Severide is going to have some explaining to do when he returns in season 12.
Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) is frustrated, and she has good reason to be. In the Chicago Fire season 11 finale, the character was forced to deal with the fact that her husband, Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) had been withholding info from her and being dishonest about what he was doing.
If it wasn’t for arson training buddy that talked to Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso), Kidd would have never known that Severide completed his training and was traveling the country to help with legitimate arson cases. Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman opened up about the awkward dynamic between these two heading into season 12, and what fans should expect to see.
Kidd and Severide will have a tense reunion in season 12
As far as Newman is concerned, the ball is in Severide’s court. He’s the one who decided to attend arson training at the last minute, and has done a poor job of staying in touch with Kidd while he’s been gone. Whenever he does come back, he’s going to have to address the fact that he hasn’t been very forthright with his wife.
The showrunner also told TV Line that the power dynamic has shifted in favor of Kidd:
“”Viewers will have to tune in to see if Severide returns in the premiere, but I’ll say this — Stella Kidd is holding all the cards.””
It’s an unexpected development, since, as we previously mentioned, Kidd did a similar thing to her husband in season 11 when she went on the road to promote her Girls on Fire program. Not only did she do a terrible job of returning Severide’s phone calls, but she stayed away for so long that Boden (Eamonn Walker) was forced to find an interim firefighter for a position he wanted to give to Kidd.
Stella Kidd reportedly has the upper hand in the marriage
There were some serious conversations held upon Kidd’s return, with her and Severide deciding if they should move forward with their marriage. Things have been mostly good between the duo since, barring the occasional work disagreement (and the fact that they were almost murdered during their honeymoon), which makes Severide’s behavior even more puzzling.
We’re aware of the last minute changes that the writers had to contend with when Taylor Kinney left the show, but they are going to have to address the elephant in the room early on in season 12 if they want the viewer to welcome Severide back with open arms.
