Maybe they’ll catch a break someday.
Chicago Fire managed to last six episodes into Season 13 in the fall 2024 TV schedule without Pascal showing his cards very often, but Severide got through to him at the end of the latest… although the Squad lieutenant actually thought he was busting the chief for associating with dirty public servants. Severide committed to helping Pascal once he had the full story, and Stella may actually pay the price for her husband putting himself in the path of a very bad man.
Pascal and Severide were together on the scene of an extinguished fire when Captain Bishop of the State Police showed up to pull rank and prevent them from investigating the possible arson any further. Pascal later had a suspicious reaction when Bishop mentioned a “Hendricks,” and was cagey enough that Severide did some digging, the result of which was that Pascal looked like he was in cahoots with Bishop on some very serious crimes.
And just when it seemed like Severide might have busted Pascal in time for Herrmann to step up as the next chief of 51 despite having one of the more positive reactions to Pascal’s arrival, Dermot Mulroney’s character actually confirmed everything that Severide was saying about Bishop being dirty and him being in the mix. As it turns out, Pascal acted on his own suspicions and was working with Bishop’s Internal Affairs to find evidence and bust him.
Pascal tried to discourage Severide from any further involvement, telling him that “Bishop doesn’t shy away from violence and he does not make empty threats,” and that Severide can’t tell anybody about what he learned. Based on the promo, the consequences may fall more on Stella as Severide’s wife and Pascal’s wife than either of the men. Whether or not you revisit “Birds of Prey” with a Peacock subscription, take a look at what’s ahead:
When showrunner Andrea Newman previewed Stellaride’s journey in Season 13, I didn’t imagine that they’d be facing complications like a dirty State Police captain and Severide having to keep secrets from her again! Bishop doesn’t exactly make an explicit threat to Stella in the preview, but it’s hard not to be nervous after what Pascal revealed about him in “Birds of Prey.”
We’ll have to wait until the next episode to find out what exactly he means by what he says to her in the promo, and I may spend at least some of that time thinking about how Pascal almost certainly would have reacted very differently if Stella had confronted him the way that Severide did. I still want to know what his hangup is with her, especially since he might have words for her after Carver’s latest slip, and the story doesn’t seem finished yet.
