'Chicago Fire' Season 9 Episode 5 proves NBC drama needs every character as Cruz and Hermann fight together
Spoilers for 'Chicago Fire' Season 9 Episode 5 'My Lucky Day'
Every so often, there comes an episode of 'Chicago Fire' that justifies why the show has run for so long, and why it deserves to for so much more. It also comes along to define why it is the most-loved among all the shows in the 'Chicago' franchise, and why other similarly themed shows don't come close. This week's episode was that episode. Shot in a different format, 'Chicago Fire' opted to focus on the two firefighters we don't often see lead the story – Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) and Christopher Hermann (David Eigenberg) – and this episode shows why every character is essential for Firehouse 51.
Right from the beginning of the episode, there is a sense of impending doom -- and when the freight elevator that Cruz and Hermann get on with two civilians becomes the only location that more than 90 percent of the episode is shot in, there is also a claustrophobic feeling that just claws at your back. Hopefully, that feeling becomes worth it by the end of the episode.
Cruz and Hermann is a pairing we do not see often, except as they both mourned the death of Brian "Otis" Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov). Cruz looks disturbed right from the beginning, even as Hermann says that the previous night's fortune cookie told him that this day will be his "lucky day." When Hermann keeps saying this, we cannot help but wonder if his time on 'Chicago Fire' is up.
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But just as when Hermann tells the moving story of his wife getting in an accident when she is pregnant -- but ends up being fine and leading to the birth of his firstborn --, this episode not only gave us an insight into the kind of firefighter that Hermann is and why his character is just as important as Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) Both Casey and Severide are the ones who lead the show, but it is Hermann who is the glue who holds Firehouse 51 -- and the show's cast -- together, since the very first season.
The same can be said of Cruz, whom we got to know better in the previous season as he -- and fans -- mourned the death of Otis. Once again, Cruz's actions pay tribute to Otis, and as he tells Hermann that Otis was with them on the elevator at the end of the episode, we could help but tear up.
The guest characters on this week's episode were also well written -- the man who is injured but sort of keeps up positive spirits as Cruz and Hermann work against time to save all of them, and the woman whose panic builds along with ours, to the point where she does something rash that almost killed all of them.
As we said earlier, this week's episode of 'Chicago Fire' is a masterclass in capturing claustrophobia on the screen -- and almost felt like we were watching a horror special. 'Chicago Fire' shows how it can be done without extraneous effects, and instead relies on four people in one setting -- a difficult task on its own, but the show manages to pull it off excellently, while also staying true to its essence.
We hear that Casey did something extraordinary that makes Severide think he deserves a medal. Under normal circumstances, we would definitely have wanted to see that -- but Cruz and Hermann's scenes together make us not care about anything else. We are also excited for Cruz's happy news, and we wonder if he will name his yet-to-be-born baby after Otis.
'Chicago Fire' airs on NBC on Wednesday nights at 9/8c.
