Taylor Kinney, star of Chicago Fire, happily welcomes her first child
For many fans, its ability to grip audiences from the off is the reason it’s still going strong today. There aren’t many firefighter-centered shows with a life span as long as Chicago Fire, and its continued support from fans only proves it’s deserving of that success. Alongside Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, this television trio consists of all the drama, love, and emotional torture one could expect, and it’s a lot. And out of so many episodes, they’ve put fans through the wringer on more than one occasion. An episode could be one of the best for a number of reasons, from the loss of a beloved character to a memorable event, but according to IMDb, these are the greatest of them all.
10. “Telling Her Goodbye” – Season 5, Episode 16
IMDb Rating – 8.9
There’s nothing like a tense hostage situation with almost every primary character involved to peak an audience’s heart rate, is there? Well, fans were met with that very scenario in the sixteenth episode of season five when fleeing gang members sought shelter inside the firehouse, much to Chief Boden’s (Eamonn Walker) and Christopher Herrmann’s (David Eigenberg) audible annoyance.
9. “The Last One for Mom” – Season 4, Episode 20
IMDb Rating – 8.9
As a firefighter, there are hard days on the job, and then there are the days that make someone question their sheer will. For Severide, season four episode “The Last One For Mom” pushed him to his emotional limits. Tasked with watching a little boy named J.J. while a cop friend testifies in court, he’s more than up for spending time with the kid he’d formed a bond with over previous episodes. But, things go awry very quickly.
Halfway through the episode, J.J.’s (Maxwell Jenkins) mom is shot before she can testify, later dying from her wounds during surgery. Severide and the rest of Firehouse 51 do everything they can to ensure J.J. gets the best project for school, keeping him protected from the news until his Aunt can get there. But every time he mentions his mom throughout the episode triggers a twinge in the hearts of the firefighters and viewers.
IMDb Rating – 8.9
The One Chicago shows aren’t afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to covering real-world issues. These have been tackled in many ways over the years, from drug-related crimes all the way through to terrorist-level threats. For Chicago Fire, one of their most impactable episodes came when “I Am the Apocalypse” was released in 2015. The nineteenth episode of season three is intended to introduce viewers to the members of the franchise’s new show, Chicago Med. But it ended in disaster when a man infected with an unknown disease pulled the pin on a grenade in the hospital’s waiting room.
Fans were introduced to Jay Halstead’s (Jesse Lee Soffer) brother, Will (Nick Gehlfuss), as he started his first day at the hospital. His first task? Tending to the injured in the explosion. It’s one of Fire‘s most memorable, given its upsetting nature, but also because it left Severide with life-threatening injuries after he selflessly attempted to tackle the man to the ground. Whether he would live or die remained unknown throughout the episode, keeping viewers gripped and worried at the potential loss of a beloved character.