It was not that long ago when all three One Chicago shows ended their most recent seasons with mostly good news across the board.
Both Chicago Med and Chicago Fire shared major baby news! On the former, Asher (Jessie Schram) discovered she was pregnant, and it was implied that the baby’s father was Archer (Steven Weber), news which was confirmed in tonight’s Season 11 premiere. On Chicago Fire, the finale ended with a positive pregnancy test for Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and her husband, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney).
While all is well for Asher and Archer, Chicago Fire’s premiere brought fans the sad report that Stella had miscarried. Her doctor told the couple that losing a pregnancy this early is common and that there’s nothing medically that shows that she would have any issues getting pregnant again if and when they’re ready.
It’s heartbreaking to see Stella’s face in shock and disappointment. Severide, on the other hand, is trying to remain positive about what the doctor said. Stella pulls it together in the end and shares her gratitude with her doctor as well.
Although Stellaride was not even trying to get pregnant while focusing on adopting a child, it was pretty apparent that both were elated over the possibility, even for a little moment in time.
Showrunner Andrea Newman spoke to Deadline last week about the decision behind Stella losing the baby.
“What was so interesting about the dynamic was that Kidd had so many hesitations, questions, and issues about getting pregnant and starting a family. But when she found out she was pregnant, she told Severide about it, and the way he reacted in that moment had us all in tears. He was so happy and so joyous. And I think that just wiped away for that moment, all hesitation and all concern she had. But underneath, she was still struggling with the idea of it,” Newman said.
She continued, “So when the pregnancy didn’t last very long, there’s guilt on her part. There’s guilt because she wasn’t sure it was something she wanted, even though he wanted it so badly. It felt like that was a really interesting element to explore in their relationship. They’ve been through a lot together. This shifts things around, and very quickly. Now they’re headed into a kind of different paradigm of family than they thought they were going to be. You don’t plan for parenthood even though you think you can, because things never go the way you think they will.”
Later in the premiere, Stella discovers a toy her friends at Firehouse 51 had purchased for their baby. She was grateful, but couldn’t hide that it was still a sore topic of discussion. She carries on with her work and focuses on the challenges she has some level of control over. Specifically, the latest addition to Team 51 is Sal Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente), who is giving a vibe not in line with how the firehouse operates. She complains to Chief Pascal (Dermot Mulroney), but is told he will be sticking around, and everyone will have to adjust.
As Stella tells Severide what Pascal told her about Vasquez staying, they are caught off guard when they see Terry, the social worker who has been helping them with the adoption process. He brings up a teenager who is about to be released from his group home with nowhere to go. Terry is hoping that since the couple had previously shown interest in opening their home to a teen, they might consider it again.
When he asks them if they’d be willing to meet, whom Terry refers to as a great kid, Stella and Severide look at one another, but the episode ends before either answers.
New episodes of NBC’s Chicago Fire air on Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET. All OneChicago series are produced by Universal Television and Wolf Entertainment.
