Warning: This post contains spoilers from Chicago Fire season 15 episode 4, “A Perfect Arson.”NBC has made some mistakes with Chicago Fire in the past, and the latest hour confirms one of NBC’s biggest mistakes that could jeopardize everything. It doesn’t help that the reasons given for the mistake don’t help to fully justify it in the long term, and following the same old patterns threatens something that could become the next NCIS or Law & Order: SVU, where it reaches 20+ seasons.
Chicago Fire season 15 episode 4 delivered a powerful bottle episode. As Severide and Kidd got 48 hours to themselves, Severide was called in on an arson investigation. An ATF agent from Alabama, Calloway, specifically asked for him, knowing how great he is at spotting clues and figuring out the puzzle. Since she had nothing else to do, Kidd joined in, and it created an intense hour watching as Stellaride worked closely together to solve the mystery.
Throughout the entire installment, it proved NBC made a huge mistake at the start of the Chicago Fire season 15 premiere. Losing a veteran actor with Joe Minoso leaving Chicago Fire was already bad enough, but that decision created a knock-on effect for others, pushing them out of roles that they love and give them joy and forcing them into a box that is somewhat soul-destroying. Severide didn’t feel like he had a choice when Cruz had been so badly injured.
To make matters worse, comments from Van Meter solidified the mistake by pointing out that there was a way to avoid the entire situation. His wise words help to set up a potential arc that could correct the wrong made, adding much-needed fresh storylines and dynamics to the 14-year-old show.
OFI Is Where Severide’s Heart Lies
As Severide investigated another arson case, his eyes lit up. There was a spark Kidd noted she hadn’t seen since he took over the job as captain of Firehouse 51, making it clear that his heart lies with OFI. Audiences have seen this build for seasons, and a move to arson investigations seemed like the perfect move at the end of Chicago Fire season 14.
If you’d asked anybody at the beginning of the series, it didn’t look this way. Severide was constantly running from the job he excelled at, not wanting to be anything like his father. Yet, the more cases he took on and the more he showed he was a natural at it, the more the passion grew. He was able to help more people, preventing more attacks and getting justice for those who needed it.
Chicago Fire Needs Severide to Stop Sacrificing His Own Wishes
Kidd and Van Meter finally talked about why Severide took the Firehouse 51 job rather than the OFI one. With Cruz facing a fate worse than death in the Chicago Fire season 15 premiere, he didn’t think that Firehouse 51 could lose another member of the family, and so he stuck with a job he didn’t necessarily want. It was a sacrifice, and that’s something Severide is known for doing time and time again. He consistently puts his own hopes and dreams on the back burner, because his firehouse family comes first.
Kidd even notes that Severide was going to sign the OFI paperwork. That’s the role he wanted to do, and it admits that Chicago Fire made a huge mistake. It threatens the future of the series, as Severide finds himself stuck in a role that he doesn’t really want, and he could end up resenting the firehouse and the choices he’s made.
The worse Severide feels about making the decision he did, the more it threatens his life with Kidd and his connection to the rest of the firehouse, as he gets short and snippy when he’s frustrated. If anyone else learned why Severide stuck around, they’d feel bad, and there could even be negative repercussions for feeling like they were second choice.
Firehouse 51 Has a Leader Who Can Take Over
While talking about the decision to stay with Firehouse 51, Van Meter made a great note about the family already having a good leader. If that’s the one thing Severide was so worried about, he should have looked at one of his lieutenants, and it’s clear that Van Meter meant Kidd. Despite having to cut one of her probies loose lately, Van Meter shared that there is some high praise coming from the candidates and the top brass.
She is strong, effective, and focused. This is a woman who knows how to be fair and give people chances when they deserve it, seeing the potential in them and helping to shape them into better firefighters and people. It’s through Kidd rising through the ranks that NBC can avoid jeopardizing its own show. Not only does it allow Severide to move onto OFI, but it also showcases a woman of color in power, commanding respect through her fair and brave actions and not through her family name or by threatening jobs.
By the Chicago Fire season 15 midseason finale, it could be worth showing the shift in this direction. There are plenty of ways to make sure Stellaride have some screentime together, whether it’s on a personal level, through Kidd passing a case onto Severide, or even by them getting another bottle episode where they work together on a case. Having cases that start with a fire Firehouse 51 attends would allow Severide to continue interacting with his firehouse family as he turns to them for answers about what they saw at the scene.
Chicago Fire has now set up an arc that allows for this change to gradually happen. “A Perfect Arson” didn’t end with a closed case, and Severide and Van Meter know that someone out there views Severide as a worthwhile adversary. This puts both himself and Kidd at risk, and he will need to focus more on the arson cases that come up to protect them both. Kidd could end up taking on more of a leadership position, as she’s the lieutenant with seniority able to take on more of a leadership role, adding something thrilling to Chicago Fire.
- Release Date
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October 10, 2012
- Showrunner
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Andrea Newman
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Taylor Kinney
Kelly Severide
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David Eigenberg
Christopher Herrmann
