Chicago Fire season 14 is nearly over, and the penultimate episode of the season continued to build towards a final showdown between Severide and Hopkins.
After finding out that Hopkins had put him under investigation with Internal Affairs, Severide and Kidd began to look into Hopkins’ past in hopes of getting intel on what went down back in the day between him and Benny. As episode 20 begins, Van Meter comes to visit Severide, having been told about Hargraves offering him the position over at OFI.
Severide informs him that Kidd took off to Cleveland to see Isaiah as his mom had a setback in her recovery, but before she left, she showed him a file that arrived at their door from an anonymous sender. Hopkins and Williams were accused of stealing a high-end watch. IA cleared them but Benny suspended them for conduct unbecoming and had them transferred out of the house. Severide is working to comb through the files before he takes this to IAD, and Van Meter notes he doesn’t have much time, as the case is moving fast. He heads to 51 and pulls Cruz aside to enlist his help.
Also arriving for the day are Lucy and Herrmann, who walk in together as Herrmann tells her he has a bone to pick with her since she hasn’t come to Molly’s once. He reminds her that she’s part of the 51 family and Molly’s is for her too as she thanks him for the invite. He heads inside, where he finds Mouch stashing his phone. We learn that Mouch sent his book out to publishers; he hasn’t heard back yet, and Herrmann encourages him to give them some time.
Speaking of Molly’s, Violet and Novak talk about Molly’s popping off the prior night and how they had fun but missed Vasquez. As they enter the floor of the firehouse, they see Vasquez by Truck 81 and joke about him blowing Molly’s off for a cop bar as he comments, “Something like that,” but the conversation is cut short as they head out to respond to a call.
After a tense call, Severide walks Cruz through the case and how the owner of a jewelry store found a watch valued at 50,000 went missing. Security footage put a watch on a table until firefighters arrive, but that’s when the cameras cut out. According to the reports, Hopkins and Williams were the only ones who entered the building suggesting that one of the two was to blame.
As they review the files, Cruz recognizes Williams as having come into the firehouse last week before he wrote Severide up and suggests she’s in on this. Severide heads out to speak with Williams, suggesting that Hopkins is willing to steamroll anyone, and that might include Williams. Elsewhere, Herrmann worries that he overstepped on the call, and Mouch is annoyed, as Mouch tells him it’s no problem. Herrmann suggests that something seems to be bothering him, and Mouch admits it’s not about the call; it’s about the book. The waiting is torture and has him on edge.
Severide heads out to see Williams and she notes she has no intention of discussing an ongoing investigation with him. He notes he’s just trying to understand more about the grudge between Hopkins and Benny. Williams notes that all she knows was that Hopkins was next to her the entire time on the call and that’s all she knows as she suggests that someone else was behind the theft, strongly suggesting that Benny took the watch as she shows him out the door.
After her visit with Severide, Hopkins goes to see Williams, and she informs him that Severide is working to connect the dots. Hopkins quickly realizes that Severide is working to build a case against them that proves this was retaliation. Hopkins asks if she told him it was Benny who stole the watch, but rather than coming clean about how heavy-handed she was in implying this, she notes that Severide figured it out on his own. Hopkins notes that getting rid of Severide is the goal, but it seems that he’s not on board with the idea. Williams remarks that the case has been cold for 30 years, and if Severide is chasing ghosts, he’s not building a retaliation case against them.
Back at the firehouse, Severide and Cruz work on tracking Benny’s steps during the call on a map to try to place him on the scene. As they review the timeline and try to piece together where everyone was, Cruz finds that Benny was off-radio for 98 seconds and no one could corroborate his whereabouts in that time. Cruz wonders what they’re doing here now and mentions how, were Kidd here, she would probably be keeping him from digging into Benny’s past like this. Cruz tries to remind Severide that this was about saving his job, but Severide wants to see this through.
A call hits close to home for Novak
Novak and Violet respond to a call with Vasquez and Herrmann, and they find that the victim is Novak’s sister Heid, who is unconscious having overdosed. Violet runs point and they’re able to get her back as they race her to Med for further treatment. When Herrmann and Vasquez get to the firehouse, they hear a noise and Herrmann realizes it’s Mouch’s phone. He races off to Mouch, but Mouch sends the call to voicemail and snaps at Herrmann for not letting things be.
Severide and Cruz reveal some old footage from frames, but none from during the 98 seconds. That’s when Cruz notices how deep the building was, wondering if Benny would have had time to get to the office time at the back of the building, especially with the path he’d have to take and the smoke. As they review photos of the path, Severide asks about when Engine 24 landed on the scene and notes that they’re looking at the wrong time window – hinting it was someone on Engine 24.
Violet takes ambo out of rotation as Novak’s brother arrives at the hospital just as the nurse informs them the doctor has cleared her for visitors. They head back to the ED and Heidi apologizes as she admits she wasn’t thinking. Novak notes she cannot keep going down this road as Will realizes this isn’t the first time that Heidi has overdosed. Will confronts his sisters for keeping so much from him as he exits.
Back at 51, Hopkins is heading out for the night and asks Lucy about some files being pulled from personal. He notes he was surprised that the request came from him as he informs her that he has no choice but to let her go, firing her on the spot.
Will eventually returns and he tells Novak about how he found out the truth about their mom from a girl at school. Novak apologizes and he notes that he’s not saying it was on her as she explains how sometimes you think you’re protecting someone when you’re really just pushing them away. Heidi is surprised to find her siblings still there as she admits she’s not okay, she just doesn’t know how to stop and needs help. Novak assures her they’ll figure this out together.
Vasquez comes to check on Novak’s sister, and Violet gets him an update on things. As they sit, Violet admits she was just thinking that Novak is a really amazing person, and he agrees that she is.
After shift, Severide goes to see Hopkins at his home. He mentions he went over every inch of the case and there were only three people who could have taken the watch, as he mentions having clear, definitive evidence that rules out at least one of those people.
Following the conversation with Severide, Hopkins goes to see Williams and reveals Severide came to see him. He shows her a photo from the scene that shows the watch box left a residue when the sprinklers went on, which proves the watch was stolen after the sprinklers were triggered. This also means that Benny couldn’t have taken the watch, as he was never in the building after the sprinklers went off. Hopkins notes that Williams dropped to her knees when her mask malfunctioned, and he never questioned her story and he believed her because they were partners.
Williams admits that after all the hazing they experienced, she felt she was owed something and took the watch. She never meant for things to fall on him as Hopkins confronts her for hanging him out to dry and ruining his career.
Hopkins drops the IA investigation with Severide
The next day, Severide goes to see Hopkins and we learn that Williams came clean about taking the watch. Hopkins notes that he pulled the IA request, which should have never been filed, as he was wrong and refers to Severide as Captain. Hopkins admits he was wrong about Severide and made wrong assumptions about who he was. Severide admits his dad was a difficult person who could put people through hell, and Hopkins admits that this is true but it also made him realize how much he wanted this as he reveals he’ll be returning to his old office at Firehouse 20 next shift.
Novak comes out to see Violet and Vasquez. She’s going to go home and get cleaned up before returning. She thanks them both for being there for her as Violet steps away. Novak thanks him for coming and the trio head out.
Cruz informs Herrmann, Capp, and Tony that Hopkins has left to return to his old office at 20. Mouch arrives and he apologizes to Herrmann, pointing out he was just trying to help and Herrmann saved their asses on the call. Mouch tells Herrmann this book shouldn’t be a memoir as he didn’t get here alone, someone’s always had his back. He’s going to name the book “Brothers-in-Arms” and celebrate their journey as this is their story.
Severide and Van Meter sit down and he admits he didn’t think Severide would find something in the old file, but he shouldn’t have overlooked him. Severide remarks about being glad 51 is no longer in anyone’s crosshairs as Van Meter notes that Hargraves’ idea for him to take over OFI wasn’t just about a way out of the IA investigation. Severide’s leadership is exactly what OFI needs right now and he hopes Severide will consider the position.