Chicago Fire returns for another episode filled with jumbled storylines that get a little convoluted.

Gianna, Gallo, Ritter, and Mouch all have to report for mandatory training, with Mouch having to go because he missed the training five years prior. At the training, Mouch acts like he’s too cool for school, showing off skills and tactics that are not taught anymore, and Gallo’s ex-girlfriend eyes him. After the training is over, Gianna gets an offer to change Firehouses, and Mouch doesn’t pass the training due to his behavior. Gianna takes the transfer, and Boden happily agrees to let it pass.

This leaves Sylvie stuck with paramedic Dave Diggins, with who Sylvie has never had a great partnership due to his extreme sarcasm and rudeness. However, he’s acting all nice to Sylvie so that she can be a reference for a “Big Buddy” application, meaning he wants to adopt a cat, and since the cat isn’t well behaved, it is bequeathed to Sylvie since she ends up signing on, insert eye roll here for a weird subplot.

A call involving a drunk Uber driver starts driving away while Casey is hanging onto the driver’s door, launching off of the car, hitting his head pretty hard. What follows is a character study surrounding Casey as he navigates a difficult injury. He finds old notices from doctors from a previous concussion injury that another injury like that could cause some terrible effects.

Not only that, but Casey’s sister Christie returned to the series to say to Casey that their late uncle has a safety deposit box that he left for them that has yet to be opened. Inside the box was a Rolex watch, which doesn’t seem to have any emotional impact on the siblings. Casey takes it into a pawn shop and finds out it’s worth $80,000. Casey keeps the watch as he doesn’t feel that it should be sold.

Kidd was also secretly delivered one of the basketball arcade games to Severide’s apartment.

Chicago Fire was trying to accomplish a lot in tonight’s episode, but everything involving Casey’s injury was the best part of the episode, and even that’s saying something considering in some scenes he would be holding his head in pain, and in others, he was just fine. It’s rare nowadays that we see a lot of the struggle that comes from doing such a dangerous job, whether it be physical or mental, so it was a breath of fresh air to see this side of firefighting.

That said, the hazy camera work and sound effects during the times that Casey was struggling were impeccable, and I think that was very well done and brilliantly filmed. I’m sure we’re going to see more of Casey grappling with this injury as the season progresses since it was uncertain of where that story will go next.

Also, is Gianna not going to be in the show anymore? I was starting to like her and then she accepted a new transfer and left. She was just brought in for this new season, and now Sylvie will be once again looking for a new partner. This show goes through paramedics so quickly, it gets a little aggravating to learn new people’s names and how they will work with the rest of the crew. Hopefully, Gianna can come back and work side by side with Sylvie at Firehouse 51 once again.

I know it goes without saying, but Fire has always had the struggle of juggling all of its plotlines at once. With so many characters with different life scenarios, it can get messy. While the distraction from all of the firefighting is fine, isn’t that why we watch the show in the first place — to watch some great firefighters do what they do and save the day? Nowadays, it feels like the fires and the rescues come second to the personal lives of the characters. I would’ve been fine seeing the Casey injury story along with Mouch’s story because they gave great performances, but we did not need the Kidd/Severide mystery delivery story. The stuff with Casey’s sister was also unnecessary. Unless there’s drama surrounding a basketball machine, I think I could’ve been fine without it.

What did you think of tonight’s new episode of Chicago Fire? Leave a comment below!