Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 5, “Down the Rabbit Hole” is a reminder that not every TV episode can be a winner. Even great shows have bad outings, and while this one isn’t terrible, it’s definitely one of the weakest in the season so far. That’s because the storyline it’s building most of its tension on was already running thin — and the developments here push it into outright frustrating territory.
“Down the Rabbit Hole” sees Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide investigating an unethical trucking company that appears to be responsible for multiple accidents, with Stella trying to convince a driver to turn on her boss. Meanwhile, Christopher Herrmann ropes the newest member of Engine into helping with his latest crusade to get new radios. But most of the plot surrounds Violet Mikami and Sam Carver, and it makes the audience wish that Violet and Carver would either get themselves together or just move on already.
Chicago Fire Features a Stellaride Mission
Severide and Kidd Get to Work Together Again
Some of Kelly Severide’s best plots have been when he goes off to do arson investigations, which audiences just saw in Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 3, “All Kinds of Crazy.” This episode follows a similar blueprint, but instead of arson it’s an accident case, and it puts Stella Kidd into the mix with Severide. In fact, it’s more of a Stella story because she’s the one who puts the trucking company on Severide’s radar, and she’s the one who comes up with the idea to pursue the driver Lisa as a witness. As much as Stellaride’s romance and marriage bring to the show, it’s always nice when the writers remember that they make a great professional team, too.
Yet as far as cases of the week go, this isn’t one of the more memorable ones. The trucking company boss Maddox is the obvious bad guy from the moment he shows up aggressively at the latest accident scene, which means the viewers are just waiting for Stella and Severide to clear a few hurdles before inevitably taking him down. And those speed bumps are also predictable: Lisa doesn’t want to say anything for fear of losing her job. The Department of Transportation can’t help pursue the case. The most excitement happens near the end, when everyone is called out to Maddox’s building and Stella finds Lisa’s son Michael injured after an altercation. Even then, that’s just the moment where Stella can finally give the guy a piece of her mind.
However, this does allow Chief Dom Pascal to sum up Stella in one perfect sentence, when he tells Severide that she’s “a hell of a pain in the ass.” For him to say that so bluntly, and to say it to her husband, is funny but he’s also not wrong. Miranda Rae Mayo is wonderful at the times when Stella gets to dig her heels in — and this is one of those episodes. It seems like Pascal’s concern about Severide and Stella working at the same firehouse has gone by the wayside.
Chicago Fire Takes Violet and Carver to New Lows
Season 13, Episode 5 Gives Both Characters the Short End of the Stick
In contrast to Stellaride’s solid marriage is the mess that Chicago Fire has made of Violet and Carver. Whether or not fans ship them as a couple, there’s no denying that the whole Violet, Carver and Tori storyline is played out and now, stretching the limits of plausibility. Especially after Season 13, Episode 4, “Through the Skin” was such a strong episode for Violet, it’s disappointing to see how much this episode lets down both her and Carver.
The gist of their subplot is that Carver finally finds out about the text Violet sent him earlier in Season 13. Carver clearly still cares for Violet, as evidenced by how he initially says he won’t be at her birthday party, but then changes his mind and shows up at Molly’s anyway — only for Tori to walk into the bar. It’s worth noting that Carver handles the whole situation badly, giving half-hearted excuses to both women, so he’s not an innocent party by any means. But thanks to Ritter, he’s also able to recover the text from Violet, and he’s equally half-hearted in confronting his girlfriend about it. This should be the scene where he explodes and stands up for himself, especially as Tori is spewing clear nonsense about Violet “manipulating” him and trying to mess with his head. Even given Carver and Violet’s history, one would think he’d give Violet a little more credit than that. Or at least reject Tori for her manipulations and be single. But he doesn’t, and goes right back to making out with Tori.
That backslide would be frustrating enough, but Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 5 also introduces a clear fourth wheel to the love triangle. When treating an injured food vendor, Violet and Lizzie Novak meet a good Samaritan named Flynn, who shows up at Firehouse 51 later to ask Violet about first aid classes. She offers to meet him for a cup of coffee. This development has vibes of when Season 7 introduced Naomi Graham as an obvious stopgap to keep Jesse Spencer’s character Matthew Casey and Sylvie Brett from getting together. It’s not necessary, fans already know it won’t last, and Violet and Carver’s character development is tied up in this love… square? Both of them deserve more than the drama this plotline is giving them, and the more it goes on, the less interest there’s going to be in Violet and Carver as a potential couple.
Chicago Fire’s Humor Improves in Season 13, Episode 5
The Comedic Subplots Are Better in This Episode
The comic relief hasn’t always been great in Season 13 — so Episode 5 goes back to its most reliable source: David Eigenberg as Christopher Herrmann. Whether it’s on And Just Like That… or Chicago Fire, Eigenberg is always able to chew the scenery — and that’s what he does as he elevates another “one of the supporting cast has a righteous crusade” story. In this episode, Herrmann wants better radios, and he enlists Kylie to help him. The plot itself definitely isn’t new, but it’s great fun to see Eigenberg play more off Katelyn Shennett, and also for Shennett to work with Daniel Kyri, as Darren Ritter gives Kylie advice on not falling down the titular rabbit hole. It’s a subtle way to show how Kylie is reintegrated into the firehouse in a different capacity.
Darren Ritter: Herrmann’s the kind of boss you’d follow anywhere.
Interestingly, another source of humor comes from the most unlikely place: Dermot Mulroney as Chief Pascal. Not only does he get that spot-on line about Stella, but a whole other subplot revolves around Ritter wanting face time with his new boss and Novak trying to help him after she startles him into dropping one of Pascal’s most important awards. Novak’s fixation on Pascal is also very played out (hopefully his wife Monica doesn’t learn about it), but seeing how much Ritter and Novak want to impress him is entertaining. And Mulroney plays against the nervous energy of Kyri and Jocelyn Hudon so well. “Down the Rabbit Hole” is a flat entry for Chicago Fire, but at least it gives Pascal a break from his own relationship issues.
