The promo for Chicago Fire season 14 episode 11 certainly set us up for a lot of drama. Just how does Carver take to Vasquez being in the house, and does he realize that something could potentially happen between Vasquez and Violet?
Chicago Fire season 14 episode 11 opens with Herrman and Mouch catching up, and it turns out that Mouch is pretty happy at 40. While it’s not quite 51, he seems to be settling in, which is great news. As for Herrmann, the house hunting isn’t going so well, and it’s something that I can definitely relate to.
I know we don’t want Mouch to find a new home, but I’m glad it’s going well for him. How well? I guess we’ll have to see if something is going to chance.
Meanwhile, Van Meter has a case for Severide to look into, and he’s not trusting anyone but Severide to look into his cases. Of course, Severide is on board.
Why Carver is turning up to the firehouse on Chicago Fire season 14 episode 11
We knew that Carver would show up at the firehouse, and now we find out why. It turns out that Carver’s chief has heard about the medic program, and now he wants to come by to hear about it. They haven’t spoken in months, and it’s sure to bring up issues.
Of course, a call interrupts the entire conversation, especially once Vasquez enters the chat. The call takes Firehouse 51 to a man hanging from a harness from an advertisement sign, and he’s completely out cold.
Violet opens up about her feelings about Carver coming to the firehouse
It’s clear that the guy has been electrocuted, and it doesn’t take long for Vasquez to shut down the electricity on the advertisement to get the worker down. In fact, when Violet and Novak take a look, there are no signs of where an electrical current is passing through, so what hurt him?
That will take time to get some answer to, it seems. When Violet and Novak return, we find out that Violet is spinning out from everything with Carver. At least, she turns to both Kidd and Novak to get some support for that, and both of them support her with whatever the feelings are when she sees him.
As for Severide, he looks into the case that Van Meter gave him. It turns out that Captain Hargrave, who Van Meter didn’t want to take on the case, took details of the investigation. That information never made it to the file, and Severide will want to find out why.
At the firehouse switchboard, Kidd gets an interesting call from CFD’s office of Professional Standards. It turns out that Uncle Larry, the lawyer on the billboard, owns the land that the accident happened, and he wants to get some answers about the firehouse that responded. Of course, Herrmann is sure that this will be detrimental to the firehouse.
Before Herrmann can get too much into a rant, Sam Carver arrives, and Violet immediately runs into a hug. You can feel the disappointment and jealousy coming from Vasquez. I do have to admit that when Carver says, “I miss you guys, though,” it’s not just Carver saying that. Jake Lockett misses the series.
The reunion is cut short with Violet and Novak called out to a house, where a guy’s hand has been caught in a motorcycle gear. Oh dear!
Severide gets a shocking update about Van Meter’s case
Due to the situation, Violet and Novak need to call in help from a firehouse. It’s Firehouse 40 who answers the call, so we get to see how Mouch is doing at his new firehouse. Honestly, things do look as good as he made them sound, although the younger firefighters do seem to love pushing him aside for some of the “heavier” tasks. Is it possible that they think he’s too old for the job?
Back at the firehouse, Uncle Larry turns up at the firehouse. It turns out that he’s not going to sue the city or the fire department. He is the one being sued, and he wants information about what happened at the billboard so that he can get his ducks in a row. Maybe he should have led with that, rather than making everyone think that he wanted to sue the city.
Now that Violet is done with emergency call, Violet gets a chance to see Carver. However, the conversation is focused on the program, giving Carver and Vasquez a chance to speak with each other. It’s immediately clear to Carver that there is something potentially going on between Violet and Vasquez, or maybe he just sees that Vasquez has a thing for Violet. He manages to keep things on track, though, focused on the scheduling, but it’s sure to change later on.
As Kidd goes through the reports, Herrmann wrote that the victim was clipped onto the electrical conduit. Is that what really happened, because if it did, then it means the victim is at fault. Herrmann was the one to see it all, so he needs to get the details put in order to help the case.
Severide is certainly worried about Hargrave trying to take over Van Meter’s position in a permanent way. When he goes to speak with Hargrave about the case, it turns out that it was closed weeks ago, by Van Meter himself. Is Van Meter losing the ability to go his job?
Herrmann learns what Uncle Larry really does on Chicago Fire season 14 episode 11
Herrmann takes a visit to Uncle Larry, who loves to show off his money. It turns out that Herrmann has the news that the billboard tech was the one at fault, and while Larry is relieved, he’s not happy. He does decide he wants to prove that he’s not a terrible person, even going into a case he helped for a city bus driver to sue the city for a good reason — and he did it pro bono. Herrmann realizes that Larry just helps to hold people who screw up accountable.
Severide has to go back to Van Meter to share the news about the case. Has he lost some memories of cases just before his injury? Is it possible that he’s going to lose his job? Severide things that he needs to see somebody — a neurologist — to check in on his brain health. Naturally, Van Meter is angry that Severide is bringing up this.
Meanwhile, at Molly’s, Carver — who isn’t drinking! — asks about Vasquez. Kidd makes it clear that he’s missed, but that doesn’t stop Carver from getting his back up when Vasquez tells Carver how important this program is to Violet. It’s clear that Carver is jealous, but does he really have a right to be considering he went to Denver and didn’t text her?
Herrmann gets a new idea to help his current life situation
Severide is struggling a little to deal with Van Meter, and he turns to the best person to help deal with that feeling: Stella! Yes, he turns to Kidd with his troubles, noting how different Van Meter is and how it’s clear that his breathing is so off that he probably won’t pass the physical again. Kidd is there to listen to Severide, and while not excusing Van Meter’s anger, but to help Severide understand it.
There’s even a beautiful mention of Benny, as Kidd realizes that Van Meter’s attitude is who Van Meter feels right now. While Severide didn’t have much sympathy for his dad back then, he understands it better now, but he’s still lost.
Back at the firehouse, Vasquez turns to Novak with photos of a new car that he’s found. He also asks about Carver, who is supposed to be turning up to save goodbye. He does say goodbye, and I think we can all collective scream at Carver not kissing Violet!
Elsewhere, Herrmann turns to Severide to ask for paperwork about the house fire at his place. It turns out that Herrmann has turned to Uncle Larry to sue the oven company that led to the housefire there. He just needs the OFI report to show that.
This could give Severide a chance to show that Van Meter matters and people care about him. Herrmann points out that it was how Van Meter and Severide were so dogged in searching for answers, and everyone needs firefighters like that.
Vasquez makes one thing clear
Severide decides that he needs to speak with the OFI about Van Meter to vouch for his job. It’s time to get Van Meter back in OFI, even while he’s in recovery. Is there a way to get Van Meter back in despite not being able to pass the physical? Is there another way to get his job back?
At Molly’s, Violet admits that she tried to hide to avoid the goodbye part. Vasquez turning up interrupts her conversation with Kidd and Novak, but we don’t quite get that conversation.
At the same time, Herrmann shares with Mouch that the oven company has sent in an offer to make the lawsuit go away. “Larry really did make him cry uncle,” and it’s enough to rebuild. Finally, Herrmann has some good news. They can go “home.”
It’s finally time for Mouch to be honest, as well. He doesn’t quite like Firehouse 40 after all. He knows that the rest of the team view him as an “old timer,” and they don’t see the sacrifices he’s made. If this is how he finishes the job, he doesn’t see what the point is. Herrmann wants Mouch to believe that there is a way to get back “home.”
To end Chicago Fire season 14 episode 11, Severide decides to pay Van Meter a visit. While Severide is there to offer an apology, Van Meter is the one who gives his apology. Van Meter even spoke to his daughter, Kerry, and they went to see the doctors. Van Meter wants to beat the Fit For Duty exam, but while that happens, Severide shares that there is hope. OFI uses consulting firms, and now it’s time for Van Meter to temporarily go private and become one of those “firms.” Of course, it’s something that Van Meter would love to do.
And at Molly’s, Novak rushes off to see Dr. Frost, while Vasquez shows off his new Challenger to Violet — and bless how Vasquez didn’t realize Kidd was trying to give them both a minute. In a good way, Violet is honest with Vasquez and admits that she’s not in a good headspace to be with Vasquez, and while Vasquez accepts that, he also points out that he is nothing like Carver. They get so close that they kiss, so I guess Violet is not getting an Uber after all!
