We’ve been anxiously anticipating the airing of the episode when the historic Pickwick Theatre was set ablaze, all being controlled by the amazing Chicago Fire techs. Most often, Reel Chicago already knows the plot but we did not see this one coming. We never anticipated that we would lose one of our beloved heroes in a shocking death scene.
While Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) teamed up with the police to track an arson suspect and Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) was comically attempting to convert the laundry room into her own office space, we never expected the episode to end in heartbreak.
In the last moments of the episode, everyone was called to a fire at the Pickwick Theatre for a structure fire. Everyone jumped into action and all of the trucks arrived to see the historic building on fire. Boden is told that there are several people trapped near the screen and two people trapped downstairs. Boden tells the teams that there are only 2 minutes for them to rescue the people in the building, knowing it could collapse at any moment.
Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) gathers those who have evacuated so she can treat them for smoke inhalation as the team enters the building to evacuate those who are trapped. The theater is completely engulfed in flames as our heroes collect and evacuate panicking and confused people.
Outside, as Brett and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) are treating patients for smoke inhalation and burns, back up ambulances arrive as well as Paramedic Field Chief, and Violet’s boyfriend, Evan Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas), who takes over directing triage after he and Violet exchange a nod to each other. Boden is appreciative.
Inside the building those trapped in the basement are located, but the door is locked and needs to be broken down. In the theater, a few people stray away from the group and Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) chases after them in hopes of corralling them back to the group so they can be safely evacuated. In a horrifying turn of events, a part of the ceiling collapses near Gallo and the people he’s trying to save.
Kidd calls “mayday” to Boden, yelling that Gallo is down and everyone freezes outside. Kidd tells Violet to stay focused and that they will get him out and she returns to her triage duties. In the meantime, they find two more victims of the fire that they add to their group and our heroes in the basement get the door open in time to save those trapped and get them out of the building.
Gallo is still nowhere to be found and Kidd stays back to find him. She reports to Boden that he is found and that they are all coming out. As we all breathe a sigh of relief, Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) tells Boden that all firefighters are clear and the primary search is complete.
CHICAGO FIRE — “Completely Shattered” Episode 1103 — Pictured: Jimmy Nicholas as Chief Hawkins — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)
As Hawkins sends off an ambulance, he sees an older gentleman exiting through the stage door and rushes to his aid. Violet sees him and tells Boden that Hawkins needs help. In a split second, as Violet watches, before Hawkins can even get the man to his feet the entire front of the building collapses on top of the two men to the horror of viewers and heroes alike. Everyone rushes to the rubble as Boden calls “mayday” and they all manage to clear the rubble remarkably quickly. Unfortunately, both men have perished in the collapse and Violet insists on attempting CPR on Hawkins, believing that she can save him. Eventually she is pulled away and restrained as Greensmith gives a performance of a lifetime with Violet begging to continue to try and save him. She wails uncontrollably as Boden holds her back in a bear hug from behind as Hawkins is strapped to a backboard and taken away, clearly deceased.
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Greensmith hinted at this in an interview with NBC Insider while avoiding spoiling this shocking event:
“Violet is gonna have a massive, massive challenge thrown her way that I don’t think anyone was anticipating,” she said. “I know Violet wasn’t anticipating it. You’re gonna have to see her navigate some totally new emotional terrain and professional terrain.”
Before the episode aired, Jimmy Nicholas shared some cute shots of him and Greensmith together to really pull on our heartstrings:
Greensmith shared her feelings after the episode aired with a simple emoji and the Chicago Fire hashtag:
Co-star Joe Miñoso didn’t mince words when he congratulated Hanako Greensmith for her incredible performance:
Wolf Entertainment’s official twitter account agreed and shared a clip of her gut wrenching performance:
Nicholas was blown away by the support of his fans:
Violet will undoubtedly need to rely on her Chicago Fire family as they all process and recover from this heartbreaking and shocking death.
Chicago Fire executive producers include Dick Wolf, Derek Haas, Todd Arnow, Andrea Newman, Michael Gilvary, Michael Brandt, Reza Tabrizi, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski.
Chicago Fire is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment. Filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studio.
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