Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 16, “In the Rubble” is the story every fan knew was coming after the end of Episode 15. In fact, Episode 16 starts with scenes from the previous episode. But what the episode lacks in narrative originality, it makes up for with a performance by Dermot Mulroney that ensures it has the necessary emotional gut punch. This is the episode where Mulroney cements his place on the show.
“In the Rubble” is almost entirely centered on Mulroney’s character Chief Dom Pascal following the death of Pascal’s wife Monica. The episode follows Pascal’s inability to cope with her passing, as well as the rest of Firehouse 51 reacting to Pascal’s behavior. No one will be surprised by the ending, but this is an episode as sad and as tense as it’s supposed to be.
Monica Pascal’s Death Has Much More Impact for Chicago Fire Fans
Season 13, Episode 16 Is More Emotional Than Its Predecessor
Chicago Fire viewers were divided on the death of Monica Pascal in Episode 15. Some viewers were sad about it, while others pointed out that Monica had little connection to Firehouse 51. Her biggest storyline was Pascal slugging an old friend whom he thought was hitting on his wife. “In the Rubble” gives what was supposed to be a massive plot twist more impact. It opens by replaying the scenes in which the crew respond to the car accident that killed Monica, and the bulk of the episode is about Pascal’s complete inability to cope. Watching the way he self-destructs makes the audience care more about Monica’s passing, since they see it almost take her husband down, too.
The problem was that Chicago Fire fans are no strangers to death; this show has killed off quite a few people, so any death has to really be important for it to surprise or upset this audience. The majority of characters who’ve died on the series have had much stronger connections to either the firehouse or the viewers. A good comparison is when the show killed off Matthew Casey’s fiancee Hallie in Season 1. That mattered because Hallie was a bigger part of the story. Monica feels like much more a part of the story in Episode 16, even though she doesn’t appear physically anymore. When Pascal and her sister Olivia talk about her, the viewers hear and feel the pain. They also see more extensively just how lost Pascal is without her.
The final scene of “In the Rubble” is incredibly predictable for longtime fans. The entirety of Firehouse 51 — including Tony, Capp and Severide’s half-brother Jack Damon — decide to show up at Monica’s funeral, even though they know Pascal wanted it to just be a family affair. The whole idea of Firehouse 51 turning up en masse for one of their own has been done numerous times before. That repetition makes the ending a little less impactful, but not any less heartwarming. It’s exactly what the audience expects them to do.
Dermot Mulroney Has His Best Chicago Fire Episode Yet
Chief Pascal’s Fate Still Seems Uncertain
Dermot Mulroney’s tenure on Chicago Fire has been an interesting one. At first, the show seemed to be trying too hard to prove that Pascal was not his predecessor Wallace Boden, and then there were the times that Pascal’s storylines just got creepy, including the aforementioned time he punched his former friend. That made it feel like Mulroney’s tenure might be short-lived, as if Pascal was going to do something terrible and get himself written out. “In the Rubble” is that something terrible, just many more episodes later than expected — and Mulroney perfectly understands what’s being asked of him, making Pascal both irrational and vulnerable.
Pascal refuses to accept that Monica’s death was an accident, wanting criminal charges to be filed against the other driver, Robert Franklin. He threatens Franklin when he sees him, and lets slip to Kelly Severide that he knows where Franklin lives. The tipping point comes when Pascal drags the whole firehouse out to Monica’s accident scene and demands an alternative explanation. This is supposed to be uncomfortable and sad and angry all at once, and Mulroney nails it as Pascal turns on everyone. This would be a good time for Boden’s return to give Pascal a break, but no one can say now that Mulroney hasn’t found his stride in the One Chicago universe.
Chief Dom Pascal: Am I going crazy? Is that what you’re all implying here, that I’m going crazy? Why is everyone hell-bent on exonerating the man that killed my wife?
Hanako Greensmith also deserves a mention, because the script uses the letter she’s writing to Sam Carver as a framing device, making her words the narration — similar to the Sports Night episode “Dear Louise.” It’s not as effective as “Dear Louise,” but it works to communicate a lot of what Pascal isn’t going to communicate as a character. However, “In the Rubble” misses a few opportunities with her. A scene where Violet and Darren Ritter could have had a heart-to-heart gives Ritter only a few lines before he walks away, and in the end, Violet decides not to send the letter. But it keeps from feeling irrelevant because of how it adds to Pascal’s story, tempering his intense behavior with Violet’s more careful reflection. And if anyone still doubted that Severide has matured by now, this episode is definitive proof, as he’s the one who steps up to Pascal in a way no other character would be as good at.
Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 16 Promotes One Character Too Much
Severide Wins, but His Half-Brother Doesn’t Fare as Well
Where Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 16 comes up short is in including its two Jack Damon stories, which could have easily been saved for another week. The show normally has three or four different plots, but “In the Rubble” would have been an even more powerful episode if fans had been completely immersed in Pascal’s story and the firehouse reacting to him. Instead, there’s professional and personal developments for Damon that just don’t fit tonally with the rest of the hour.
The first involves Severide campaigning for Damon to join Firehouse 51 permanently. This subplot still feels like it’s essentially retconning all of the Damon drama from earlier in the season. But past that, the explanation for why Damon can return to 51 is that Christopher Herrmann needs someone “when Kylie’s unavailable.” If the writers are really that high on Damon, that’s one thing, but it shouldn’t come at Kylie’s expense. They also spent an awful lot of time developing Kylie, her relationship with Stella and her journey to becoming a firefighter. She doesn’t deserve to be ignored, and she’s a more interesting character, too.
Along similar lines, “In the Rubble” finally gets to the inevitable Damon and Lizzie Novak pairing, when Novak kisses Damon behind Ambulance 61. Viewers knew that one was coming — but tonally it doesn’t fit in with the rest of the episode. That moment could easily have been added to a future episode. Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 16 is overall an emotional and memorable hour of television, led by Dermot Mulroney. Yet it’s also trying to do more than it needs to.
