Chicago Fire Season 13: Where Everyone Ended Up After The Big Episode 3 Juggle
Contains spoilers for “Chicago Fire” Season 13, Episode 4 — “Through the Skin”
It’s a wild ride for most of Firehouse 51 in “Through the Skin.” Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) copes with nearly losing her medical license after performing a C-section on a dead patient to save her living daughter, leading to a huge surprise One Chicago crossover. Meanwhile, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) deals with his half-brother, Jack Damon (Michael Bradway), stonewalling him after Damon is transferred to a new firehouse due to a conflict between the two of them and Kelly’s wife, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). And Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) tears apart Chicago looking for the person who stole his son Javi’s (Carlos S. Sanchez) bicycle to resell it online.
Even more importantly, Stella and Dominic Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) finally grapple with the roster of Stella’s engine, Truck 81. Resetting everything after Damon’s departure seems like an insurmountable task with no easy answer, but somehow Stella manages to score a replacement — and earn the surprising respect of Pascal. But all of this requires a bit of roster shuffling. Who will ultimately end up with Truck 81 when the dust settles?
Kylie Estevez
Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett) is the first person Stella approaches with the position. Kylie has been the station’s point person for a very long time, but she’s long harbored a dream of becoming a firefighter herself. During Season 11, she trained with Stella in her Girls on Fire program. From there, she took both the written and physical exam and entered the fireman’s academy. In Episode 20, “Never, Ever Make a Mistake,” she graduates and becomes a fireperson.
But to Stella’s surprise, Kylie refuses to ride on her engine, saying that if she chooses to become a part of Truck 81, she’ll never carve out an identity for herself in her new role that is separate from Stella. Disappointed, Stella has no secondary suggestion and she and Pascal exchange terse words over it. Fortunately, someone else manages to provide what seems to be the perfect solution to their problems.
Darren Ritter
Chris Herrmann (David Eigenberg) suggests that Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyrie) move to Truck 81. It’s a perfect solution — he’s been enjoying his time there and will likely be able to forge an identity for himself that won’t be compromised by being on the rig. For Ritter it’s an advancement, and a way to make himself stand out among his fellow firepeople.
Ritter agrees to the move eagerly enough. He, after all, had been covering for Randy “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte) while he was off the rig last season, and has found a fresh home and made friends on the truck. He doesn’t mind working under Stella and actually thrives under her command, making him a much better fit for the truck than Damon. But this suggestion isn’t the only one Herrmann makes to Stella, who soaks up his advice and takes action on all of his suggestions.
Christopher Herrmann
When Chris Herrmann corners Stella at Molly’s and offers up the notion of adding Ritter to 81, he also has an even better idea for her crew. With Ritter on 81, another space has opened up on Engine 51. Why not offer up that vacancy to Kylie, making her a floater no longer? That gives Kylie the agency she needs to be her own woman while putting her skills to use properly. To everyone’s relief, Kylie loves this idea, and quickly agrees to take on the new role.
This is another brilliant gesture toward leadership from Herrmann, who keeps making moves toward chiefhood. While he may have been ignored in favor of Dom at this point, it’s pretty clear that Pascal is correct; with these kind of problem-solving skills, you can expect to see Herrmann sitting in his chair eventually. But at the moment, Stella still needs to deal with Pascal and the situation at large.
Where This Leaves Pascal And Stella’s Working Relationship
All of this seems to leave the situation between Stella and Pascal in a good place, finally, with the two showing respect for each another once the deal’s done. Things have been less than smooth for their working relationship since Pascal was introduced, with Pascal failing to trust Stella’s leadership skills and Stella being wary of Pascal’s firm management style. Pascal has declared Stella and Kelly’s marriage to be a situation worth keeping an eye on, perhaps even worth pulling the plug on — after all, spouses aren’t supposed to be working at the same firehouse. The new chief’s cold, distant behavior and strict adherence to the rules have kept Stella and Kelly on their toes, making life at the firehouse difficult. When Pascal critiques Stella’s focus, claiming her work with Girls on Fire is distracting her, he earns her ire.
