Sound the alarm, friends! Firehouse 51 is back in action. The Chicago Fire season 3 premiere starts right where we left off. In case you drank too many margaritas this summer (guilty!) and somehow possibly forgot (I could never!), was right in the middle of a call-gone-bad, leaving almost the entire firehouse-sans the newly wifed-up Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker)-in quite the precarious situation.
We were left with burning questions like: Who would beat the heat and make it out alive? Which of our beloved firemen would we have to extinguish from our hearts forever? And how many fire-related puns would I be able to fit into my season 3 recaps?
Finally, we have some answers. Well, come on, fire walk with me.
Again, we watch as Boden calls out for any member of his team to answer, but this time, instead of radio silence, we finally get to see the aftermath of the explosion. One by one, each member of Firehouse 51 makes it known that he's OK. But when Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Casey (Jesse Spencer) call out for Ambulance 61 and there's no answer, we know something is not right.
It's Leslie Shay (Lauren German). Loyal, funny, vulnerable, stubborn, likes-to-drink-tequila-and-make-bad-life-decisions Leslie Shay. No matter how hard Dawson (Monica Raymund, a REVELATION) and Severide try to revive her, there's just no coming back from that kind of head wound.
So we're forced to say goodbye to one of the Chicago Fire originals. I'll miss Shay for so many reasons. I'll miss Shay because she challenged her best friends to be better people. I'll miss Shay because she made me laugh. Most importantly, I'll miss Shay because she was a character you don't see often on network television-a complex, smart gay woman, who made mistakes but never apologized for who she was. So, yeah, losing Shay is going to be hard-like, deep-into-my-second-bottle-of-wine, hard.
It's six weeks later, and the two people who knew Shay best are still grappling with the loss in major ways.
Gabby Dawson and her survivor's guilt: Dawson, who at the end of season 2 passed her firefighter's test, has stayed on as a paramedic at 51 until replacements showed up. Boden thinks it's time for Dawson to make her transfer just as the new paramedic, Sylvie (Kara Killmer) arrives.
Dawson, of course, is hesitant to trust the newbie. (And it doesn't help that Sylvie is basically a Shay clone-ah! Cylon?) Once Sylvie MacGyver's her way out of a sticky situation during one of their calls, Dawson realizes her precious ambo 61 will be left in good hands.
But leaving Firehouse 51 isn't Dawson's real problem. During a flashback to the explosion, while working on the victim, Dawson decides to give Shay a lesson in the field and has Shay take the reins; she'll have to take charge once Dawson leaves anyway. Well, the two switch places and BOOM, the place explodes, and Shay gets slammed in the head. THEY SWITCHED PLACES.
In one of the best scenes of the episode, we discover that Dawson has been going to therapy since the accident-a secret she's been keeping from everyone, including Casey. Dawson has been voluntarily attending these sessions but, as her therapist informs us, she still hasn't said a word. Her therapist reminds her that he knows how to deal with first responders like Dawson, that first responders 'do things whether they're ready or not.'
Finally, Dawson breaks down and admits that Shay is only dead because of her. Oh, Gabriella Dawson, you beautiful, flawless-skinned wonder, you're breaking my heart.
Speaking of broken-hearts:
Kelly Severide is an island: After six weeks with no word from Severide and an impassioned speech from Boden about the house needing leaders, Matt Casey goes to find his hurting comrade. Luckily for me and every human with a functioning libido, Casey finds Severide out in the woods, chopping firewood in a tank top and avoiding his feelings.
I mean, COME ON. I know we're not supposed to be in favor of dramatic tropes because 'they're lazy' or whatever, but a big ol' muscly man in self-imposed isolation instead of working out feelings by heading into the woods and chopping things with an ax-I'll never not be in favor of that. Also, later Severide shows up on his motorcycle, and I almost get pregnant.
Anyway, Severide doesn't think he'll be back to Firehouse 51, because for him it's cursed. Casey, dear Casey, reminds Severide that their fallen brothers, like Shay, didn't die for no reason, they died to save lives. He hands Severide Boden's call log, which notes all the lives saved on every call the house goes out on-on Shay's last call, 10 lives were saved.
It's enough to bring Severide back.
While packing up Shay's things from their apartment, Severide finds an old video the two made when they first moved in together, detailing a roommate-friendship contract. The most important rule is rule number 4: To promise to be there for each other no matter what. Always.
Oh boy, this one's going to sting.
From the Firehouse 51 Bulletin Board:Finally getting to see Dawson answer Casey's proposal was worth the wait. It was lovely and sad all at the same time. Of course Dawson didn't want their engagement forever tied to that terrible day. Even better: Casey acknowledging how important Shay was to Dawson and promising to propose properly. This isn't over. More tears next week, I guess. Severide moving in with Casey and Dawson is the greatest version of Three's Company ever imagined. Mouch (Christian Stolte) and Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) are the true power couple of Chicago Fire. I love me some Boden and Donna (Melissa Ponzio), but it's really no competition. Also, get that woman some red wine! Hermann (David Eigenberg) attributing the idea to franchise Molly's to Shay tugged at my tiny heartstrings. I always loved their relationship. Ack! Another thing I'll miss. Is love in the air for Otis (Yuri Sardarov) and Sylvie? Please say yes, Otis deserves some romance. I may or may not be making a still of Boden in his Led Zeppelin shirt my computer background.
Well, how are we all holding up after that season premiere? Was the decision to kill off a character like Shay bold or bone-headed? Who else is dreading Dawson's imminent move to the new firehouse? When will there be more wood chopping?
Chicago Fire, rated TV-14, airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.Post By http://ift.tt/1CgfF0n