With the strike-shortened season of Chicago Fire almost at an end, it’s

time for the show to start wrapping up its plotlines. Season 12, Episode 12,

“Under Pressure” is a strong episode for Joe Cruz, as the character’s

sudden marital problems are just as quickly dealt with. And it lets the audience in a little more to the world of new addition Novak, presuming that Jocelyn Hudon’s paramedic will become a series regular in Season 13.

But most importantly, “Under Pressure” sets the table to conclude the Firehouse 51 vs. Paramedic Chief Robinson storyline, and to give Eamonn Walker’s departing Chief Wallace Boden a sendoff. The way that it does so is honestly surprising and adds back in a character whom some fans were probably happy never seeing again. But all of that slots the pieces in place for another memorable Chicago Fire finale.

Chicago Fire Makes Amends With Joe Cruz Season 12, Episode 12 Fixes Cruz’s Problems

The “A” story in “Under Pressure” actually belongs to Cruz, and it feels like the writers are trying to make up for messing with his family in Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 10, “The Wrong Guy.” The case of the week involves a burning recreational vehicle that endangers the unhoused encampment behind it, and Cruz collapses after running out of oxygen while rescuing a woman named Amanda. He’s quickly back on his feet after a trip to the hospital (and a welcome reference to Chicago Med’s Dr. Mitch Ripley), but the scare causes the tension between Cruz and his wife Chloe to boil over.

Cruz and Chloe’s marital discord still feels sudden, especially because Cruz pulls out that he thinks she’s always been scared of being married to a firefighter and that she’s never wanted to be part of Firehouse 51. That seems like something that the show should’ve brought up seasons ago. But the two have it out over Chloe’s fears and her concern that Cruz will wind up in a predicament like Mouch (it’s surprising that the show has her use Mouch as an example rather than Otis’ death in Season 8, since Chloe knows about that and that example would hit Cruz even harder). Joe Minoso and Kristen Gutoskie play these scenes exactly the right way to tug at the audience’s heartstrings.

Joe Cruz: If what you’re asking me is to not be a firefighter, Chloe, I’m sorry, it’s the one thing in the world I can’t give you.

However, Chloe comes to Firehouse 51 at the end of the episode to tell Cruz that she’s willing to compromise and try to be a bigger part of the firehouse family. Her arrival means that she ends up speaking to Amanda, who hands Chloe a portrait she sketched of Cruz and tells her — not knowing who Chloe is — all the details of how Cruz saved her life. This scene is a nice way to button the fire of the week and tie it into that personal subplot, and after the parental pain that Cruz went through in “The Wrong Man,” it’s nice to see him get a win and be able to get his marriage back on track to more cute moments, like when he and Chloe helped Javi with his homework in Season 10.

Why Does Lennox Return to Chicago Fire?
Violet’s Ex-Partner Stirs up Some New Trouble

“Under Pressure” gets interesting when Jared Lennox resurfaces, well after filing complaints against Firehouse 51 in Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 7, “Red Flag.” Lennox is once again a controversial character. When Amanda’s understandably anxious boyfriend Omar gets a little too panicky in front of Severide, Lennox defuses the situation by injecting Omar with Versed — sedating him without checking his oxygen levels, and getting Omar hospitalized. (This also means a second Ripley reference; the doctor’s pretty busy considering that Luke Mitchell doesn’t appear on screen.) Kelly Severide and Violet Mikami know that reporting Lennox will get them in renewed trouble with Robinson, but Severide does so anyway, because it’s morally right.

The episode then spends some time making everyone wonder what Robinson will do, including a brief appearance by OFI boss Van Meter to tell Severide that Robinson is “on the attack.” Yet it’s an honest surprise to Severide, and the viewing audience, when Robinson shows up not to excoriate Kelly, but to thank him for his “decisive action” and tell him that Lennox has been fired. This is not typical Chicago Fire villain behavior and creates even more uncertainty. That total confusion is what results in a visceral reaction when Lennox arrives at Firehouse 51, chagrined and pledging his new allegiance to Team Boden.

Making Lennox turn from enemy to friend (or frenemy) is honestly a far more interesting use for his character than in “Red Flag.” In that story, he served as a contrast to the sometimes unorthodox way that Firehouse 51 does things, and he had a point. But the character was so heavy-handed that he was too grating for that point to sink in. Now that he’s aligned himself with the other side, hopefully the finale will also show a different side to his character, even if he’s not likely to return once the Robinson storyline ends. Wesam Keesh showed a lot more range on Law & Order: Organized Crime, and this turn means he’ll finally be able to spread his wings on Chicago Fire.

How Does Chicago Fire Write Around Its Missing Characters? Many Characters Are Absent From Season 12, Episode 12

Even short-handed, Chicago Fire delivers a memorable episode with “Under Pressure.” As part of the One Chicago franchise cutting back on costs this season, multiple characters don’t appear during the hour. Stella Kidd is said to be in Oakland looking for a fire truck to replace the one that blew up in Season 12, Episode 11, “Inside Man,” while Sam Carver is out of state, Boden is still spending time with his family, and others including the enigmatic Jack Damon just aren’t around. Even with someone as high-profile as Stella missing, the episode works because only one of those characters is potentially needed. When Severide makes reference to Boden returning “next week,” it’s bittersweet because the audience knows he’s referring to the season finale, and that finale will be Boden’s last episode as a series regular.

But “Under Pressure” clears the way for the finale to mostly or even completely focus on Boden — as it should given Eamonn Walker’s importance to the series and the entire One Chicago franchise. There’s not a lot unresolved at Firehouse 51 past whatever Damon is up to, as the episode has Novak’s necessary “getting brought into the firehouse group” moment to set up the character’s future. This one is handled especially well, peeling back Novak’s fun-loving and quippy persona to show that she also can be emotional, and is actually afraid of attachment. That’s dimension the character needs if she’s going to continue on in Season 13. The comedic subplot also means a lot more screen time than usual for recurring players Randy Flagler and Anthony Ferraris, who dive right into Capp and Tony’s shenanigans.

“Under Pressure” functions well as a palate cleanser between Chicago Fire’s action-packed 250th episode and its Season 12 finale. It cleans up most of the loose ends, tells a complete story despite missing a large chunk of its cast, and throws in a little bit of anticipation about the last showdown. Its one job is to hold the line, and that it does admirably.