‘Chicago Fire’ Recap: ‘Bar Time’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

CHICAGO FIRE -- "Bar Time" Episode 13014 -- Pictured: Jake Lockett as Sam Carver -- (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1314 of ‘Chicago Fire’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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When we settle into our chosen and beloved career field, we quickly come to believe that our lives will be on easy street. For we have our forever gig, and we love it so much and are so good at it, that there’s no way tough days or challenges will await us. But alas, we do come to learn down the line, how wrong we are about that belief. Simply because there will be bad days on the job where nothing goes our way. Not to mention, endless challenges await. Ones that involve staving off people that want what we have, and we do have to continue to work to be the absolute best at our chosen field. Not to mention, life’s trials and tribulations can sometimes hammer us to the point, where we wonder if we can maintain.

In fact, that latter surprise/challenge is top of mind today, simply because it was featured in the next episode of Chicago Fire on NBC. For ‘Bar Time’ saw Captain Herrmann be put in charge of Firehouse 51 while Chief Pascal was off helping another firehouse. So, it was up to Herrmann to get all the chief duties done and he struggled here. Because he had no idea how much paperwork went into it, and that made him late with some critical stuff and he almost failed to finish the job. Of course, his team was there to help him out, but it did make Herrmann pause for a moment. To the point where it was clear, he was now wondering if this was the right future for him, if he was cut out for it, and that’s a huge question we sometimes have to answer as we climb toward the top of our respective career field, and this exploration went deeper thanks to Sam Carver’s journey.

Because he was… working himself to the bone here. To the point where he wasn’t sleeping. Mainly because, he was scared of alcohol’s call, since he had a slip up, and of course… he was a bit soured upon going to AA meetings after what happened during last week’s tale. So, doing what a lot of us do when we’re down, troubled, or fighting to heal, seemed like the best course of action. But he was so embarrassed by that slip up, that he did everything and anything to hide it. To the point where he even lied to Violet. Which brought about conflict between the two of them and it helped Carver to realize, he had a decision to make. Because despite fighting hard to be here at 51, and reveling in helping others, he had a real problem on his hands here. One that was not going away through sheer willpower. So, it was either, stay the course and crash and burn, or get some real help. The latter of which, he chose to do.

Which spoke to how sometimes, we have to choose between our careers and our mental health and that is a tough call, but the right one is to always err on the side of us. For a career means nothing without a healthy mind and soul. But while that made for two powerful explorations regarding some of the challenges, we can encounter in our chosen career paths, this episode still had more to offer. Since it also further explored Novak’s past. For she and Violet had a ride-along passenger on their busy evening, and it just so happened to Novak’s ex-fiancé, and his time on the rig helped us to learn about what Novak was like before 51 and more about the decisions that brought her to 51. Which made for a fascinating sequence for certain, one that really did help us to get to know Novak like never before and featured some growth for her. Since Novak came out of this stronger and with closure.

All of which made for another amazing episode from this series. For it just continues to impress when it comes to the themes it explores and the growth it offers its characters. For no show out there is even remotely pondering upon the stuff explored here, and that’s just incredible and it also made for a very moving tale as well. For we felt for Herrmann and saw the conflict within him, and Carver’s story was powerful for certain. Because that was clearly, one of the toughest decisions he’s ever made in his life and while it was the right one, it was tough to watch him struggle with it. Of course, Novak’s journey helped break all that up, and this episode also deserves a round of applause for exploring more of what first responders go through on busy nights. And now that we’ve reached the end of this tale, it will be interesting to see if Herrmann wants to stick with the quest for chief, and what lie ahead for Carver. Until next time.

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