Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 3, “All Kinds of Crazy” was the episode where fans of the NBC show could finally relax. Despite some concerns that actor Taylor Kinney would be leaving again, the episode confirmed that Kinney was not only staying, but that the series needed his character Kelly Severide. This was the hour where Severide flew high — and Jack Damon crashed right back down.
“All Kinds of Crazy” addressed the Damon situation that had been brewing since the end of Season 12, and did so in a way that added a little more depth to new Battalion Chief Dom Pascal. If only the writers could have handled Pascal and Sam Carver’s strange romantic storylines with the same efficiency. Still, those were two of the few weak points in an episode that cleaned things up so the season could move forward.
The most important thing Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 3 accomplished was finishing up with Jack Damon, who was transferred out of Fire Department 51 before the end of the hour. Damon had worn out his welcome with the boat incident in Season 13, Episode 2, “Ride the Blade,” and since that episode ended with Severide giving him an ultimatum, the writers had no choice but to write him off. “All Kinds of Crazy” picks up where “Ride the Blade” left off in many ways. Now that Damon’s manipulative ways have been revealed, actor Michael Bradway continues to make his character as terrifying as possible. Damon’s fakeness with Chief Pascal is heartbreaking — and in his final scene with Severide, it looks like he’s trying his best to glare at the serial killer.
Dom Pascal: He broke the trust of his lieutenant and there’s no way to get it back. Kicking him out of this firehouse is the only option.
Damon’s storyline in the Season 13 opener certainly supports what showrunner Andrea Newman told CBR that there will be “craziness in the firehouse.” The way Bradway plays him, he’s not just angry or jealous; he seems mentally unstable. Whoever he is, there’s no doubt that he’s gone. Pascal tells Stella that “Damon was done at 51” and that a rebel has taken his place. It’s possible Damon will reappear on a revenge tour like Emma Jacobs did, but what’s the point of that? Even he insists that Severide is like his father, a complete failure, because the audience not only doesn’t trust him, but they completely dislike him. There’s no reason to take anything he says seriously.
One smart move the episode makes is to use the negative side of Damon’s situation to give Pascal a much-needed positive side. Up until now, Dermot Mulroney’s character hasn’t been endearing to viewers, because the only other side of him they’ve seen is his bizarre personal life. But in “All Kinds of Crazy,” when Mouch presents Pascal with a literal pile of evidence, he does a 180-degree turn in his opinion of Stella Kidd and kicks Damon to the curb. Pascal needs some credibility with viewers, some reason for them to care about him, and seeing reason stops him from becoming a villain — especially when that insight leads him to take out an actual villain. He gets a lot of brownie points in this episode, but he’s still not out of trouble.
