Chicago Fire: Why Severide’s absences are making Stella Kidd a worse character
Stella Kidd has had very little to do in season 13.
Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) has missed quite a bit of time over the last couple seasons of Chicago Fire. We detailed these absences in other articles, but we aren’t here to discuss the potential reason why they have occurred.
Rather, we’re here to discuss the impact they’ve had on Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). Severide and Kidd have been on a romantic trajectory for the last several years, culminating with their marriage in season 10. The problem is, they’ve reached an impasse. Severide is intermittently absent, and Kidd, as a result, is stuck in place.
Stella Kidd has had little to do in S13
Kidd has been present for the bulk of season 13 and yet, she’s had little to no impact on the major storylines of the season. One of the most prominent storylines to feature Kidd has been the drama surrounding Jack Damon (Michael Bradway) and his dismissal in the episode “All Kinds of Crazy.”
Kidd was the one who fired Damon, but even then, the emotional crux of the episode lied with Severide, and the complicated familial dynamic he has with Damon, who is his half-brother. Kidd was technically important, but she took a backseat to the emotional importance of her husband.
We get it. Stella Kidd has never been the most dramatic character. She’s a baseline in a line of story arcs, a sturdy base upon which flightier characters can bounce off of to make entertaining TV. That’s not a problem. What is a problem is the fact that Kidd has gradually lost the elements that make her distinct within the Chicago Fire ensemble.
Kidd has become too reliant on Severide plots
The spunk, the attitude, the carefully concealed insecurities, have been flattened, somewhat, because most of her stories are directly tied to Severide. Their dynamic is crucial to the show, and their chemistry is strong as ever, but Severide, as we mentioned, is often gone for multiple episodes at a time.
When a character who is constantly present is tied to a character who is consistently absent, issues begin to arise. Chicago Fire may have been playing with fire (no pun intended) when Kidd got close to Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) in season 11, but at least there was an arc to follow, and one that was very distinct to her.
Kidd is not a ruined character, but she has been underserved and underutilized in recent episodes. We hope to see this change as the second half of season 13 gets underway.
