A Heavy Weight is the nineteenth episode of the second season and the 43rd overall episode of Chicago Fire.
Summary[]
A suicide note is delivered to a surprised Dawson and Lt. Severide digs deeper into Bloom's dark past. Elsewhere, Chief Boden learns shocking news, and with the help of Shay, Lt. Casey goes on the search for a life-changing item.
Plot[]
Boden addresses 51 with news of Jones' suicide and no one knows how to react - especially after a police officer delivers a note from Jones to Dawson. She reads it but keeps the contents private from everyone, including Shay and Casey. Jones' words affect her nonetheless and she later explodes at her teammates in the common room, livid that Jones' father drove her to suicide and remains unaccountable. Driven by her emotions, Dawson trucks a box of Jones' items to her father at Headquarters, anticipating a face-off - only to realize his guilt weighs heavy on his mind.
Another heavy weight burdens Severide, who learns Bloom checked himself out of rehab. Jones' suicide motivates Severide to redouble his efforts to reach the man and he starts a collection for Bloom. The firehouse is reluctant to donate until Severide recounts Bloom's full story: as incident commander during a horrid fire, Bloom made the tough call of keeping members of his squad from re-entering the fire to save 10 of their fellow firefighters, all of whom perished inside. Severide coaxes Bloom back to 51 to give him the collection - and blindsides him by presenting two of the Denver firefighters from the incident. Bloom attempts to storm out, only to realize they want to apologize for how they handled the fallout from the fire. Bloom saved their lives. One of the two even shows Bloom a picture of his daughter who wouldn't have been born had Bloom not stopped him. He tears up at this moment of forgiveness and so does the rest of 51.
Source: NBC.com
In a happier moment, Shay steps into a jewelry store to help Casey with a big decision - selecting an engagement ring. They both settle on the same design, but Casey needs Dawson's ring size. Shay assures him she's the woman for the job, and after a couple tries, manages to sneak an impromptu ring gauge around Dawson's finger while she naps on the couch.
Chaplain Orlovsky arrives at the station to help with the mourning process, but Boden doubts the man's ability, accusing Orlovsky of botching the proceedings after Mills' father died. Orlovsky tries his best to foster discussion among the squad members, buoyed by the discovery of a 300 Club ring commemorating Jones' perfect bowling game. Mills suggests the squad honor Jones by bowling after their shift - but no one responds. This angers him and his harbored resentment jumps to the surface - he accuses Herrmann and others of mistreating Jones. Herrmann doesn't back down (he was the last to see her alive, after all) and a serious rift appears to divide the two.
Source: NBC.com
Boden remains on edge, too. He alerts Dawson that if she passes the firefighting test, she'll need to transfer out of 51 due to her relationship with Casey. The intensity from that and the ranges of emotion stemming from Jones' suicide culminate at the site of a major wreck, where Boden confronts a state trooper - who ends up arresting him for instructing the squad to block traffic! He's released after Herrmann finds a victim in a ditch (proving Boden was in the right all along), but that doesn't relax the chief one bit. All this talk about the brevity of life spurs him to reach out to Donna. He visits her at the school and fesses up to being scared to escalate their relationship - but she blows him off. Has Donna moved on? Later, she comes by the station to clarify things. Turns out, she's not seeing someone else... she's pregnant. And it's Boden's.
Source: NBC.com
Despite a lack of support from his teammates, Mills hits up the bowling alley anyway, only for Herrmann to join him, beers in hand. While they forgive each other and bowl in honor of their fallen firefighter, Dawson returns to the station and pins the note from Jones in her locker. It reads, "Don't let anything stand in your way."
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jesse Spencer as Lieutenant Matthew Casey
- Taylor Kinney as Lieutenant Kelly Severide
- Monica Raymund as Paramedic Gabriela Dawson
- Lauren German as Paramedic Leslie Shay
- Charlie Barnett as Firefighter Candidate Peter Mills
- David Eigenberg as Firefighter Christopher Herrmann
- Joe Minoso as Firefighter Joe Cruz
- Yuri Sardarov as Firefighter Brian "Otis" Zvonecek
- Christian Stolte as Firefighter Randy "Mouch" McHolland
- Eamonn Walker as Battalion Chief Wallace Boden
Recurring Cast[]
- Randy Flagler as Firefighter Harold Capp
- Anthony Ferraris as Firefighter Tony Ferraris
- Jeff Hephner as Firefighter Jeff Clarke
- Gordon Clapp as Chaplain William "Bill" Orlovsky
- Gene Weygandt as Deputy District Chief Lionel Jones
- Melissa Ponzio as Donna Robbins
- W. Earl Brown as Dave Bloom
- DuShon Brown as Connie
Guest Cast[]
- David Lee Russek as Officer Woodall
- Nate Burger as Damien
- Demetrios Troy as Aaron
- Caroline Heffernan as Ella
- Michael Wollner as Harried Father
- Ilyssa Fradin as Woman in SUV
- Joe Dempsey as SUV Driver
- Jeffrey T. Rogers as Uniformed Cop
- Paige Collins as Girl with Cut
- Liz Zoller Cohen as Jeweler
- Adria Dawn as Middle Aged Woman
- Felicia Fields as Guild Nurse
Notes and Trivia[]
- Boden meets Donna, who reveals she is pregnant with his child.
- Clarke has been promoted to Lieutenant.
- Casey plans to propose to Dawson.
- The title of this episode comes from Severide sharing the story of how Dave Bloom was injured. "Fire was in the structure. [Bloom] had to give an order: no one else goes in. He made those guys stand there and listen to their brothers dying over the radio. They spit in his face, tried to go around him. He wrestled a few of them to the ground and that's how he hurt his back. He was trying to protect them. But the way they saw it, he abandoned all those guys inside, got 'em all killed. That is a heavy weight for a man to carry around, don't you think?"