhangers and casting exit news made this a particularly anticipated season. And that’s not even considering the extra-long hiatus. So, for everything to be wrapped up so quickly, with minimal payoff, is a letdown.
A steamy (literally) shower scene with Kidd and Severide opens the episode to let us know he’s back in town and they’re still together. We’re deprived of seeing what happened when Kidd went to find him and bring him home.
All we know is there is some tension because of how wrapped up he became in the investigation that pulled him away, but it all feels too rushed. It’s as though the writers just threw a bandaid on the entire thing and hoped that would be enough.
Speaking of scenes we’re deprived of, we don’t get to see what happens after Casey’s proposal. Instead, we see Brett’s ring when it gets caught in a locker, and eventually, we get some exposition about when the wedding will be and how much longer Brett will be at 51. Again, it’s just all too rushed.
Maybe worst of all is Mouch’s recovery. There’s a quick fakeout with the name on his locker, but Mouch appears shortly after. He’s alive and well, and we’re cheated out of seeing what happened in between.
It’s a problem Chicago Fire has had for a while. I complained about the same issue with the Chicago Fire Season 11 premiere. These big cliffhangers don’t mean much when they’re resolved so quickly upon the show’s return.
This is also Alberto Rosende’s last episode, and while I have similar feelings about that being rushed, it’s an endearing exit. And, thankfully, it’s a happy one. It’s a relief that his character isn’t killed off somehow instead.
Rather than spend the time on everything I mentioned above, the episode speeds toward a tired storyline. There’s an arson case, and firefighters are being targeted, so Severide has to get involved. The difference with this one is that Stella isn’t enthusiastic about Severide’s involvement, and that traces back to his disappearance last season.
Since apparently, he’d stayed away only because he was so focused on an arson case, Kidd can’t help but worry that will happen again.
But is he sacrificing a big opportunity for his career overall? It seems like it when Van Meter notes that Severide has taken his name off of a national registry.
This has the potential to be an interesting conflict, but we’ve been going back and forth about Severide working in O.F.I. for so long that it’s hard to feel invested.
Meanwhile, Herrmann stands out the most on this season’s premiere. He’s still processing the emotions of nearly losing his best friend upon Mouch’s return, and now that Gallo is also leaving, Ritter has been spending less time on Engine and more on Truck.
Yet he remains as passionate about the job as always, and winds up being the hero who saves the firehouse — and perhaps several of their lives, when runs as far away as he can with that bomb.
It’s a great moment, and it feels especially validating for the hero to be him.
I’m worried, though, about the conversation he has with Ritter. Ritter notes how bad the blowback was and wants to make sure Herrmann is okay. He says he is, but it feels like he’s not being entirely truthful.
This is either foreshadowing for something bad down the line, or it’s a throwaway that won’t come up again. Either scenario leaves me feeling concerned.
My real hope following this premiere is that my complaints will be negated by some flashbacks in upcoming episodes, or even more depth addressing the effects of it all. We’ll see.
Even though I’m disappointed in the premiere, I’m still thrilled to see these firefighters back on my screen.
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What did you think of Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 1? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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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.