Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 7 Review: Red Flag

Somebody is always out to get Firehouse 51, it seems. On Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 7, “Red Flag,” that somebody is Chief Robinson. 

For whatever reason, she’s been almost unbelievably harsh toward Violet (and Brett) since she first took over in this role. Now, she brings in a new paramedic to be Violet’s partner who even Boden didn’t get a chance to know anything about beforehand.

Wesam Keesh plays Jared Lennox, a paramedic who, at first, seems to have trouble with Violet being in charge. He questions her on their first call together, and makes an undermining comment on their second. 

Is it because he has a problem with a female boss? Perhaps. That’s what Violet and Stella discuss, and Stella can sympathize as a female in charge as well. 

That sets up an interesting dynamic on its own, but as Lennox vents to Carver, it becomes clear that his feelings may go deeper than that. He complains about Mouch trying to change the parking code and about a civilian being allowed to stay overnight in the firehouse (I’ll get to those points in a moment).

More importantly, he notes that Chief Robinson warned him about what 51 would be like — and he’s not a fan.

Of course, this all goes a step further. Violet has her first complaint filed against her already, by Lennox. It’s pretty clear he’s working with Robinson in some way, and Violet says — it sure feels like he’s coming after 51 as a whole.

This isn’t the first time 51 has come under fire, and this storyline is borderline overdone. At the same time, the way it plays out feels unique, and it’s one of the more interesting conflicts we’ve seen in a while. 

It’s also just the start of what will be an ongoing storyline with “major drama,” according to showrunner Andrea Newman. So it should be fun to see how it all plays out.

Meanwhile, Severide has a storyline that’s entirely fitting for his character, and that makes for another one of the more interesting conflicts of the season so far.

As the firefighters work to stop what looks to be an electrical fire in someone’s home, they discover heaps of cash that’s been hidden. Some of it gets burned, but much of it is recovered, and they turn it into the police.

The cops they turn it into immediately accuse Severide and the crew of stealing some of the cash, which is entirely unwarranted. That sets up a firefighter vs. cop storyline that also serves as a reminder to the audience that it’s a classic type of conflict. 

More importantly, it causes Severide to go rogue, this time because a young girl named Maya is worried her life is in danger over the missing money. She’d hidden it in her grandmother’s house after a gang told her to keep it for them. Now that some is missing, she’s sure they’ll kill her.

Severide intervenes, hoping to help her based on connections he has, and the firehouse gives her a place to stay overnight so she’ll be safe. That’s the “civilian” part of Lennox’s complaint, by the way, which is about as coldhearted as you can get.

One thing I like a lot about her being at the firehouse is the conversation she has with the firefighters about how she got involved with the gang in the first place. Cruz mentions what happened to his brother years ago, and it’s a nice callback to an old storyline that was incredibly significant for his character. 

12 seasons in, callbacks like that are especially important. It’s a thoughtful detail. 

Severide does wind up bending a rule to help Maya and her family. After visiting her grandmother in the hospital, he realizes where the rest of the money — the money that wasn’t burnt up and wasn’t yet found — ended up.

It was part of her plan to get her family away from the area altogether so they could be safe and start over.

And because Severide is the classic hero figure that he is, he decides to give the cops a story about the money burning up that they can’t refute, even though they clearly know it’s how the family was able to take off the way they did. It’s a nice moment, especially with Severide’s little smirk as he walks away.

The firefighter vs. cop piece of this also relates to Ritter, who doesn’t want to admit to anyone that he’s dating a cop. Chippy, who is filling in, asks Ritter about the man he saw him with, assuming it’s a secret that Ritter is gay.

But that’s not what Ritter is hiding. He’s hiding the fact that the man he’s dating is in law enforcement.

In general, I understand this cliche sort of rivalry, and it’s not the first time it’s come up on the show. However, I also question it because of the connections the firefighters have to characters on Chicago P.D., both past and present.

Ritter wouldn’t be the first person at 51 to date someone in law enforcement, and there have been plenty of times we’ve seen friendly connections between the characters on crossovers. So, there’s some nuance there that should really be considered.

It’s also just incredibly unfortunate that this episode doesn’t feature a crossover like that. It’s another missed opportunity, if you ask me.

Speaking of which, Mouch’s whole thing with the parking ticket also feels odd because he doesn’t even seem to consider involving his wife. Some mention of Trudy would have made sense, and quite frankly, it feels like it was needed. 

Otherwise, it is fitting with Mouch’s character that he’d make it his mission to fight the ticket, and he’s not wrong that finding a regular parking space would have been nearly impossible. 

It’s a fun bit on the episode, especially when he seems almost disappointed when the woman at the courthouse finds such an easy way to dismiss the ticket. I’m glad he takes that win, though.

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!