Chicago Fire recap: Season 5, Episode 8

This year’s midseason finale for Chicago Fire is doubly special because not only does it close out the show half for winter hiatus, but this one also happens to mark the 100th episode overall. This means we’re getting treated to an extra helping of drama and cliffhanger treatment, fit with ups and downs and everything in between. Here’s what happened in the One Chicago world this week.

Chicago Fire Season 5, Episode 8: “One Hundred”

The winners of this new episode are, in no particular order: the group of accident victims who happen to catch FireHouse 51 in one of their well-oiled machine moments of efficiency; the leukemia patient who has Jeff Clarke going above the line to find her a blood marrow donor in an unlikely place; anyone who wagered that Dawson and Casey would choose this moment to make it official; and Otis, who inadvertently exposes Molly’s as the crime tour hotspot it’s been all along. (It’s also a good night for anyone who loves a good clown joke.) The less fortunate of the night, meanwhile, are: poor Louie, who might just have to learn to call someone else “Dad” soon; the Chicago Sun-Times journalist who tries to expose Molly’s as a site of unrepentant corruption; Harold, whose sudden rise to relevance is hilariously awkward; and Sylvie, who’s revealed her darkest fear to the exact wrong kind of people.

Let’s take it from the top, shall we?

The episode begins with Kelly Severide having to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Not just because of the fact that there’s a welt the size of Montana on his neck from a hash-melting experiment gone wrong, but also because he’s starting to realize that by being the kind of guy who bed-hops, he might just be missing out on some of the substance that makes life worth living.

He gets a chance to turn the tide for himself a bit by being tested for a possible bone marrow donation match — an opportunity that Jeff Clarke pushes hard since he might be a rare match for someone in desperate need — but he hesitates at first. But Jeff cranks up the pressure cooker by telling him just how rare it is that he might match this woman, and he shows her helplessly lying there as an extra oomph to get it done. Hey, whatever works, right? Because Severide’s finally onboard. Who knows? Maybe this woman might turn out to be the love of his life after it’s all said and done. To be continued for sure…

Meanwhile, Molly’s has been struggling to get out of the red lately because there’s just no patronage to pay for things like overhead and supply — let alone salaries for its long-suffering owner squad. Otis gets another of his brilliant ideas going (yeah ’cause those are always reliable) when he finds out that the bar was originally founded nearly 100 years ago to the day. This calls for a celebration, with some press trappings as well! What could possibly go wrong?

Otis himself finds out the answer quickly even when the Sun-Times reporter covering the story informs them that their bar was the site of a high-profile murder spree decades back that included the one and only Al Capone. Her subsequent story is a scorcher, and Herrmann’s worried this could be the big finish to their little entrepreneurial adventure here. Luckily for him and everyone else, designating your place as a landmark for bloody history moments is equivalent to rolling out the welcome mat to morbid, but still paying customers, so the place is packed once again. And just in time for one of Herrmann’s double entendre sappy speeches, too! Hooray!

NEXT: That’s Mom and Dad to you, mister…

And now for Dawson and Casey. This whole season has been leading to this. The two have finally got a chance to make their adoption of Louie official, but co-adoption is not an option, and, since Dawson’s parents’ marriage conveniently went kaboom just a few weeks prior, it doesn’t seem like the two are heading for matrimony anytime soon. So, she’ll have to file for adoption as a single parent and hope for the best, while he’ll have to do his best to break Louie of calling him Matt instead of Dad.

(We don’t have to think too hard to figure out who the looming figure that seems to always have eyes on Casey’s gooey dad moments with Louie is, either, so the stakes are rising ever higher by the second.)

In the end, it’s Herrmann’s saccharine speech about the bar being built on a foundation of love that gets the feels flowing between Casey and Dawson, and their eye-proposal is wordless but still very, very sweet. Sylvie, who happened to be making mush eyes at Antonio around the same time, figures out what their early exit from the party means, and she brings the whole firehouse fam to act as witnesses to their “I dos.” FINALLY, am I right?

For now, let’s all just enjoy the delightfully cruel clown jokes that dropped to close out that freakish phenom — hopefully once and for all.

• Otis: “Why don’t sharks eat clowns? Because they taste funny.”
• Mouch: “If you’re ever attacked by a mob of clowns always go for the juggler.”
• Stella: “My dad was a professional clown, and my brother could never handle it. Shoes were too big to fill.”

Crossover notes:

• Is it just me or is Jeff Clarke especially dreamy when he’s wearing an invisible cape like this and guilting people into saving lives? Humina humina.
• Antonio showing up for the 100th celebration soiree seemed really, really appropriate. He’s going to be the glue that binds these shows with Justice for sure.

Prizes:

Chicago MVP of the week: How about Severide stepping up to do something selfless like this? He’s always been a hero on the job, but to go above and beyond like this on his own time… that’s improvement. Plus, he totally helped to pry two guys out of their vehicular death traps and saved an idiot burnout kid from being torched by his own dumb devices.

Steamiest Chicago couple of the week: D’aw is for Dawson and Casey, who finally made it official. Antonio and Sylvie get props for taking sweet swipes at each other’s cheeks post-smooch and all that, but you can’t beat the understanding and intensity of Casey and Dawson’s affection for one another. It’s about TIME those two made it official.

Episode grade: A