After returning from a brief hiatus, CHICAGO FIRE brings all the drama and suspense we are used to. Between Herman teetering on the edge of life and death, a man-hunt to find the delinquent responsible for stabbing him, and a possible PROPOSAL, this cross-over episode was jam-packed with action.
To begin, Herman is found by Dawson and Ottis on the floor of the supply room with a stab wound to the abdomen. Rushed to the hospital, with his wife and all of 51 right behind, it is revealed that there is damage to his liver, kidneys and diaphragm. Though the bleeding hasn’t stopped, Herman is awake and talking and seems to be on the road to recovery.
It is during this time that Mouch reveals he has an engagement ring in his pocket, meant for girlfriend Trudy and, with the encouragement of Dawson and Cindy, muddles his way through a proposal back at the Firehouse. Unfortunately, Trudy says that getting an engagement ring should be the most romantic experience of a woman’s life, felt Mouch wasn’t doing it for the right reasons, and rejected the offer.
At this point, the team is called to a gas-leak fire, started by a woman who they believe to have been attempting suicide. Saving several victims trapped inside, including the woman who started it, the paramedics take over and head to the hospital, with Cruz tagging along due to smoke inhalation during the save.
Back at the hospital, the doctors ask Chile and Brett for some information on the woman they brought in from the fire, and Chile immediately gets defensive. This in conjunction with her recent pattern of lateness and picking fights with new beau Jimmy, shows there may be something up, though she claims to be fine.
The other call Firehouse 51 takes that day is one that hits close to home. Freddie, the kid who stabbed Herman, is trapped on a rooftop, and Cruz (the one who let him into the Firehouse in the first place) feels deeply responsible and guilty for Freddie’s actions. Climbing the ladder to try and rescue Freddie, Cruz assures the reluctant gang-member that he doesn’t want him to die. Finally, after the metal railing Freddie is on begins to break, he takes Cruz’s hand and they make it down safely.
When Cruz recounts this tale to Herman back at the hospital, he is assured by the older Fireman that he did the right thing-both by saving the kid and allowing him to be welcomed into the House. If that isn’t a good spirit from a guy who just got stabbed than I don’t know what is. Unfortunately, at this point Herman’s health takes a turn for the worse, and he is rushed into a risky surgery to try and stop the internal bleeding. All of 51 waits anxiously to see if the heart and soul of their house will make it out alive.
Watch an all new CHICAGO FIRE on Tuesday, January 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.