When Chicago Fire decided to introduce a new chief, it was a huge shock.

The Chicago Fire Season 13 premiere, “A Monster in the Field,” plays on

that feeling amongst the audience by focusing most of its time and effort

on new arrival Dom Pascal. It succeeds in making viewers form a strong first opinion about Pascal — but it’s not necessarily a good one. And that feels like the point.

“A Monster in the Field” is referring to Pascal, as that’s how he’s described as Firehouse 51 gossips about their new boss. And like any TV show in which there is a regime change, the incoming character (played by Secret Invasion alum Dermot Mulroney) comes in and starts doing things the exact opposite way. Meanwhile, Violet Mikami gets some heartbreaking news when Sam Carver returns after his six-week trip back home to Texas.

Chicago Fire Awkwardly Introduces Chief Pascal
Dermot Mulroney Makes an Impression in His New Role

The great news for Chicago Fire is that Dermot Mulroney makes an immediate impression as Chief Dom Pascal — the question is whether or not fans are going to get tired of him. The character doesn’t win over many of his new colleagues in the premiere and is even shown to sort of be in trouble with his wife at the end of the episode, although it ends with her letting him back into their home after changing the locks. But even conceding that the point of Pascal is to shake things up around Firehouse 51, there’s just not a lot to embrace about this guy yet.

Episode 1 keeps Pascal fairly enigmatic, presumably because showrunner Andrea Newman (who penned the episode) doesn’t want to explore too much of his character right out of the gate. The antagonism he brings doesn’t work as well if the audience warms up to him too quickly. Yet what is revealed about Pascal has been done before. An ex-colleague of his appears in his new office and asks if he’s okay after “what happened in Miami.” Yet this series has already had the “character who may or may not have done something bad on a past call” storyline with Brett Dalton’s character Jason Pelham. And the scene with Pascal’s spouse, portrayed by Private Practice alum KaDee Strickland, raises more questions than it answers. Mulroney doesn’t really get to show much of Pascal’s humanity, and even just a little bit of that would have gone a long way to getting viewers on his side.

Lizzie Novak (of Pascal): I think he’s missing the fear gene.

As it is, the majority of his screen time is making things difficult for the existing characters — and those scenes aren’t always successful. It’s a head-scratcher when Pascal presents Kelly Severide with the General Orders Manual and points out that there’s a rule that would prohibit him and his wife Stella Kidd from working on the same shift together. Pascal makes a comment about “keeping an eye on” their relationship as it relates to their work. However, if Pascal knew enough to know that Severide and Kidd are married, then wouldn’t he also be aware of the fact they’ve been working together while in a relationship for years, and therefore not a liability to 51? He doesn’t need to know the details of their relationship to figure out the timeline. That scene comes across as more of an attempt to make Stellaride’s lives more difficult, than any reasonable criticism. And that so far is the early hurdle for Pascal to clear. Of course he’s going to be different, and he can even be a pain, but he has to make the audience want to watch him.

The Chicago Fire Premiere Uses Stella as an Audience Member
Stella Speaks for the Viewers as Much as Herself

The smartest part of Newman’s script is how she uses Stella Kidd as a stand-in for the One Chicago fans. When the news broke that Eamonn Walker was finally leaving Chicago Fire, it was very tough on the audience, because he felt like the one original cast member who would always be there. It wasn’t like any of the show’s numerous other cast changes, due to Walker’s long tenure and to the influence that his character Wallace Boden had on pretty much every other protagonist. Newman, who’s been with Chicago Fire since the beginning herself, recognizes that and allows the viewers’ feelings of sadness, hurt and skepticism about Boden’s replacement to come out through Stella.

Even though Boden got a beautiful sendoff in Season 12, those feelings get stirred up again by seeing someone else in his chair. By making the choice to create the new character of Pascal and not give Boden’s job to someone the fans already know and love, the writers stunned the fans and so there’s a natural predisposition against Pascal. When Pascal says he’s not Boden, it feels like he’s speaking to the viewers as much as to Firehouse 51. Stella is the perfect character to show the audience that their feelings are recognized, because she’s one of the people who was most positively impacted by Boden. Not only did he walk her down the aisle at her wedding, but he also pushed her to become an officer and saw more potential in her than she saw in herself. Miranda Rae Mayo does a great job of being contrarian, while also being vulnerable as Stella admits she’s not over Boden’s departure. And that’s a scene viewers need to make their own transition between the Boden and Pascal eras.

There’s also a wonderful scene between David Eigenberg and Christian Stolte that further recognizes the old guard. Herrmann claims that he missed the Captain’s test due to illness, but Mouch finds him later and thinks he’s falling in line with Pascal because he doesn’t believe that he deserves the promotion. That he doesn’t have enough confidence in himself. There are jokes earlier in Season 13, Episode 1 about Mouch’s future needing Herrmann to move up and out of his way, but the way Stolte plays that scene, it’s clear Mouch isn’t saying those words for any other reason than wanting the best for Herrmann — and that’s incredibly touching.

Is Chicago Fire Season 13 Off to a Good Start?
There’s Lots to Follow, but It Isn’t All Worthwhile

“A Monster in the Field” definitely lays out several different directions for Chicago Fire Season 13 to go, and it answers lingering questions left over from Season 12. It’s a pretty efficient episode in terms of introducing a major new character while also trying to service most of the existing ensemble. But some of the plot threads are more worth chasing than others. The reveal of Jack Damon as Severide’s half-brother felt weird in the Season 12 finale, and it’s not any better in this episode; perhaps it’s the time jump, but it’s strange to see everyone just accepting that fact. Lizzie Novak refers to Severide as “your brother” to Damon, so it’s now known among at least all of Firehouse 51. And Damon hitting on Novak is just cringe-worthy. He’s not an interesting enough character without the Severide of it all.

A similar complaint can be made against the subplot with Sam Carver’s mystery woman. It’s reminiscent of when Severide went to Las Vegas and came back married. That plot point was weird then, and this version of it is weird now. There’s no issue if the show wants to keep Carver and Violet apart, since as she laments in this episode, Violet pushed Carver away and has to suffer the consequences. Plus, this is a woman who was devastated when Chicago Fire killed her boyfriend. Hawkins’ death is just under two seasons old. If anyone deserves to slow-roll a new relationship, it’s Violet.

But there are some strengths, too. The writing for Violet’s partner Lizzie Novak is top-notch in this episode, as both Newman and actor Jocelyn Hudon seem more confident in the character than they did when she was introduced in Season 12. Novak’s “party girl” persona has been toned down a bit (though not entirely, based on her comments about Chief Pascal), and in Season 13 audiences get to see more of her commitment to the job and how it affects her. Hudon does underrated work in the episode. The Chicago Fire Season 13 premiere has a lot to offer, and it’s a strong start out of the gate, even if it ends with plenty for audiences to talk about.