Amid all the drama, though, Chicago Fire revealed that Stella and Severide (known as “Stellaride” by fans) lost their baby at the start of the episode. As they tried to figure out a way forward, a social worker informed them of a teen who had been kicked out of a group home with nowhere to go.
In an interview with TV Insider, Newman unpacked the revelation and the decision to have Stellaride lose the baby so soon after a failed adoption storyline. She likened the tragedy to the unexpected emergencies first-responders face, as well as stating that starting a family comes with challenges, and it was important to keep things real. Check out her comments below:
For us, this is a show about emergencies and first responders and crises, and I think a lot of it was just what can you throw at them and what will happen when you give them [challenges]? But we wanted to keep it real in the sense that there’s no planning perfectly having a family, that there’s just so many things that can go wrong or go in different directions than you expect. And for Kidd and Severide, we set up this kind of beautiful moment of, “Isn’t this perfect?” And Severide was so happy, and Kidd, feeding off that, was so happy.
But at the end of the day, looking back, Kidd had a lot of hesitations and concerns about pregnancy and what that would look like for her, how it would change her as a firefighter, all that. So, to throw a wrench in the best laid plans and see how they handle that, Kidd might be feeling a little relieved, and then that would make her feel guilty and terrible. And Severide was going to pick up on that and kind of follow her lead because she experienced a loss, and he wants to respect that, and he did, too. And she’s got to kind of figure out how to navigate his emotional state. And it’s all about having a plan for family and having it not go the way you planned. And maybe your family will end up looking very different than the original starting place, but it’s still a family nonetheless. So, putting our two leads in that position and shaking it all up and seeing what comes out.
What This Means For Stellaride’s Chicago Fire Family Plans
Newman is right that trying to have kids and start a family is never easy, and it’s even more challenging when working intensive and dangerous jobs, like Stella and Kelly do. With all the drama the couple went through to get to this point, it feels cruel to take this away from them, but that is often true in life.
People experience tragedy and loss, and in the context of a TV show, this is a way of being able to add drama, pathos, and conflict to major characters. However, the nugget of hope follows after the tragedy, as the show sets up another adoption storyline for Stellaride, only this time with a teenager, which makes for an interesting dynamic.
Our Take On Stella & Severide’s Potential Adoption
In many ways, Stella and Kelly adopting a teen actually makes a lot more sense than adopting a newborn. The dangerous and unrelenting nature of their jobs often means long hours and little downtime. It can also take a physical and mental toll on them. None of this is ideal for raising a newborn. Taking in an older child could be a blessing for their future in Chicago Fire.
