Contains spoilers for “Chicago Fire” Season 12, Episode 1 — “Barely Gone”
Sometimes, even the best of couples come up against bumps in the road — but for “Chicago Fire” stalwarts Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney), their relationship hasn’t been very romantic for a while. Some of that was necessitated by Kinney’s long leave of absence during Season 11 for personal reasons. But the show is now in the uncomfortable position of trying to explain away all of the choices they made for Kidd while he was gone — choices that now mean they no longer fit together as a couple and might be better off splitting.
If Severide’s lengthy time away from the show had been explained via an injury or an illness in the family, then he might be more sympathetic. Unfortunately, the problem here is that he’s doggedly chosen to pursue his career at the expense of his love for his wife and his commitment to his friends and family. He’s been gone for so many months that he’s been forced to lie to Kidd about his whereabouts to participate in ATF investigations. Those lies and his single-minded drive toward his career mean that it feels as if he doesn’t care about his wife at all. Perhaps he would be easier to root for if he didn’t lie to her and avoid her calls. But it isn’t as if the couple hasn’t gone through some rough patches in their marriage.
Stella and Kelly deserve a better marriage
Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd have already coped with some major romantic issues, such as Kidd absconding for months to take care of a project in Boston during Season 10. However, it’s no one’s fault — least of all the actors — that Taylor Kinney and Miranda Rae Mayo’s absences have conjured up so much discord in the characters’ marriage. Kidd and Severide are married, sure — but at this point, how much time have they actually spent together as a couple?
During “Barely Gone,” the show tries to make up for this by having the twosome make love in the shower — a choice that should improve any couple’s standing but simply makes them look irritated with their choices and the limits of the marriage. By the time the episode nears its conclusion, the pattern seems ludicrous — Severide has the opportunity to advance his career, which he can accomplish only by leaving Kidd again. The reaffirmation of his love that comes near the end of the episode comes off as false.
Storylines aside, there’s also the long-standing belief among some fans that Severide and Kidd have no chemistry. There are threads on Reddit where viewers complain about this issue, and that includes newer fans catching up on the series and watching earlier seasons. If the end is really near for “Stellaride,” there won’t be too many tears shed by these fans.
In a world where anyone can die at any moment, both characters deserve the grace of actually getting to spend time together for more than a moment before their greater ambitions pull them apart. But if this isn’t possible, the best thing to do might be for Severide and Kidd to go their separate ways.
