There’s a lot of promise on Chicago Fire season 14 episode 7 when it comes to Novak’s backstory. However, we need to deal with the calls and the drama at the firehouse with the budget cuts first. Oh, and there’s a little with Pascal, who weren’t sure would be in the episode.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago Fire season 14 episode 7.
The episode opens with Pascal waiting for coffee with Annette, but she doesn’t show up. She does, however, call him to spologize, making work the issue. While it could be, it sucks for Pascal when he just put himself out there through his grief.
As for Vasquez, he’s decided that he’s not going to help his dad out. However, he will help his cop friend with sticky cases, and we can probably believe that. What’s the betting that he left the Police Academy because of his dad, but his heart is still somewhat there?
At Firehouse 51, Mouch is looking at making things easier with all the changes at the firehouse (and at others), and he wants to try to revolutionize the firehouses. It’s a great idea, but will it really work? It’s hard to say, especially with Violet still pushing the firefighter program within the paramedics. This does give Novak a chance to get an unusual day off, with Vasquez stepping in for her. Let’s hope he can follow orders without Kidd there! Remember, Kidd is on furlough to be with Isaiah and his mom.
Vasquez is immediately put to the test when there’s a call to a school. There’s definitely smoke and it’s an automatic alarm, but Severide can’t help but see a student standing outside watching the whole situation. This is the call from the promo of Chicago Fire season 14 episode 7, where there’s a teacher trapped inside a room.
Severide knows there’s something suspicious in Chicago Fire season 14 episode 7
Fortunately, Squad is able to get the teacher out of the room, and he’s able to share a little about what happened in the school. It makes it clear to Severide that there was something off about the whole fire. Of course, we know from the images for the episode that Severide joins Van Meter in an OFI investigation into this.
Things seem to be going well for Vasquez, so while they have some downtime, Violet decides to train Vasquez about how to start an IV. We get to see him actually follow instructions, which is a huge step from the man he was when he first came to Firehouse 51. He just needs to take constructive criticism, as he’s not going to get it right the first time. When he manages that, it’s clear that there is some hope for him. It’s all about the right teachers and the right control.
Meanwhile, Novak doesn’t quite get the relaxing day off she was hoping for. A call comes in, and we know this is linked to her sister.
Mouch decides to take his proposal to Pascal, who is clearly listening. However, Annette turns up with sandwiches after another meeting was canceled. Yes, the date is happening.
Severide, Cruz, and Van Meter take a look around the school, smelling something that could be the source of the fire. It takes tasting a residue (which is against protocol) to find out that there was gasoline in the coffee making. This was definitely arson.
Severide and Van Meter investigate the blaze
It turns out that the school has been getting threats and profanity via text for some time, but it all came from an anonymous number. The principal never thought that it would turn into anything, and when Severide shares the description of a student, the principal immediately knows who he’s talking about, and the student, Wyatt, had recently been suspended.
The firefighters decide to go and speak to the kid’s dad, and the dad immediately gets his back up. He doesn’t believe his son is the arsonist, and he makes it clear that OFI won’t get to investigate anything without a warrant. The only way to get to the kid is to put him inside the school.
As for Novak, she rushes into Med to see her sister, Heidi. The situation was serious, and we can see why Novak has pulled away from her family and barely mentions them. It turns out Heidi took a sleeping tablet and drank grapefruit juice (yes, that adverse reaction is real), and she doesn’t actually remember all the events that led to her being put in the hospital. There is clearly a lot of baggage with this family, and Novak is worried.
Lunch between Pascal and Annette isn’t all that easy, as Annette’s phone won’t stop ringing. While there are budget issues, the teachers are going on strike, but to find money for the teachers, it would mean taking money from somewhere else. Annette isn’t the only person getting calls in lunch. The date is cut short by Pascal’s phone, having to step in to help one of his firefighters. Maybe they’ll get a proper date soon, but it was rather formal for a date.
Just as Vasquez is learning more about Severide and his OFI connections, there’s a call for ambulance. This is when from the promo the patient is trapped behind the door. Someone fell while taking a shower and there is blood coming from under the door. Vasquez knows immediately that this is serious.
Vasquez gets a shock at the firehouse
This is a chance for Vasquez to practice his IV placement on a real person. We also get to see how Violet is able to remain calm as a teacher while doing her own thing, making it clear that she is the right person for this type of job. While I still love Novak and Violet working together, this is a great secondary team.
The investigation at the school gets even trickier. The plug used for the coffee maker was a smart plug, meaning that the fire could be started remotely. Well, I guess they’re not placing Wyatt in the school. There are no prints and no way to check where the connection went, although Van Meter did manage to get in touch with the school’s tech team. It rules out Wyatt out as the one starting the fire since he was at a basketball game, but the kid clearly knows something.
Meanwhile, we continue to see the tension between the Novak sisters. While Lizzie tries to point out that she was there when Heidi was in the hospital, Heidi points out that it’s easy to be there in an emergency. Heidi also points out that Lizzie hasn’t exactly spoken to their brother in a while, but then, neither has Heidi. What is Heidi going through? Lizzie needs to get to the bottom of this if she wants to mend the fence.
Back at Firehouse 51, Pascal shares some bad news with Mouch. The plan is solid, but it won’t translate into dollars and cents just yet, and that means it won’t be picked up. However, he doesn’t want Mouch to stop looking into it all.
As Violet and Vasquez are leaving the firehouse, Vasquez is shocked to see Ray out of prison. This man is a piece of work, and he’s clearly going to be a problem for Vasquez moving forward, especially since Vasquez didn’t do as he asked.
Severide gets a little closer to figuring out the fire
It’s time for Severide to head to Wyatt’s house to get information from Wyatt. He’s right in that Wyatt knows something, and sure enough, he has some sort of information. He has some sort of event saved on his phone, and that’s where he thinks the arsonist was.
It turns out that it wasn’t an event, but a private Facebook group about hating the principal. With 83 active members, there are 83 possible arsonists.
As Pascal gets to his quiet home, he gets a text message from Annette. I’m glad to see that the two are trying despite their work schedules.
Meanwhile, Violet tries to help both Vasquez and Novak by just being a listening ear for everyone. This is a great chance for Novak and Violet to get just a little bit closer, and we see just how parentified Novak likely was growing up, although she did it out of choice rather than because people asked her. After her mom died, Novak was the one to step up, and she didn’t think of what everyone else wanted (or even needed), and that’s when she realizes what she needs to do.
Annette has more bad news for Pascal
With all the information, OFI gets to the principal’s house, and this is when they get to discuss who the student could be.
While all this is going on, Novak decides to head over to her sister’s house. It’s time to be a “normal sibling,” and that means bringing a glass of wine. There’s hope for them to connect.
Back at Molly’s, Vasquez turned up, and it’s a chance for him to connect with Violet outside of work. However, they end up talking about work. When it comes to closing time, Vasquez wants to keep hanging out, because he can’t be alone now with his dad out, and Violet can see that he needs someone.
The date at Pascal’s house doesn’t go all that well. Annette had looked for a way to reallocate money quickly, and it means more bad news for the firefighters. Engine 51 is going to be cut permanently, which means just as Mouch gets his bugles, they’re going to be taken away. This is not what Pascal wants to hear.
That’s not the worst of the ending to the Chicago Fire season 14 finale, though. While Severide and Van Meter chat with the principal in his apartment, there is someone in the stairwell starting a fire. We can see from the promo for Chicago Fire season 14 episode 8 that this is going to be a major storyline, but we need to wait until 2026 to find out how it all plays out.
Chicago Fire will return on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 9/8c on NBC.