We’re going to have to side with Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) when it comes to Chicago Fire‘s new chief, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney): There’s something “off” about him, and it’s not just that he’s not Boden (Eamonn Walker, who exited last season) or his chosen replacement Herrmann (David Eigenberg).
The Season 13 premiere doesn’t waste any time in revealing why it’s Pascal, back at the CFD after 10 years in Miami, in the chair and not Herrmann. According to Herrmann, he just had some bad luck and got sick before the captain’s test, missing it, but he plans to take it the next round, then the chief’s test after that. Pascal wishes him luck, but is he sincere? Pascal’s first morning briefing with the firehouse is interrupted by a call before he can do more than introduce himself. “I’m not Chief Boden. I’m not trying to be. I have my own leadership style. I do things my own way. You should all expect there will be some changes to Firehouse 51,” he warns.
He surprises everyone on the call when he leaps into action, forgoing a protective shield, as the firefighters and paramedics work to treat victims of a fire at a vape warehouse. As Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) puts it, it’s like “he’s missing the fear gene.” His actions do lead the others to wonder about him. Then, Pascal rubs them the wrong way when he declares that he wants them to bond over lunch, so phones go in a box; just because they know each other for years doesn’t mean that they can’t find out new things. “You’re going to thank me—either that, or you’ll decide I’m a dick,” he says.
Another change is he wants to meet with his three lieutenants—Severide, Kidd, and Herrmann—individually to go through the call instead of just reading their reports. It will help him understand their leadership styles and methods. Kidd sees it as Pascal pulling alpha moves. Severide (with a kiss) encourages her to give him a chance.
Severide’s the first to meet with Pascal, and it seems to be going well—until the chief brings up the fact that as immediate family, he and Kidd shouldn’t be working together. It seems to him that they’ve figured out a way to manage it, considering how long they’ve worked together, but he wants Severide to be aware he’ll be keeping an eye on them. Herrmann’s meeting is good, too, with Pascal explaining that he believes knowledge is power and wants to learn from every call. Kidd, however, puts hers off and tries to continue to do so (until after some Girls on Fire work) when Pascal finds her, but he doesn’t let her.
We start to get a sense of why Pascal’s back in Chicago when Lieutenant Veil stops by to see him, remarks that he heard about what happened in Miami, and asks if he’s okay. Absolutely, all good, Pascal says. Veil checks, since he heard… but Pascal cuts him off, noting that most of CFD doesn’t even know he’s there yet and essentially dismissing him. But before he leaves, Veil makes sure he knows that he ever wants to talk to reach out.
Later at home, Kidd admits that she’s mad at herself for pushing back against Pascal since she never would have done that to Boden. She misses having Boden at 51 since he was more than just her boss—he walked her down the aisle, after all. But still, there’s something about Pascal that makes her nervous, and she’s not the only one. Severide agrees that there’s something off about him.
It’s in the final scene of the episode that we get a taste of Pascal away from work, when he goes home only to find that his wife Monica (KaDee Strickland) has seemingly changed the locks. She’s not happy and thinks he should stay somewhere else. His name is on the lease, he argues, but he wants her there and wants to work on “this.” As she sees it, all he does is work, night and day, like always, and he should’ve stayed in Miami. He came here to be with her and he refuses to give up. “You’re going to need me to keep you warm when that Chicago winter hits. We got weak in Miami,” he says, urging her to open the door. She does, reminding him he’s a lucky man, and kisses him. But there’s definitely something off about that relationship…
Meanwhile, Violet (Hanako Greensmith) tries to talk to Carver (Jake Lockett), back from a six-week furlough, about their relationship and that she kept him at a distance because of her feelings for him. But it seems he found someone while he was off—Kidd isn’t so sure it’s serious—and he tells her it’s in the past and they shouldn’t pretend they’re anything more than coworkers. But something’s obviously going on with him.
Elsewhere, Cruz (Joe Minoso) clocks Severide pausing during the call at the vape factory when his half-brother Damon (Michael Bradway) goes down as well as the two talking at 51 and Damon sitting at the Squad table. (Kidd also tells Severide to let her debrief Damon first after calls, since she’s his lieutenant.) When pressed by Mouch (Christian Stolte), Cruz admits that the situation is tricky. And when he asks Severide if he spoke with Pascal about Damon after his lieutenant remarks the chief brought up his and Kidd’s relationship, Severide says it’s not an issue.
Herrmann seems among the most on board with Pascal taking over, and he tells Mouch he’s impressed with the other man for the way he stepped into Boden’s shoes and is doing things his own way. But Mouch questions if he was really sick for the captain’s test (Herrmann says he was) and argues that the lieutenant could do everything Pascal is and be great at it
As for that conversation Severide started in the finale with Kidd about kids, since then, calls with children fill her with dread. She’s not yet ready, she tells him, but he’s not rushing her.
