By the end of Chicago Fire Season 2 Episode 9 Gail has accomplished her goal of closing down the house…

But her antics, in the end, are still completely unnecessary.

Chicago Fire Season 2 has done an impeccable job writing Gail as a villain for the house, and I love her character in that respect. However, I’m still annoyed with her because she only serves to remove tension from the rest of the house, and she shifts the focus from the house and their stories to a story of working hard to get rid of her first. There are plenty of characters and stories to be told without bringing in an outside force.

On top of that, it’s pretty comical that Gail is able to use a trash compactor as the final nail she needs to put together 51’s coffin. I will give Gail credit for getting farther than I ever thought she could. We’ll have to see if her mission of closing down the house is ultimately successful.

The highlight of this installment is Casey and Dawson. They’re very sweet together…and pretty steamy together as well. They didn’t even need to turn on the water to steam up that shower! But, Chicago Fire, can we please have fewer shirts on?

All (non) laughing matters aside, Dawson and Casey together gives Chicago Fire some much needed sexual tension since everyone else is mostly just doing their own thing at the moment, but they’re not just sexual tension. They make a great team together if they’re on the job or they’re not, and I’m glad that Casey continues to tell her that he’s not going to make the same mistake again.

Cruz’s situation with Leon ended better than expected. For a while, things were shaping up horribly for Leon. Cruz was constantly getting close to blowing his cover, and I thought Cruz’s actions might ultimately have been Leon’s biggest problem. In some sense, they were, Cruz’s insistence on checking on Leon is understandable after the shooting, but it ends up sending him out to their Uncle’s house.

Watch Chicago Fire Season 2 Episode 9 Online

In one swoop, Cruz has lost most of his family. Leon is gone, and Zoya asks Otis to help her end her engagement with Cruz.

Severide steps up his big brother game with Katie, and it’s a good fit for him. He’s always been a protector, and now that he has flesh and blood family of his own he can put that to good use. Katie is originally uncomfortable around all of it, and it’s not hard to see where it comes from: her own family. The few moments we spend with her mother it’s clear that she values whatever activities the other children are doing over Katie’s.

Some kids take priority over the others depending on the situation, but it’s hard to believe that a volleyball game takes precedent over a graduation. In the end, Severide is exactly what Katie is looking for: family.

Finally, there’s Mills. His situation leads to indifference. He’s mostly just there. It might be a conscious part of the writing: to make Mills feel uncomfortable or isolated from the rest of the house to make his PD decision easier. He’s even indifferent after learning about Dawson and Casey.

Two More Thoughts:

• Glad Shay and Dawson have made up. I've missed the girl talk between them, and I'm ready to here Shay's opinions on Dawson and Casey getting together.
• I would've killed for a montage of all the different ways Mouch has for annoying a roommate.