For the longest time, Severide has needed to understand why Hopkins has been gunning for him on Chicago Fire.
It was clear that Benny had something to do with it, and Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 20 finally delivers the answers.
While it helps to give Hopkins a reason for his actions against Severide, there’s a lot for the battalion chief to learn.
At the same time, it raises a discussion that has been needed for years regarding Severide’s career progression.
While all that goes on, Novak and Violet get a call that turns personal, and Mouch changes his mind about his book.
Novak’s Call Turns Personal
Chicago Fire Season 14 has spent some time developing Novak’s backstory, giving us a chance to learn that she raised her siblings.
It reminded me a lot of Charmed, with Prue raising Piper and Phoebe, leading to a strained relationship.
We saw that it leads to a difficult balancing act, and Novak has experienced the same with her siblings.
It was because of how Novak had to become a mother to her siblings that she ended up pushing them away, and that comes up again throughout the hour.
During the call, Novak learns that her sister, Heidi, is the patient, and it’s not looking good.
I do have to question how Novak didn’t even realize the address was her sister’s, unless I missed something in a conversation, but shouldn’t she have realized that her sister was the one in danger?
Regardless, we get a powerful hour for Novak, as she also has to deal with her younger brother, who has been left completely out of the loop.
This could have turned into an argument, and it almost did. After all, it’s not exactly like her brother has even tried to keep in touch with his sisters.
He’s been out of state and uncommunicative, so why should he be surprised that both of his sisters have faced medical emergencies and not told him?
However, Novak remains the bigger person — the mom that she has grown up being — and listens.
Active listening is a mighty tool in high-tension situations, and we see Novak keeping the focus on the situation and on healing.
At the same time, we see the support Novak has.
Not only does Violet wait around in the hospital’s waiting room for answers, but Vasquez joins her.
It’s a clear hint that there’s something potentially going to happen between Vasquez and Novak, and I think Violet may be happy with this.
I don’t want to see a love triangle cause problems between these two strong females, because we deserve to see how positive female friendships can be.
There is a positive to take from it all, though, and that’s that Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 18 definitely made the parademics stronger.
Mouch Realizes the Problem with His Memoir
At the end of the previous episode, Mouch felt like he had a memoir. Even Herrmann was supportive of it.
So, what changes? Why isn’t Mouch taking calls from publishers throughout the installment?
At first, it looks like Mouch is salty that Herrmann pointed out Mouch was going to make a bad call during an emergency, but that had nothing to do with it.
Those who have followed Chicago Fire for years will know that Mouch doesn’t get grumpy and silent when he knows that he made a mistake.
He beats himself up about it, but he doesn’t get angry at the person who points out the flaw, so it was clear something else was playing on his mind.
As he deleted the title of his memoir, it was clear what that problem was, and the ending brought a heartwarming touch.
This story wasn’t just Mouch.
Who has been there every step of the way for him? Who has always had his back? Herrmann!
I know at the start of the season that it’s time for Herrmann to retire, and there are times when I still think that.
However, I do admit that there are times when experience is necessary, and this was one of them, and Mouch proves that with the change to his memoir.
The stories of the past are those of both of these firefighter legends, and those stories need to be immortalized.
Severide Clears Benny’s Name — And Gets Answers About Hopkins
All Rob Morgan would tease about Hopkins’ storyline on Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 20 was that it would include a huge reveal.
Hopkins’ motivation over the last few episodes would be revealed, and they certainly were.
While I wondered if Benny had done something fishy, I should have known that the character played by Brooke Smith, who played one of the most hated characters on Grey’s Anatomy, would have something bigger to do with it.
She wanted Hopkins to leave the past in the past, far too much, considering her career had been detailed by Benny Severide.
So, when Severide and Cruz realized that the investigation into Hopkins and Williams was linked to a missing watch during a jewelry store fire, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize where the writing was going.
It was a little too obvious at this point.
For all of Benny’s faults, he’s never been written as a thief, so it had to be either Hopkins or Williams.
Hopkins had too much of a grudge against Severide for it to be him, and Williams was more than happy to lead Severide on what could have been a wild goose chase, believing that he wasn’t good enough at investigating crimes.
Even Hopkins knew that Severide is a damn good arson investigator, so of course, he was going to crack a 30-year-old case.
I felt for Hopkins as the truth came out.
For decades, he believed that Benny was responsible for the theft. At least, he believed his own partner that she didn’t do it, so it had to be Benny.
This grudge ate at his soul, turning him into a bitter man, and it could have completely destroyed an innocent firefighter’s career.
In the end, Hopkins does accept that he was in the wrong, and I was glad to see that. We could have had a whole other episode that saw a fight over pulling the Internal Affairs investigation.
Instead, we get to see a swift end to the Hopkins arc. He’s not going to be fired, but he won’t be a problem anymore.
In fact, Firehouse 51 could end up with a battalion chief they could lean on.
He did have a lot of respect for the firehouse as a whole, and now that he knows the type of man Severide is, he’s not likely to stonewall. I’m here for his return if it’s ever needed for an episode here or there.
My question now is whether Lucy has actually lost her job, or if she will become a problem during the Chicago Fire Season 14 finale.
Hopkins was right to let her go, given that she forged a record to obtain the necessary paperwork.
I go back to Charmed with the saying, “the wrong thing done for the right reasons is still the wrong thing.” That’s exactly the case with Lucy.
We haven’t gotten to know her all that well yet, so I could go either way on whether she returns. No shade to Jeanine Mason at all, because I love her, but from a storyline perspective, I don’t mind which way the writers go with this one.
What I am invested in is Severide’s potential career move.
I’ve said for years that OFI is the perfect place for Severide.
Sure, he’s a damn good Squad lieutenant, but he’s also exceptionally good at arson investigations. He has a gift that can’t always be taught, and this installment is proof of that.
Van Meter notes that a few years ago, he wouldn’t have even entertained the idea himself for the now-captain, but things have changed, and this could be a great move for Chicago Fire Season 15.
Cruz is stepping up more and more to lead Squad, and he’s made it clear that he wants to move up the ladder. This is the way to do it and keep everyone around.
While many of the arcs throughout the episode have been done throughout the years, I’m happy with the way Hopkins’ story has wrapped. It’s quick, it’s simple, and now we can just move on.