It’s been another short break, but we are back!
Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 15 was a so-so episode that really didn’t do much to advance the story, especially with Gallo and Violet.
The Herrmann family struggled with Cindy’s illness a lot, but Herrmann had them find a way to release the stress that could build up from this state of affairs.
Spoilers for Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 16 tease a tense episode as Cruz struggles with increased responsibilities and part of the team getting held hostage when they walk into a gang war.
With a baby and a young boy at home, one can assume that Cruz is stretched thin. Someone might think two children are not enough to drain someone’s energy, but they would be wrong.
You could say that Joe’s family grew overnight. It went from his wife and him to them sharing their home with two children.
Herrmann has six children, and they stress him out, except in his case, he has some experience and knows how to deal with it. Cruz has zero experience.
Lucky for him, Javi is a sweet kid who doesn’t get into much trouble and even helps out with the baby. Joe is lucky like that.
But even children have needs that parents and guardians must meet, whether providing for basic needs or attending school meetings and helping with homework.
You’d think Joe would get some respite since the baby is over a year old and Javi is no trouble, but life has a way of piling on new problems once the old ones are solved.
Severide’s untimely exit has left Squad without a leader. And as someone who has been on Squad for a long time and is the most reliable, all responsibilities will naturally fall on him.
The job is stressful by itself, but the added duties, especially for someone without prior experience as a leader like Joe, will be a challenge.
It will be something we see him struggle with during the episode, but in true Chicago Fire style, both his home and work families will be there to help.
Apart from Joe, Truck responds to an emergency involving a kid. Little do they know that they will be walking into the middle of a gang war.
Gallo, Kiid, and Carver enter a building to seek the victim who made the call, and while outside, Mouch spots something amiss. He warns them, but it is too little, too late.
Every time these guys respond to any kind of emergency, they often walk into danger. But the difference is that they are always prepared for anything that might go wrong.
No one can prepare you for having a gun pointed at your face when you are trying to save someone’s life.
The situation is bound to be tense as the emergency is time sensitive, with a kid being involved and all.
The promo video advertises it as a situation that will require silence — a little noise and some trigger-happy gangbanger could shoot.
The team tries their best, but as Kidd walks around looking for a place to take cover, she walks right into some of the gang members.
It’ll be scary, but we all know Kidd can handle herself.
If Cindy’s cancer has been a heavy load on the family, imagine how she feels.
It is common for terminally ill patients to just give up. And even if they don’t, it takes a lot of energy to try and smile through the pain. More often than not, they find themselves gloomy all the time.
That can greatly affect their mental health and be a source of concern for their loved ones.
Cindy falls into that pit of sadness, lack of morale, and low spirits, and Herrmann notices. Herrmann has been doing his best to help her, but he can’t help with everything. No one is really fully equipped to deal with all aspects of the human experience.
So, he seeks help. He gets Trudy to try and help lift Cindy’s mood.
This would not be the first time Trudy has helped Herrmann. Remember that one time when an influential person tricked Herrmann into letting him use Molly’s for his son’s adult party?
Trudy has never dealt with cancer directly, but she has interacted with people with cancer.
Despite being a tough, no-nonsense woman, Trudy is caring and understanding. This might be just what Cindy needs.
It’s easy to assume that she has started thinking of what might happen next if the treatments don’t work, but she can’t talk to Herrmann about such thoughts without causing panic.
She needs a friend. And as a woman, Trudy might be better able to understand her plight.
The previous episode dealt with the Gallo-Violet situation unsatisfactorily; they must do a better job if they decide to touch on it again.
A new romantic relationship developed between Carver and Wendy, and we can expect to see more of Wendy at Molly’s. In the promo images, she is seen drinking with the gang.
Whether the relationship will progress into something deeper remains to be seen because Carver has feelings for Kidd, and Wendy has complex feelings for Severide.
What are you most excited about in the episode? We always love reading your thoughts, so don’t hesitate to comment.
As always, you can watch Chicago Fire online on TV Fanatic.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
