Chicago Fire Season 14’s twelfth episode, titled “Coming in Hot,” landed on NBC on February 4, 2026, but instead of offering a gripping hour of firefighting drama, it came across as oddly unbalanced — largely because several key characters were missing and several storylines felt unfinished.
At its core, the episode tries to deliver tension and character development, but the absence of major players like Severide and Vasquez results in an uneven narrative rhythm. With some of the usual leaders off-screen — presumably due to upcoming crossovers or planned hiatuses — the show leaned heavily on a handful of characters to carry the story.
This hour’s central plot thread sees Firehouse 51 responding to a hazardous warehouse blaze where a firefighter is injured, leading to an internal investigation that puts Chief Pascal under pressure. The drama around Pascal captivated some viewers, but for others, it highlighted how reliant the series has become on internal politics rather than big, exterior emergencies.
Meanwhile, at the firehouse, the emotional fallout from previous events continues to linger — Herrmann’s daughter struggles with her fear after the family’s house fire, and there’s an attempt to connect her trauma to the supportive spirit of Firehouse 51. These quieter, character-driven moments are among the episode’s strongest, yet they also serve to remind how much the show depends on its ensemble’s chemistry.
Fans have noted in discussions that the show’s momentum feels disrupted when familiar faces are absent or when plot threads are left open as placeholders for future arcs. That sentiment seems to extend here: “Coming in Hot” isn’t a bad episode, but it feels more like a bridge to the next storyline than a standalone hour of storytelling.