REVIEW: Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 10 Feels Entirely Out of Place

“The Wrong Guy” is a Chicago Fire episode in which several characters are out of place — which seems fitting, since the entire episode comes across as disjointed and disappointing. It isn’t a terrible episode, but it simply exists, with no clear purpose and no contribution to Season 12 as a whole. Calling it a filler episode is even a bit of a reach, because there’s only a few bits in the hour that will stick beyond the closing credits.

There are five different plots in “The Wrong Guy,” making it a busy episode despite the lack of actual momentum. Kelly Severide is filling in as acting supervisor, his wife Stella Kidd is worried about her Girls on Fire training program, Joe Cruz is startled by the return of someone from his adopted son Javi’s past, Violet Mikami campaigns to keep her new partner and Christopher Herrmann battles cell phone technology. Even with two main cast members missing, there’s a lot to keep track of, which is to the episode’s detriment.

Chicago Fire Introduces Jack Damon – And He’s Got Another Secret

New Character Follows an Old Pattern

Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 10’s primary storyline is the introduction of another new recurring character: Jack Damon (played by Michael Bradway). Bradway fills the space created by the exit of Rome Flynn as Derrick Gibson, who in turn came into the show after the departure of Alberto Rosende as Blake Gallo. It seems like Jack Damon is going to be another short-term character, because unsurprisingly, he has some ulterior motive. Near the end of the episode, Darren Ritter catches Damon on the phone with an unidentified person, telling them that “nobody here knows.”

This is not the first time that a supposed ally is being positioned as a villain. Say what you will about now-departed paramedic Jared Lennox, but at least he was clear in being a nuisance. But then there are characters like Jack Damon, Emma Jacobs and Hope Jacquinot — audiences have seen the heel turn before. And it does appear to be a heel turn; Jack cozies up to Stella and helps her save Girls on Fire with a TV interview, but then Severide admits to Stella that he doesn’t remember having taught Jack at the Academy. So why would Jack lie?

And furthermore, what would have been so wrong with him just being a fan of Firehouse 51 who ends up working there? With all the headline-grabbing things that happen at 51, that wouldn’t have been out of order — and it would be more interesting than having another problem child so soon after the Lennox plot. Hopefully Jack will prove all of this wrong, but right now he’s a new character going down an old road, and at some point, Firehouse 51 is going to have to start becoming more skeptical about the people they bring in. The best part of this plotline is the return of Katelynn Shennett as Kylie Estevez, filling in for Mouch… as both Christian Stolte and Eamonn Walker sit this episode out.

Chicago Fire Gives Joe Minoso a Dramatic Storyline

Yet It’s Not a Good Week for Joe Cruz

The second storyline in “The Wrong Guy” involves Joe Cruz’s adopted son Javi. Cruz is anxious when he learns that Javi’s uncle Dennis is in Chicago and wants to re-establish contact with Javi, fearing that the other man will want to contest the adoption. Perhaps he still remembers all the drama that Monica Raymund’s character Gabriela Dawson went through with Louie. Chicago Fire has done three major adoption storylines in its time — with Dawson, Sylvie Brett and Cruz — and all of them have been fairly dramatic. In Cruz’s case, though, this concept takes a hard right turn because Dennis is not actually related to Javi at all. He’s a scam artist, insisting that Cruz give him $50,000 to go away.

The best part of this subplot is that it means more screen time for Joe Minoso. Being part of the supporting cast, he doesn’t always get a big story, and when he does it’s often comedic like the Slamigan story in Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 5, “On the Hook.” When Minoso gets those dramatic plotlines he’s fantastic; and “The Wrong Guy” is no exception. Audiences know immediately that the woman Cruz presents as his wife is not actually Chloe… leading to a beat of genuine satisfaction when Dennis gets arrested by a whole group of undercover cops. And the interactions between Cruz and Javi continue to be so heartfelt that it’s impossible not to adore them.

But what does this plotline do other than reinforce that Cruz is a great dad? It’s a headache for him, heartache for Javi, and that’s about it. The same goes for the Violet and Novak bit, in which Violet learns that Novak does not want to become her new partner because she’d rather work at other firehouses with her friends. Violet trying to become more friendly with Novak feels desperate — especially since her explanation of why she wants to partner with Novak is telling Stella that Novak has “some skills and she’s not a shill for Chief Robinson.” That’s far from a ringing endorsement. These are two more storylines where everyone feels like they’re sort of lost and fumbling around, and that just makes the episode as a whole feel like it doesn’t belong, either.

Does Chicago Fire Give David Eigenberg Enough Credit?

Herrmann and Ritter’s Comedic Story Is the Only One That Hits

There’s one aspect of “The Wrong Guy” that works, and it’s entirely because of David Eigenberg and Daniel Kyri. The episode opens with Christopher Herrmann’s daughter Annabelle getting a new phone, and Herrmann inadvertently learning that he can track his children via their cell phones. Ritter reluctantly shows him how to do it — and then predictably Herrmann goes way over the top with this new ability and gets himself in trouble. When Ritter makes a comment about technology falling into the wrong hands, that’s a perfect way to sum up the entire storyline. But it’s a success because Kyri and Eigenberg play it perfectly. Kyri knows how to play a wary, beleaguered Ritter opposite the high-strung energy that Eigenberg brings when Herrmann is on an absolute tear.

If it does anything, this episode reinforces how valuable David Eigenberg is to the series — and how the show leans into his talents. It’s not that he’s underused, but that he’s so spectacularly good both comedically and dramatically that he deserves more praise than he gets. Eigenberg can be a lightning rod for Chicago Fire, and in turn, Chicago Fire gives Eigenberg a stage that other shows don’t. He has some laugh-out-loud moments here with both Kyri and the delightful Robyn Coffin, who plays Cindy Herrmann. But it’s not just comedy for comedy’s sake, like some of the other Season 12 subplots have been. This comes from a place that is completely in character for Herrmann. Of course he doesn’t know enough about technology and of course he’s going to overparent. The laughs spring organically from the people involved, and they make an otherwise largely forgettable episode worth watching.

“The Wrong Guy” does notice the absences of Boden and Mouch — ironically happening in the same week that Hank Voight is absent from Chicago P.D. — but even if they had been there, they’d just have added to an episode that’s too crowded and too all over the place. Less plots with stronger focuses would definitely have helped; perhaps then some of the storylines could have been developed further and found more to offer. As it is, aside from a hug for Cruz and laughs for Herrmann, this is one that fans aren’t likely to remember.