Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 17 Review: The First Symptom
Denis Kimathi
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Doesn't that just warm your heart?
After waiting a while, Cindy got the results of her chemotherapy on Chicago Fire Season 11 Episode 17, putting her and the rest of the Herrmann family at ease.
Joe came to a decision about one of his team members, while Violet and Sylvie found themselves attending to patients with a strange set of symptoms making it hard to make a diagnosis.
The episode balanced the good and the ugly, with certain storylines showcasing the ugly and others showcasing the good.
And like Cindy's doctor, let's get the ugly out of the way so we end on a high note.
Bamford landed in 51 with a bang. And for a moment there, he was actually fun, but you know the fun ended when Capp and Tony started to find him annoying.
We didn't know much about him before his joining Squad, and the best we could do was guess. It would be a good guess that, as a floater, he'd been around.
Maybe he had gotten used to getting away with over-the-top jokes and a foul mouth because most houses he'd been in didn't care enough to foster a good work culture and environment.
It might have been the case that his crude humor was a coping mechanism to avoid getting attached to the places he knew he would be there temporarily.
Whichever the case, he had crossed the line multiple times.
Joe: Capp and Tony take the left; Bramford the one on the right. Stay on my hip.
Bramford: It's not like I need a babysitter but alright, you're the boss.
Stella compared him and Carver, but that was not fair to Carver.
I thought Carver was a lost cause at first, you know, just a cocky pain in the ass.
Stella
The only thing they had in common was that they stood out when they first joined. Carver was a bit cocky and introverted but never was he disrespectful.
Bramford, on more than one occasion, questioned Joe's authority and retorted when told what to do.
Joe could have forgiven that if it had happened once or twice within a spread-out period, but it was every day. Knowing where they stand in a certain space is always in someone's best interest, and he didn't have much to stand on as a floater.
The floater pool is always full, with people craving to get a placement, even temporarily. He needs the job, not the other way around.
That doesn't mean he was disposable, but the nail in the coffin was when he made the awful jokes about Cindy. A lot can be forgiven, but not when he hurt Herrmann like that. I was ready to drag him out if Joe didn't kick him out.
Will there be repercussions for kicking him out? Might he return to seek revenge?
Violet and Sylvie met an ugly side of humanity when the emergencies they responded to turned out to be deliberate attempts to poison people. There were no words to describe just how devoid of anything the perpetrator was.
He was willing to kill people just for fifteen minutes of fame. It further confirms that mass murderers like school shooters should not be shown on television. The fare that comes with such acts from the media is the only other thing they enjoy apart from killing.
There was plenty of good news with the ugly out of the way.
Cindy is cancer free!
The episode opened with her being frustrated about her appointment with the doctor being moved. It was understandable she was so annoyed.
She had been waiting for this for what felt like forever, and just when she was about to get it, it moved further.
It would be similar to nearing the goalpost to score, and it gets moved when you're a short distance from it.
Ultimately, all's well that ends well, and she received a clean bill of health. That's the best news anyone in her position could hope for.
Cindy, your scan is clean. There's no cancer. The chemotherapy did its job.
Doctor
Carver had sold his truck to help a family in need, and what's even more impressive was that he didn't go bragging about it. It was one of those things that nearly makes you believe in karma because good things started following him.
Even if there was no evidence of him getting the construction gig based on his actions from earlier, one had to believe it at least played a small part.
Extra thoughts
- Isn't Mouch the best? He gives his all to anything he puts his mind to, even if he isn't good at the task. It's easy to miss how good of a person he is because most of his current storylines are more comedic.
Ritter: That looks exactly like the model kit I bought.
Mouch: But it's not.
- Kelly will return to the show's universe in a month and a half, but we can't tell how long that will be in the real world.
- Casey will be making his much-anticipated return in the next episode. Cindy will just be ecstatic when he comes, and she has good news for him.
- Stella is shaping to be Joe's guardian angel because I'm not sure he could have hacked it alone.
"The First Sympton" balanced everything well, from the drama to the jokes and emergencies.
We always love reading your thoughts about the episode, so don't hesitate to comment.
Are you excited about Casey's return?
You can watch Chicago Fire online right here on TV Fanatic any time to catch up.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
