Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 6 ‘Broken Things‘ is another pretty solid episode that showcases how much Stella and Kelly have grown, as people and as parents. Because that’s what they are, in a way. Even if they’re just “foster” parents. They’re already doing the emotional labor of taking care of a kid. It’s just that this kid isn’t theirs, and when his mom gets better, they’re going to have to say goodbye to him.
Perhaps that is where the show is going. Maybe this whole experience with Isaiah will help Stella realize that not only is she ready to be a mom, she’ll be a really good one. She has already been for Isaiah in the short time he’s been with them. And even if he doesn’t always have the words to express it, he really appreciates it.
But this episode doesn’t really give us that answer. It just provides more questions about where these characters stand. And going into the midseason finale, that’s both good and bad. Because yes, we are interested, but we’re also getting a little tired of waiting for something, anything, deep to happen.
WHAT IS STELLA’S JOURNEY?
Stella’s journey has been a little undefined this season. We ended Season 12 with her pregnant, started Season 13 with a miscarriage, and then jumped into her being a foster mom. Despite that, the show has done very little to deal with how Stella feels about that sequence of things. And now, she’s jumping headfirst into helping Isaiah with his mom.
It’s a good thing, and it shows the kind of person Stella is. Being a foster parent is hard because your job is just to be a safe place “for now.” Most of the time, your job is not to take care of a kid forever. And yet, Kelly and Stella took Isaiah in at what was undoubtedly an emotionally vulnerable moment for them. And they’ve gotten attached. Plus, they’re just good people. If they can help, of course, they’re gonna help.
But Chicago Fire would be better off if it stopped throwing outside obstacles at Stella (and Kelly) and allowed them to sit with the loss they suffered. To process what it means, and what they want now. And to do that out loud. TV is, after all, a visual medium. If we don’t see it, we don’t hear it; it didn’t happen. So we can’t assume they’ve dealt with the miscarriage. We can’t assume they’ve talked about whether they even want another pregnancy or continuing the adoption process. Right now, they’re at a standstill, and it’s already gone on for way too long.
WHAT DO YOU WANT, SEVERIDE?
‘Broken Things’ is an interesting episode for Severide, who had previously been very clear about the fact that he did not want the responsibility of being anything other than Lieutenant on Squad and, perhaps, a Fire Investigator every once in a while. But a decision like that doesn’t have to become part of your personality. You’re allowed to change your mind on what you want to do and be. And there’s no time limit for that.
Severide has also proved that he can be more than that outside of work. He’s grown into being a good partner, then a good husband, and now a good foster father. All of those are things we wouldn’t have expected of the Severide we were introduced to fourteen seasons ago. It’s part of what makes him such a compelling character. We’ve been here for his growth, and that’s why we’re rooting for him.
He’s also, in many ways, the character that (alongside Stella) feels like the soul of Firehouse 51 and the one who makes the most sense to be in charge, at least when Pascal is not around. His quick thinking helped save the day in ‘Broken Things.’ And who knows, if all of this leads Kelly into deciding that he actually does want responsibility, in a way that Herrmann never did, then we won’t actually complain. We love Severide on the field, but we’re grown quite fond of his “boss” side too. And clearly, Stella has as well.
