#Chicago Fire Season 9 Episode 14 Review: What Comes Next

Everything is falling into place for the firefighters at 51.

We have promotions, awards, and possible marriage proposals and declarations of love on the horizon by the Chicago Fire Season 9 Episode 14.

What could possibly go wrong? Oh, wait, everything.

First things first, a big congratulations to Lt. Stella Kidd on passing the exam. 

It’s an incredible accomplishment for her, and around at Molly’s won’t suffice.

Headquarters called. Exam results are in. So I’m gonna need a round for the house, lieutenant.
Boden

A marriage proposal would be more like it, though the promos have us a little worried about the season not ending with a Stellaride engagement.

We all knew it would be too good to last, but apparently, the writers couldn’t even let us have a week to bask in the possibility. 

Based on the promos, it seems Severide reconsiders the possibility of proposing, and that decision may or may not have something to do with Kidd possibly being reassigned.

Firehouse 51 doesn’t have any open lieutenant spots, so if Kidd wants that promotion, she’ll need to switch houses.

That doesn’t bode well for her future at 51, but if there’s one thing this show has taught me, it’s that Firehouse 51 always finds a way.

Kidd may spend some time at a different firehouse next season, but she’ll eventually come home.

Unfortunately, Severide may not see that far into the future and assume his relationship with Kidd will somehow change if she’s at a different firehouse or on a different shift than him.

That’ll most likely cause him to retreat inward and become distant, not telling Kidd about his plans to propose until she forces it out of him.

Severide: To be honest, it’s not the test that’s on my mind. It’s what comes next. I wanted to let her focus on making lieutenant so I’ve been holding off, but I want to talk to her about getting married.

Casey: You’re gonna propose?

Severide: Not exactly. She always used to say she’d never get married again, so I just want to put it out there as an idea. See where she’s at.

Casey: Huh?

Severide: What’s that mean?

Casey: No, nothing. I’m real happy for you. It’s exciting news.

Severide: Yeah, thanks.

Why can’t TV couples ever be happy? Oh right, that’s because it’s television.

So, with this being a television series, Stellaride will end the season one of three ways: One, they’re engaged, and we’re all happy. Two, Severide proposes, and the season ends on a cliffhanger. Or three, they break up, and/or one of them asks for some space.

There’s a lot that can happen, so let’s pray to the TV gods that’s it’s good news.

And speaking of good news, Severide’s pep talks may have been just the push Casey needs to tell Brett how he feels.

We all knew it was building to this, especially after Grainger revealed Brett loves Casey too.

Anyone with eyes can see how the duo feel about each other, and now, it’s just a matter of one of them getting up the nerve to make the first move.

They’ve technically been down this road before, but confessions of love may be just the thing to get the soon-to-be couple over the Dawson hurdle.

Maybe if Brett hears those words, “I love you,” straight from Casey’s lips, you’ll realize that he’s sincere when he says it.

And that Dawson, who will always have his heart, is part of his past, but his future is with Brett.

Severide: Are you ever going to tell her?

Casey: Tell her what?

Severide: You know what.

Casey: It’s not that simple. She’s the one that called things off, said Dawson was always going to be between us.

Severide: Think she’s right?

Because if the show isn’t building to this, then what the heck have the writers been doing for the past season?

There’s only so much emotional manipulation we can take at one point, and at least one couple deserves to be happy, whether that be Stellaride or Brettsey.

Moving on from the romance, the remainder of the installment was split between seriousness and laughs.

On the serious side, we had Casey and Severide once again playing detective and getting justice for Pete and his wife, Jessica.

Of course, we’ll overlook that they gathered the evidence they needed to tie the gardening company owner to the illegal dumping by trespassing and illegally searching the property.

Pretty sure in a court of law, the evidence would be inadmissible, but hey, it’s television, right?

Overlooking the illegality of it all, Casey and Severide were able to give Pete, the pet food facility owner, some much-needed answers on the how and why of the fire because the poor guy was beating himself up pretty badly.

It was sweet and wholly expected the lengths Casey and Severide went to find answers for Pete.

Casey: You two have that connection we saw with Pete and his wife, the thing people look for their whole lives. My advice, you’re overthinking this marriage thing. You don’t need to talk it over with Stella. You just need to propose. You think I’m wrong?

Severide: No, you’re probably dead on, but you’re telling me to stop second guessing everything and take action.

Casey: In so many words.

Severide: Then I’d say maybe you should take your own advice.

That’s one of the best things about 51: They’re always willing to go that extra mile for the people they meet on the job.

It can be something as simple as showing up for a funeral or helping a homeless teen find somewhere safe to stay, or in this instance, tracking down an illegal dumper, but 51 always answers the call.

And lastly, the garage sale and the reappearance of Veronicat dovetailed nicely to inject some hilarity into a relatively somber episode.

It’s hard to pinpoint what the funniest moment was since there were so many.

Brett’s glee over Mouch accidentally selling Veronicat, Capp’s weird attachment to his varsity letterman jacket, and Mouch’s obsession with the garage sale are just a few of them.

In short, it was the perfect subplot, melding fun with a one-off event that included some of our favorite characters — i.e., Gallo and Ritter.

Some stray thoughts:

• I love how everyone had a cat allergy when Brett asked her fellow firefighters if they could watch Veronicat. It was hysterical. 

• Mouch will be awarded the firefighters’ medal of valor for his heroics on Chicago Fire Season 9 Episode 12. It’s great to see the guy getting the recognition he deserves after feeling like he’s too old or always being overlooked for most of the season.

• Gallo performed an incredibly risky save again, but this time he asked Casey’s permission before doing something crazy. So it’s progress. Also, does anyone else see Squad 3 in this guy’s future?

• Herrmann’s finally getting bumped up to varsity. More and more, he’s been part of the closed-door conversations Casey and Severide have with Boden. He even helped in their plan this time. 

So what did you think, Chicago Fire Fanatics?

Will Stellaride end up engaged?

Will Casey tell Brett how he feels?

What was the funniest part of the episode.?

Don’t forget to hit the comments below to let me know your thoughts. If you missed the latest episode, remember you can watch Chicago Fire online at TV Fanatic.

Jessica Lerner is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.