SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 9.

All of the storylines in Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 9 are easy to predict. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re bad, although one in particular will have fans of the NBC show talking. But “Crime of Passion” feels more like a functional episode. It exists purely to move characters to certain places they need to be.

The episode opens with Mouch wanting to file his appeal, but finding out that even the office he needs to file it with has been furloughed in another example of budget cuts. Once Chief Pascal decides to go to the media, viewers know the story will end with the public attention in Mouch’s favor. They also know, thanks to multiple mentions of Pascal not hearing from Annette Davis, that a “but” is coming. Therefore, the ending—that Mouch is being forcibly reassigned to Firehouse 40 thanks to “a serious enemy at City Hall”—is not that surprising. Of course once Pascal did an end-around past Annette, she was going to retaliate.

The other major storyline is the one that will be most controversial to Chicago Fire fans, as once again the writers pull the plug on characters trying to start a family. Isaiah’s mother has woken up from her coma—and designated a previously unmentioned family friend to take custody of her son. It’s the second time Stellaride fans have been teased with the hope of them being parents and had it taken away, and in that way it also feels like a repeat of the Louie situation that Dawson and Casey went through. At least Lydia is not written as an antagonist, and at least there’s the plan for our heroes to see Isaiah in the future, but will that actually happen or will the writers just move on? And why go down this road again, plot-wise? What was the purpose?

Even more obvious is the subplot involving Sal Vasquez, Violet Mikami and an airbag that injures Vasquez at the scene. The show has been hinting at a Vasquez and Violet pairing for weeks, but it may as well have put a flashing sign over them in “Crime of Passion.” Not only do the duo have a cute moment poking around in the wrecked car at a tow yard, not only do they almost talk about their feelings later, but there’s an exceedingly awkward scene between Violet and Lizzie Novak about if either of them like Vasquez that feels very much like when Stella and Sylvie Brett were not-fighting over Hazmat Zach years ago. Violet and Vasquez still feel too early to be a couple—especially given Violet’s romantic history that she brings up to Novak—but to make it a psuedo-triangle is even less convincing. (And any viewer who saw the promo for Episode 10 knows how this triangle is going to be resolved.)

On a more positive note, Joe Minoso returns from his one-episode break so that Chicago Fire can give fans Joe Cruz and Kelly Severide teaming up again, this time to help Severide officially arrest Kevin Moore for the fire that left Captain Van Meter in the hospital. Cruz and Severide’s friendship is always worth watching, and even though Van Meter’s fate remains in the balance (fingers crossed he’s not killed off for dramatic effect), at least the plot has some reasonable closure.

But for the most part, “Crime of Passion” feels like setup for future episodes rather than a story that stands on its own. It’s laying the groundwork for romantic drama between the paramedics and Vasquez. It’s spelling out that Pascal and Annette are going to be on a political collision course instead of being a couple. And it creates more drama for and between Stellaride that they didn’t necessarily need.

Stella’s point about having to do everything at home alone is understandable, but she says it herself: it’s also understandable that Severide is so committed to chasing the person who hurt Van Meter, given that Van Meter has become a good friend and major figure in his life. It’s a lose-lose situation for Severide, and a lose-lose situation for Stellaride as a duo, too. This is an episode that serves its practical purpose, but feels somewhat empty inside.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.