Warning: spoilers ahead for the 12th episode of the 11th season of “Chicago Fire” titled “How does it End?”
Severide and Stella worked together as a unit at Chicago Fire as squad and truck lieutenants at Firehouse 51… or at least that was the case until, in Episode 12, they disagreed over a challenge and it led to a feud between Squad 3. and Truck 81. Eventually, the couple fixed the fences and touched on Stella’s most recent clinical experience, and the fire department got back together with a little help from Casey… or, at least, the recipe that Casey debuted still in the pilot version of 2012 precisely in order to make amends.
Unsurprisingly, the firefighters of the squad and the truck entered the battle for their respective lieutenants, and there was such tension in Fire Station 51 that even the Car had to cope with it. It turned out that Ritter had figured out how to mend the relationship between the two groups, and suggested that Gallo cook corned beef according to Casey’s recipe, which the former truck captain handed over before bowing out of 51.
The homage to Casey might have just been implied if Gallo was trying to mend the relationship by just cooking a good meal, but Jesse Spencer’s character got a shout out that made me miss Casey again. The squad and the Truck (including Severid and Stella) sat down to eat, and Carver wondered what he was missing that making corned beef Gallo seemed so meaningful. Capp very tactfully explained that “when a Truck makes a mistake, they apologize.”
Severid quickly cut him off: “Capp! No!” and Kapp said he was joking, and Stella clarified that “this is a meal that everyone should share.” Severide said that “it’s the best”, which is not only different from how he handled Casey’s gesture in the pilot episode, leaving without joining the meal after Darden’s death, but also suitable for the guy Casey had his best man not so long ago.
Back in 2012, Severide eventually made a foray into leftover corned beef, but he and Casey thankfully went beyond meat-based gestures and nods in the following years, right up to Casey’s departure for Oregon in season 10. In “How does it end? “the dinner scene, Cruz interjected that it smelled like Gallo had “nailed Casey’s recipe.” The firefighters dug in, and thanks to the magic of Casey’s corned beef recipe, peace was restored in Firehouse 51 between the squad and the truck!
And to be honest, as much as I was glad to see the characters reconciled, it also made me nostalgic for the days gone by. In the end, it was a completely different table, at which they sat down to eat according to Casey’s recipe back in the pilot series. Characters like Dawson and Casey himself hadn’t decided to leave yet (although both have since returned as guest stars), and characters like Otis and Shay were still alive. However, “Chicago Fire” is a rare show that lasted eleven seasons and continues to count, while retaining many characters from the very beginning.
Plus, a Peacock subscription makes it easy to go back to the old days of Chicago Fire! Since all three One Chicago shows have gone on a short hiatus before returning on February 8 (Chicago Medical is nearing disaster, and Chicago Police are after a big Upstead update), now is the right time to check out the first seasons. , or just check out the TV premiere schedule for 2023 to learn about other prime-time viewing opportunities. Chicago Fire will return at its usual time at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 8, on NBC.
