Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 5 Review: On the Hook

Did you ever have an episode of TV that just rubbed you the wrong way? That’s how I felt about Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 5 when the hour began. It was hard to shake the agitation. It felt like that was the point of it, too. We could all use a massaging easy chair.What makes a show like Chicago Fire tick is that if you have that attitude going in, you will probably come away feeling entirely different.
That goes for viewers and anyone who comes in contact with Firehouse 51.The emergency at the high school with a young basketball player whose heart stopped started the whole shebang. It seemed like it would be just like any other case, except when Sylvie and Violet set to do what they’ve done many times before, their equipment failed.

It’s hard to imagine what it must feel like to do everything right and for it all to go so wrong, but the school did have a defibrillator, and they managed to get Jared’s heart beating again. Sounds like a win, right?As soon as they returned to the firehouse, the stink of user error had already begun to permeate the discussion about the misadventure.Of course, they need to look into it, but even Boden’s approach came off as a bit off-kilter. He normally supports his crew entirely, even when things go wrong. He always considers many different avenues, but he was too quick to point out the other possibility first this time.The Outsiders versus Firehouse 51 effect isn’t new. Every time someone visits the house in a professional capacity — whether they’re on temporary assignment, joining permanently, investigating an emergency, or just dropping by to deliver something, tension crackles.

It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that Carver finally meshed with the group, so the thought of going through it again was unpleasant.

As luck would have it, Carver’s short tenure worked in his favor, and after recognizing the similarities, he kept extending the olive branch to Gibson until he grasped it.

Everyone on Chicago Fire buddies up. Casey and Severide, Herrmann and Mouch, Capp and Tony, Violet and Sylvie — the list goes on. So, Carver needs a buddy. Perhaps he just found that with Gibson.
Gibson revealed why he quit boxing and how he became a firefighter. It’s not that different of a story than others who have joined the CFD.

Seeing Jared’s friend Marcus blame himself for Jared’s condition hit home for the former Golden Gloves boxer whose fists ended another man’s life during a bout. When your hands are weapons, you learn to use them wisely; Gibson even admitted that.

But accidents happen. All punches don’t land as expected, and whatever he did to his opponent ended his life. He’s been quiet and introspective and a little bit angry because he’s held it in all these years.

Therapy went a long way to help and changed the course of his life, but the lawyers who told him never to talk about it did him a grave disservice. You can’t stay in therapy forever.

Everyone needs someone they can talk to, and there’s no better group to find your person than with the Firehouse 51 crew.