Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 4 Recap & Review: Mercy

Critic’s Rating: 3.25 / 5.0

3.25

We’re trying something a little different for Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 4.

We’re recapping the episode and inserting our thoughts. So, let’s have some fun with an episode, unfortunately — for this experiment, anyway — titled “Mercy.”

It’s going to be like we’re on the couch, chatting about the show as it unfolds. Hey, it will work, or it won’t.

We missed coverage for Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 3 because I was out of town, but it offered our first inkling that Isaiah could become a more permanent member of the Severide household if things with his mother go south. Or, it could just be a longer foster situation.

While the Chicago Fire spoilers teased (as much as one can tease a situation like this) a fire at Herrmann’s house, the photos were heavy on Stella, Severide, and Isaiah. So, how did it all pan out?

You know that when we get the extraordinarily rare occurrence of Herrmann home with his family, marking his kid’s height on the wall, no less, moments before he says their finances are settled that the impending fire will upend his life.

Stella and Severide have their hands full with Isaiah, who is feeling the stress of his mother’s setback. They seem up for the challenge, though.

And for those of you who thought covering for others in the CFD wouldn’t mean increased hours, Novak mentions the hours in relation to their hope that acting Chief Severide will sign off on using firefighters as floating medics.

The 51 paramedics have always been leaders in that respect. Will Severide sign off on it, though?

Does anyone not believe that Mouch enjoys paperwork? I have no doubt that when he says he does, he means it. But the light moment was interrupted by the fire coming over the radio, not assigned to 51 — Herrmann’s house was on fire.

We’ve seen plenty of house fires on this show, but this fire was intense and raging like some of their worst calls. Herrmann raced inside, screaming for his daughter… and then there was a commercial. The timing!!!

The house is clear, the other department is aggravated, and 51 is still determined to find Annabelle. The trust isn’t high within the CFD, is it? And if Annabelle IS in there, what does that say about how the others do their job?

Cindy finally arrived, scared out of her mind, but with the good news that all the kids had gone to school. Herrmann is still overcome, this time with grief for what’s burning before his eyes. His memories.

Let this be a clear lesson to back up all of your photos, at least those most dear to you, in the cloud. It’s better to have a copy than to risk your life for a memory in a frame.

I don’t mind telling you that fire is my biggest fear. Clearly, I have a love-hate relationship with it, covering Chicago Fire. But when I was a kid, I spent nights before sleep planning my escape route in case of fire — what I would save and how I would save it. Photos and stuffed animals were my focus.

With Herrmann barely scraping by in Chicago Fire Season 14, imagining being in his place is hard. Everyone who loves him tried wrapping their heads around it when they got back to the station, but the best intentions won’t bring what Herrmann had at his fingertips this morning.

They want to arrange for temporary housing and help them with essentials, but the trauma will be what’s difficult to shake.

With Herrmann out of the running for the firefighter EMT training, Severide offered Capp. While Violet and Novak weren’t thrilled, it’s a great way for us to see what Capp can do other than skirt the sidelines.

Herrmann’s family didn’t love the temporary housing. It’s small, and it’s not theirs. And they can’t process how they lost everything.

I loved bringing Isaiah into the story by allowing him to reflect how Herrmann’s kids might be handling things. Kids see things differently. As Stella and Kidd assured him, Herrmann’s kids are strong and have a good support system, but Isaiah felt their pain as if it were his own. Someone must have let him down.

Vasquez, meanwhile, is digging into evidence to free his father. You probably know how I feel about this story so far, but the strangest part is that there’s no Chicago PD presence. This is typically when we’d see a crossover, however small. Maybe that’s ahead.

Herrmann asked Kelly to investigate how the fire started. It was in the back of the kitchen. Herrmann has recently rewired some of the outlets without professional help. If they take that road, I don’t think Herrmann will recover from it.

We’re still in the Vasquez phase where he’s not letting anyone into his world. Pascal was the only one who really knew why he was brought to 51. Is his father connected? He’s asking Novak about medical reports, specifically what they document during a scene visit.

They’re definitely hinting at a Novak-Vasquez pairing, and I’m not against it. We don’t really know much about Novak, so we might as well get to know the two of them at the same time.

Kelly remains confident they can get Isaiah through whatever he’s feeling, and he’s equally sure that Herrmann won’t be held legally liable for the house fire if he made an electrical mistake. But that’s not really what’s bothering Herrmann.

At their temporary house, the family is bickering and trying to pick up the pieces, what’s left to pick up. They’ll never get the personal items back, including the doorframe marking their childhood in ink. But the real issue is whether Herrmann will receive insurance for the damage.

Kelly was looking over the photos, and Isaiah showed a real interest in the work. Could Severide have possibly been prouder of the possibility? He went into papa mode, and the two of them will investigate together.

Mouch tried consoling Herrmann, but it didn’t land well. Saying “It’s just stuff” was meant to be a comfort, a reminder that his family is what matters, but Herrmann got angry. How can he tell his wife and kids that everything they’ve lost was just stuff?

Ambo got its first call with Capp on board, which was a test of his sensitivity to needles. It’s one thing to work with an IV. They were met with a guy jammed full of acupuncture needles. He looked like he walked out of Hellraiser, and it seemed like Capp would struggle to stay upright.

But you know what? Capp nailed it. He was exactly the guy you’d want at your side if you were in trouble. I love that turn of events. He even got a round of applause when he returned.

The needle in his own neck could have toppled him, but he even sailed through that with flying colors.

Despite a kerfluffle at Herrmann’s place during the fire, Herrmann thanked Vasquez for what he did there.

Kelly’s idea about the fire is that it wasn’t the outlet that was problematic, but what was plugged into it. Isaiah’s eyes lit up as bright as the fire licking the outside of the oven when Kelly tested it. It’s the news Herrmann needs to hear, but when they get back to 51, Herrmann has taken off.

I wonder if Herrmann will be able to recoup some losses through the stove manufacturer. He needs a win.

Mouch finds him trying to find the doorframe at the burned-out husk of his home. Herrmann wants someone to understand what he’s feeling, and his best friend stands beside him, absorbing some of his pain while he tries to piece together some of the remnants of his life.

When Violet fills in Severide about Capp’s training, she discovers that he wasn’t as confident in Capp as he had earlier seemed, but he was in Violet. Saddling her with someone notoriously difficult proves she can make the program work.

That’s an excellent management tactic. Some of us were chatting after Chicago Fire Season 14 Episode 1 about whether Severide would make a good chief. While some disagreed with me, I thought he would. Maybe I’m on to something!

When Vasquez visited his dad in prison, it was the first time I saw something in him. His dad wants him to listen to Stella and learn from her, and he recognizes how talented he might have been as a detective. But what he doesn’t see is a way out for himself without Mercy, and he wants his son to get it for him.

What does that even mean? How can Vasquez do that? I hope you have an idea or two. It’s helpful to see their relationship and how much his dad cares for him. And his dad’s strength underscores why Vasquez struggles with authority and needs to assert himself.

When Isaiah showed such compassion talking about Herrmann’s kids, I knew he would step up for them, but I had no idea he would be so generous. But he knows what it means to lose so much. To have everything and nothing in an instant.

His mother must be one hell of a woman. Isaiah wants Stella to give Herrmann’s son Kenny his commemorative Bulls cap from the ’98 finals. If Severide was proud to show him around the fire testing facility, Stella felt the same holding that cap in her hands.

Herrmann, too, had a happy ending. Without Mouch, he might not have found Cindy’s mom’s ring, and he would have never seen the look of love and appreciation on her face, which he needed more than ever.

This wasn’t an episode for the record books, but it was pleasant and hopeful. It was a good reminder about how much these characters care about each other.

But what did you think? What do you think about Isaiah? How will Herrmann’s family recover after the fire? Were you surprised Capp was such a good EMT?

We’re always experimenting, so if you like this new approach, let me know. If you’d prefer individual Chicago Fire reviews and recaps, let us know that, too! See you down below!