Chicago Fire - A Man Possessed - Review : Don't Mess With Severide

Jan 8, 2026 - 03:15

Chicago fire certainly didn’t hold back on the dramatics coming into this second half of the season. Obviously last season we left off with Van Meter and Severide visiting Mr Cole’s home address whilst being blissfully unaware that arson had been committed in a second attempt at taking Mr Cole’s life.

There wasn’t too much going on outside of the fire investigation and the decommission of Engine 51, but it is definitely worth mentioning the dynamic between Violet, Lizzie and Vasquez. It kind of felt like they are trying to build up a love triangle between them. I truly can’t tell if Vasquez and Violet just made a bond over sharing a shift together and his dad visiting the firehouse or if there is a spark there. There are definitely a few looks from Lizzie that made me think that maybe she was jealous of the pair. I am looking forward to seeing how they develop that storyline.

I really loved the panning back and forth between other scenes and the fire until they found out about the blaze. I think it created such a good level of suspense. I have to admit that I feel like I know less information about the case by the end of the episode than I did at the start, but I am so happy that we are bringing this storyline into another episode because it really deserves to be played out fully.

The Stellaride family scenes this episode were genuinely so heart-warming; I adore that we are getting to see them be great temporary parents to Isaiah. The scene in the hospital where Severide made sure to include Isaiah in the hug made my heart melt. It was such a cute family hug; I am so glad that Kelly had his support system there for him.

For Severide fans this episode was an absolute treat, Taylor Kinney really deserves his flowers for the performance he put on. You literally went through all the same emotions that Kelly did. When Van Meter went down due to the smoke inhalation the shouts of “Tom” from Kelly truly tugged at the heart strings. The scene where Kelly realises Van Meter may never wake up was such a tough watch, Van Meter is such an important person in Kelly’s life, and I really do hope that he pulls through. Although with the state that he is in currently I fear this may be another major loss for Kelly to go through.

The budget cuts are still wreaking havoc with the department and even Dom’s personal life. I knew I never liked Annette Davis, there was always something that seemed off about her and now we know why. I genuinely don’t even understand why shutting down an engine would be a sensible idea but I’m guessing that's because the orders came from a non-firefighter.

The ending of this episode literally left me with my jaw dropped. I was not expecting him to be kicked off the case; however it really did make me laugh. Telling Severide that he is off the case is like talking to a brick wall, do they really not know the lengths he goes to when protecting the people he loves?

I truly cannot wait to see where this goes next episode!