(Warning: The following text contains HUGE spoilers for the Chicago Fire Premiere of the 13th season “A Monster in the Field”.)

We have to side with Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) when it comes to Chicago FireThe new boss, Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney): There’s something wrong with him, and it’s not just because he’s not Boden (Eamonn Walker, who left last season) or his chosen successor Herrmann (David Eigenberg).

In the season 13 premiere, there is little speculation about why Pascal, who is back at CFD after 10 years in Miami, is in charge and not Herrmann. According to Herrmann, he was simply unlucky and got sick before the captain’s exam so he missed it, but he plans to take it in the next round and then the chief’s exam. Pascal wishes him luck, but is he serious? Pascal’s first morning meeting with the fire station is interrupted by a phone call before he can do more than introduce himself. “I’m not Chief Boden. I’m not even trying to be. I have my own leadership style. I do things my own way. You should all expect there to be some changes at Fire Station 51,” he warns.

He surprises everyone on the call when he suddenly springs into action, foregoing a shield, while firefighters and paramedics treat victims of a fire at a vape warehouse. As Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) puts it, it’s as if he’s “missing the fear gene.” His actions make the others second guess him. Then Pascal rubs them the wrong way when he explains that he wants them to bond over lunch, so the phones go in a box; just because they’ve known each other for years doesn’t mean they can’t find out new things. “You’re going to thank me—either that or you’re going to decide I’m an idiot,” he says.

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Another change is that he wants to meet with his three deputies – Severide, Kidd and Herrmann – individually to go over the conversation rather than just reading their reports. This will help him understand their leadership styles and methods. Kidd sees this as Pascal’s alpha tactic. Severide (with a kiss) encourages her to give him a chance.

Severide is the first to meet with Pascal, and it seems to be going well – until the boss brings up that, as immediate family, he and Kidd shouldn’t work together. It seems to him that they’ve found a way to deal with it, considering how long they’ve been working together, but he wants Severide to know that he’ll be keeping an eye on her. Herrmann’s meeting is also good, and Pascal explains that he believes knowledge is power and wants to learn from every call. Kidd, however, postpones their meeting and tries to keep doing so (until after some work for Girls on Fire) when Pascal finds her, but he won’t let her.

We get a clue as to why Pascal is back in Chicago when Lieutenant Veil stops by, noting that he heard about what happened in Miami, and asks if he’s OK. Absolutely, everything’s fine, Pascal says. Veil inquires, since he heard… but Pascal cuts him off, noting that most of CFD don’t even know he’s there, and basically dismisses him. But before he leaves, Veil makes sure he knows he’s always willing to talk and connect.

Later at home, Kidd admits she’s angry at herself for standing up to Pascal, as she would never have done that to Boden. She misses Boden at 51, as he was more than just her boss – he walked her down the aisle, after all. Still, there’s something about Pascal that makes her nervous, and she’s not the only one. Severide agrees there’s something wrong with him.

In the final scene of the episode, we get a taste of Pascal’s absence from work when he comes home to find that his wife Monica (KaDee Strickland) has apparently changed the locks. She’s not happy and thinks he should stay somewhere else. His name is on the lease, he argues, but he wants her there and working on it. From her perspective, he’s just working, day and night, like he always does, and he should have stayed in Miami. He came here to be with her, and he refuses to give up. “You’re going to need me to keep you warm when winter comes in Chicago. We got weak in Miami,” he says, urging her to open the door. She does, reminds him he’s a lucky man, and kisses him. But there’s definitely something wrong with this relationship…

Meanwhile, Violet (Hanako Greensmith) tries to talk to Carver (Jake Lockett), who has returned from a six-week vacation, about their relationship and how she has kept him at a distance because of her feelings for him. But it seems that he found someone else while he was away – Kidd isn’t so sure if it’s serious – and he tells her that it’s in the past and they shouldn’t pretend they’re more than just colleagues. But clearly there’s something wrong with him.

Elsewhere, Cruz (Joe Minoso) notices how Severide pauses during the call at the vape factory when his half-brother Damon (Michael Bradway) goes down, as well as how the two talk at 51 with Damon sitting at the squad table. (Kidd also tells Severide to ask Damon about calls first since she’s his second-in-command.) At Mouch’s (Christian Stolte) urging, Cruz admits the situation is difficult. And when he asks Severide if he talked to Pascal about Damon after his second-in-command noticed the boss brought up his and Kidd’s relationship, Severide says it’s a non-issue.

Herrmann seems to be one of those most welcoming of Pascal’s takeover, and he tells Mouch he is impressed with the other man for following in Boden’s footsteps and doing things his own way. But Mouch asks if he was really sick for the captain’s exam (Herrmann says he was), and argues that the lieutenant could do anything Pascal is, and be great at it

As for the conversation Severide started with Kidd about children in the finale, calls with children have filled her with dread ever since. She’s not ready, she tells him, but he doesn’t push her.

What do you think of Pascal? Let us know in the comments section below.

Chicago FireWednesdays, 9/8c, NBC