Chicago Fire Season 13 Midseason Report Card: Best Episode, Worst Ship, and More

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

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Now that we’re halfway through Chicago Fire Season 13, it’s time to rank some of its biggest moments so far.

A lot has happened over the first eight episodes, and not all of it has been as memorable as we’d hoped.

But overall, there has been more excitement and drama than downtime, and the season started off with a bang. Let’s get into it!

Best Episode: Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 4

I’ve been pretty open about the fact that Violet and Lizzie are my favorite characters.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the best episode of the season so far largely centered the two of them. 

Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 4 was dramatic and intense, and it featured the Violet/Lizzie partnership in a big way.

With Violet’s job on the line after an impossible and risky decision on a call, Lizzie goes to great lengths to help her partner.

The episode showed that the two of them have each other’s backs in more ways than we thought, and that fact has only been reinforced as the season continued.

Worst Episode: Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 7

While Chicago Fire season 13 Episode 7 wasn’t inherently bad, it didn’t land quite the way we might have hoped.

Ideally, the episode would have answered more questions about Pascal’s past.

Unfortunately, all it did was give us more questions.

It mostly felt like filler as a result, which is fine — every episode can’t be a banger with massive plot points — but I’ve ranked it as the worst so far because it teased a ton of clarity that it ultimately didn’t deliver.

Most Shocking Moment: Lizzie Loses It on a Call

Since her introduction on Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 9, paramedic Lyla “Lizzie” Novak has been nothing but competent and capable on the job.

She’s had a few emotional moments, but for the most part, she’s kept things pretty close to the vest.

Until this season’s fall finale, that is.

At long last, a Lizzie-centric episode gave us a hint into her history — she’s the child of a parent who died by suicide, leaving her with a lifetime of trauma and abandonment issues.

So when she and Violet arrive on a call involving a suicide attempt, Lizzie sort of breaks into pieces, screaming at the victim nonsensically as she clearly conflates him with her loved one.

The scene itself was graphic and horrible, and Lizzie’s breakdown was a shock after months of experiencing a pretty stoic character.

Biggest Missed Opportunity: Stellaride Development 

Last season, Severide confessed to Stella that he’d like to consider starting a family, leaving us on a huge cliffhanger for the fan favorite couple.

Despite a full eight episodes behind us already on Chicago Fire Season 13, the topic has only come up once since.

Stella briefly mentioned that she wasn’t ready to be a mom, Kelly responded that he wasn’t going to pressure her, and then the issue was dropped.

And other than a couple of quick moments, the couple has barely interacted at all this season.

There has been plenty of time for development of the most beloved ship on the show, but for some reason, nothing has happened between the two of them.

Hopefully, the second half of the season will bring more attention to Stellaride. 

Biggest Unanswered Question: Chief Pascal’s History

From the moment Dermot Mulroney was announced as a new Chicago Fire cast addition, I was practically vibrating with excitement.

He’s always been one of my favorite actors, from My Best Friend’s Wedding to New Girl and everything in between, and I was stoked to see what he’d bring to this show.

Don’t get me wrong; I do like the character, but Dom Pascal is still — half a season in — shrouded in mystery and hard to read.

Whatever happened to him in Miami has been brought up a few times in vague references, but little has been done to shed light on the events that brought Pascal back to Chicago.

There’s a good chance that the mystery is building up to something monumental when the show returns, so there’s plenty of time to get answers.

But going into the hiatus, we’re just as confused about Pascal’s past as ever.

Best New Character: Monica Pascal

KaDee Strickland joined the cast this season along with Dermot Mulroney, and the two play spouses in a rather complicated marriage.

The dynamic between Dom and Monica (Domica?) is difficult to get a read on, honestly.

They’re often pretty toxic toward each other, and it’s almost like the pendulum swings to extremes from episode to episode.

They’re either being wildly codependent and turned on by each other’s toxic behavior, or they’re being hateful and vaguely controlling.

Either way, it usually ends in heat and sex, and that’s … something.

Best Ship: Violet and Flynn

Until the writers deliver the Violet and Lizzie romance I’m hopelessly yearning for, I’m on board with Violet’s current relationship with Flynn.

Steven Strait plays Violet’s attractive, attentive, and thoughtful new boyfriend, and it seems things are going well.

So well, in fact, that Violet’s coworkers have picked up on a change in her demeanor.

She’s softened up quite a bit, leaning into sweet moments and romantic stories, and even called Flynn her boyfriend.

After everything she’s been through, it’s a beautiful thing to see Violet so happy.

Here’s hoping the news of Carver and Tori’s breakup doesn’t do anything to derail that.

Worst Ship: Carver and Tori

I don’t know a single person who enjoyed the relationship between Carver and Tori.

In fact, on Wednesday nights, complaints about the two of them were all over the internet each time they shared the screen.

It’s not fair to blame it all on Tori, because Carver was a willing participant in the entire mess. 

But suffice it to say, we’re all thrilled that it’s over.

Most Underdeveloped Ship: Ritter and Dwayne

With only one LGBTQ+ relationship on Chicago Fire, queer fans are begging for more of Ritter and Dwayne.

Save for a few quick appearances from the cop, we’re mostly only given peeks into the relationship via Ritter asking his friends for advice.

Now that Dwayne wants to cohabitate, a fact we only know because Ritter complained about it at work, there’s some drama between them.

But knowing there’s drama going on off screen isn’t the same as getting to see the couple navigate their relationship.

Ritter is one of the most interesting (and most underused) characters on the show, and his relationship with Dwayne would be a great way to flesh out his character more.

Funniest Storyline: Mouch Fights a Bird

Mouch has always been able to bring comic relief to any Chicago Fire episode, but he outdid himself this time.

I don’t think I could’ve predicted a “Mouch has beef with a pigeon” storyline for Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 6, but I’m sure glad it happened.

Most of the time, it was funny and over-the-top in a good way, Mouch fighting a bird he felt was attacking him while Capp and Tony gave him grief.

But as usual, there was a wholesome resolution when Mouch realized the bird just wanted to protect her eggs.

The moment Mouch chose peace and became a surrogate dad to those eggs was the moment I remembered how ridiculous and sweet this show can be.

Chicago Fire Season 13 Midseason Grade: B

Overall, I’m giving the season a solid B so far.

It’s been funny, tense, dramatic, and mysterious, and most of the characters are getting adequate development.

What are your thoughts?  How would you grade the first half of the season?

Let me know in the comments if I missed any big moments!

Chicago Fire will return on Wednesday, January 8 at 9/8c on NBC.

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