Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 17 Review: A Meandering Episode That Ties up Loose Ends

Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 17, “A Beast Like This” is what people mean when they talk about the length of a network television season. There’s always an episode or two that’s designed to fill time between one major storyline and the next, because there’s just so many episodes that need doing. For One Chicago fans, this somewhat meandering hour ties up some plotlines and sets the stage for new ones to start the next time out.

“A Beast Like This” covers Captain Dom Pascal’s continued downward spiral, the official arrival of Jack Damon to Firehouse 51, and the sort of love triangle between Violet Mikami, her boyfriend Flynn and a not-quite-absent Sam Carver. There are emergencies of the week, of course, but the bulk of the episode feels like a pause between everything that’s just happened and whatever the creative team has planned for the esto f the season. That doesn’t make it a bad episode, simply not the best one when viewed on its own.

Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 17 Addresses Pascal’s Behavior – Sort Of

After Chief Dom Pascal’s completely warranted meltdown in Episode 16, one of the stories in “A Beast Like This” is, again, whether or not he’s okay. Indicators point to “no,” especially when he confronts a woman who accidentally drove into a shopping mall and onto a young girl. Pascal himself even admits doubt about his fitness. But there’s no major intervention for Pascal among the Firehouse 51 crew, which is a little bit of a surprise considering the severity with which he behaved in Episode 16. If this storyline had happened to anyone who wasn’t the Battalion Chief, would the team be a little more direct? But for whatever reason, the person who does say something is Lizzie Novak.

The scene between Novak and Pascal in Pascal’s office is a callback to earlier in Season 13, when Pascal had some words of wisdom for an upset Novak. In fact, she quotes them back to him here. It’s nice to remember that there’s a side to Novak that isn’t all flippant, especially since at the start of the season, she was even making flirty comments about Pascal. Her words may not be as impactful as Severide’s before her but she’s trying — and somebody has to. That moment, and the scene of Pascal trying to pack up his late wife Monica’s belongings, are moving him forward and moving the show past the storyline of Monica’s death.

The real test for Pascal will be in Episode 18, when his predecessor Chief Wallace Boden returns. There will be an immediate comparison from One Chicago fans between Boden and Pascal, seeing them in the same room. It will also be interesting to see if Boden himself calls out any of Pascal’s behavior, because the brief appearance of Lieutenant Vale in this episode is proof that news of Monica’s passing has spread through the whole Chicago Fire Department. Viewers know Boden isn’t coming back full-time, but he could be the character who suggests (or orders!) that Pascal take some time off.

Chicago Fire Spends More Time Rehabilitating Jack Damon

Michael Bradway Might Be Earning His Own Spot

The second major storyline in Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 17 is Jack Damon’s first official shift since coming back to Firehouse 51, and how he reacclimates to the group. The episode does its best to get fans further on Damon’s side, having him break a firehouse record that was previously set by fan-favorite Matthew Casey and Blake Gallo. And to his credit, Damon does appear incredibly eager and humbled, which is fun when contrasted against the cynicism of Christopher Herrmann. It may never erase the strange, roundabout way Damon got to this point, but everyone is definitely trying.

For example, Damon immediately breaks off his fling with Novak at the top of the episode. Though they kissed in Episode 16, and they’re shown in Novak’s bed together, Damon makes the point that they now work at the same firehouse so a relationship wouldn’t be a good idea. And his argument is factually valid, even if almost completely inapplicable to Firehouse 51, where people have been attracted to one another since Casey and Gabriela Dawson way back in Season 1. It would also be a surprise if Chicago Fire really just lets the subplot drop like that after teasing it for so long. But Damon deserves credit for wanting to be professional — another example of how far he’s come since his first go-around. He is actually an endearing character, and probably should’ve been written that way from the start.

This begs the question of whether or not Chicago Fire is setting up actor Michael Bradway as a new series regular. There isn’t necessarily a need for a new main cast member, but this episode goes hard on how great Damon is, and given how he got back to 51, it’s really difficult to think of a way in which he’d leave again. His character arc would just feel like one big circle. Plus, much like Damon, Bradway is definitely doing all he can to impress now that he has more material to work with.

Chicago Fire Teases Fans With Carver’s Return – What Will It Mean?

Violet’s Storyline Fills Time for Her Personal Dilemma

The main emergency of the week in Season 13, Episode 17 is Novak and Violet Mikami responding to two calls that seem to be unrelated, but the victims happen to work out at the same gym. It takes a while to get there, but Violet deduces that something is going on at the gym, and off-screen one of the victims confesses that the owner is selling off-market steroids cut with a sedative. The fact that said evidence comes out off-camera suggests that Chicago Fire is just using this plot to fill some time for Violet, who is debating her inability to open up to Flynn while also getting a text from Carver that he’ll be back next shift.

This is great news for fans, because Carver and actor Jake Lockett have both been missed since his departure in Episode 14. But it also puts the show in position to resolve the Violet, Flynn and Carver triangle that’s been going through most of Season 13. There’s only so long that can drag on, and Carver in particular needs some resolution since his only other storyline was hooking up with his ex Tori for a while. His personal life has had enough drama in it for a while; especially as he’s recovering, he needs to find stability. Everyone is better off with this plot in the books, including Flynn, who’s done enough to become liked by fans — even though he’s probably the odd man out.

There’s also a storyline with Stella Kidd using Girls on Fire to fill the void while she and Severide wait for adoption news, only to find out that the young woman who shows up wanting to join the program is someone Stella previously saved when she was at her old firehouse. It’s too early to call, but this plotline feels a bit strange, and like something the show will run over multiple episodes. And it can do that, because Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 17 effectively clears the deck. It’s not the most thrilling episode on its own, but it’s basically telling fans to catch up because bigger things are coming.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. on NBC.