Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 15 Review: Too Close

A tragic ending to Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 15, “Too Close,” could lead to major shifts at Firehouse 51.

The previews for this episode made it clear that someone wouldn’t make it out alive. And while it’s not a main character who’s killed off, it still delivers one of the most emotional deaths the show has had in a long time.

Pascal’s relationship with his wife, Monica (Kadee Strickland), has been intriguing from the start. Though we didn’t see much of them together, their passionate, hot-and-cold dynamic made it clear just how deep their love ran. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of them together before now.

Pascal spends most of this episode trying to come up with the perfect anniversary present. After the year they’ve had, he tells Mouch, it needs to be just right. He plans a romantic dinner — one he has to fight for a bit because Monica’s sister wants to celebrate them in her own way.

Mouch helps Pascal settle on the perfect gift — a new watch. Somehow, both the watch and the last-minute change in plans feel like bad omens.

These hints are subtle — only obvious if you knew in advance that someone was doomed, as the promo teased. Even still, what comes next is deeply emotional because of the performances.

Monica gets into a car wreck on the way to meet Pascal for their date, then dies at the hospital. Watching the way Mouch, Stella, and the others work to save her with such a solemn, deep understanding that this is one of their own makes the last few minutes of the episode that much more emotional.

Violet desperately tries to save her while Novak drives the ambulance, quickly and focused. They all know the stakes, and they’re all affected emotionally.

No one can offer up an emotional scene with tears quite like Hanako Greensmith — goodness knows we’ve seen her shine in that way before. She does so again, simply crying and shaking her head to deliver the news to Pascal when he arrives at the hospital.

Pascal’s blend of denial, anger, and heartbreak pushes the moment to another level. Dermot Mulroney’s performance here is perfect, and it shows a crack in the gruff exterior of Dom Pascal that we haven’t seen before.

It’s powerful, and it’s also obvious (especially if you saw the promo for the next episode) that this is going to affect his character deeply moving forward.

There’s a level of guilt he must be feeling, between lost time from the troubles they’ve had and even the simple change of plans. Add to that, he’s likely ready to cast some blame on those who couldn’t save her. This could have a pretty profound effect on Violet for that reason, in particular.

Ultimately, this all does seem like the perfect way to set up an exit for Pascal, leaving space open for Herrmann to move up, and then Mouch. That plan also comes into question on this episode by Pascal, and not in a selfish way. I think we’ve learned by now that Pascal is genuine, even though he can be tough to read.

So when he tells Mouch he wants him to take opportunities to move up while he can, and that he’s not sure Herrmann really wants to take another promotion — there’s something to that. Mouch has to know that deep down, too. After all, he himself questioned Herrmann recently as to whether he really wanted to be promoted.

That hesitancy has been there all season, making for a smoother transition rather than just throwing Herrmann into the role after Boden left.

Doing the latter would have been too rushed and too unrealistic. Doing it this way is more natural and serves the characters better. I just hope that’s all it is, and that we do eventually get to see both Herrmann and Mouch move up at Firehouse 51.

This episode also brings back Jack Damon again, though not to 51. Not yet, anyway. He encounters the other firefighters during a call that sets up a difficult social dynamic for him, and then he seeks out Severide’s advice because of it.

He’s ultimately forced to sell out a fellow firefighter who turned back during a call when he shouldn’t have. Then, that firefighter and everyone else on their team turns against Damon — ready to make life hard for him and assuming his connection to Severide gets him special treatment.

It creates a natural opportunity for Damon to show some growth, and more significantly, it creates an opportunity for Stella to suggest that Damon come back to 51.

With Carver gone for now, that makes sense, and the relationship between Damon and Severide would certainly be interesting to see more development of. The timing feels right, too. Damon’s return is well-paced and feels justified by his arc. It’s satisfying after the conflict he had with Stella at the beginning of the season.

Meanwhile, Severide and Stella are in the process of trying to be accepted as adoptive parents. This is where the episode stumbles.

Partly, it’s set up to fail because the storyline itself is redundant in the world of Chicago Fire. We’ve seen adoption storylines plenty already, and as much as it makes sense for these two as a couple, it’s simply not interesting. 

Unlike past adoption storylines on Chicago Fire, this time, the decision comes before a connection with a specific child. Even so, it still feels familiar, and I think the show will have to work hard to set their situation apart.

There’s also something very false about their interactions with “Scary Terry” from the adoption agency, especially during their video call.

What does work is how this storyline leads to a shift for Severide at Molly’s. When Damon’s new nemesis shows up threatening him, Stella reminds Severide to take a step back — he can’t just be getting into a fight anymore while they’re trying to become adoptive parents.

This has a lot of potential to show more character development for Severide, and that can never be a bad thing.

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

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC. The next episode airs on March 26th, as the series will be on hiatus for a few weeks.

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