I'm afraid that I have never liked the character of Benny Severide. In previous episodes he has struck me as as a feckless, immature, self-centred, self-satisfied and probably deceitful blowhard, with no real thought except to his own benefit. This episode does nothing to change that view. Before the introduction of Benny, I had decided that Kelly Severide is pretty much the same personality, certainly feckless, immature and self-centred, and strongly disliked him. I think that with this episode I came to realise that the poor guy is hugely the product of Benny, by either nature or nurture. But there is more to him than that, particularly an innate protective urge, as shown in this episode, and I await his growth in following episodes and seasons. No matter what Benny's failings may be, or how much he may be a model politician, McLeod is worse, and I look forward to her imminent downfall. I just hope that Kelly Severide will grow to full adulthood as rapidly as the scriptwriters can manage.
