Chicago Fire "An Agent of the Machine"

Thrills, a break, and even a job change all in one episode of Chicago Fire. Here's my recap and review. 

"An Agent of the Machine" continues storylines from previous episodes, mainly Casey’s victim from the apartment fire and Severide’s relationship. Another new element has been added to spice things up.

So let’s get to Casey. Things become serious when he and Dawson are at the supermarket getting beer and popcorn, and a mysterious man asks Dawson about a burn he suffered. It turns out to be the guy from the fire that Casey delayed helping in order to save Kidd. He tells her that her team will get what’s coming to them, then walks away.

Antonio tells them he’ll have Halstead on the case, and it quickly becomes clear that this man targeting Casey and 51 is a real threat. With all hands on deck and no one allowed to be alone on calls, they track down who he is and find a bottle of pills he left behind. They contact a local drugstore and have them call the suspect, saying there’s a prescription issue and he needs to come in. When he does, they discover it’s not their guy at all, but someone paid to pose as him.

While that’s happening, 51 gets called to a warehouse fire. There’s someone inside—and it turns out to be Casey’s guy. Casey and Kidd are stuck on the floor where the man is shooting up the place. Meanwhile, he has a bomb in the back of the warehouse that could take out the entire neighborhood. Severide and the team work to empty the explosives and pour water on them. Playing the shooter, Casey sees an opening and tackles him, knocking him out. The better news for Dawson and Casey: he finally puts a ring on her finger.

Love is not in the air for Brett and Antonio. Brett gets an earful from his ex‑wife when she comes to pick up little Antonio, and Brett doesn’t like it at all. She tries to talk to Antonio about it, but he has a habit of not taking responsibility, instead blaming things like his job. He does eventually apologize, but it seems Brettonio is taking a break.

One person not taking a break is Severide. Someone from Springfield, IL, comes to observe the team. After a long day dealing with the shooter and the bomb he helped disarm, the visitor offers Severide a job in Springfield to take over his position. It’s pretty convenient timing, considering the woman Severide is interested in lives there, too. Will Severide leave 51? We’ll have to wait and see.

This was such an engaging episode, truly kept me on the edge of my seat! I really enjoyed the exciting Dawson–Casey danger scenes and the wonderful Severide–Casey bromance, which brings back memories of Greene–Ross from ER. I’m leaning towards hoping Severide stays, especially with Kidd; he seems much happier with her. The writing was fantastic, and the cast delivered outstanding performances. Overall, I’d happily rate this episode an 8 out of 10!

You can catch Chicago Fire Tuesday nights at 10/9c on NBC.