It’s amazing how one person can alter the good vibes and strong dynamic of a team, and when firefighters are working together to save lives, that is especially true. Chicago Fire fans know how integral each person is to Firehouse 51, but a recent episode suggested that one incredible character could be finished.
The best shows waste absolutely no time and start a new season with tons of drama. Although just a few Chicago Fire season 13 episodes have aired, viewers are already anxious about what could happen to someone they have cheered for, cried for, and enjoyed watching since the beginning.
Is this fan favorite character leaving Chicago Fire?
While Chicago Fire fans were scared that Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) would leave, now they’re concerned about his wife, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). As of now, Stella isn’t leaving Chicago Fire, but her difficult and dramatic dynamic with new chief Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney) suggests she shouldn’t get too comfy. While Stella has never taken her career for granted and works hard all the time, she might not have thought she would ever be in this position.
In Chicago Fire, season 13, episode 3, “All Kinds of Crazy,” Stella spills the tea to Pascal on Severide’s half-brother Jack Damon (Michael Bradway), explaining that he should be in the floater pool. She kept his professional issues a secret, mostly the fact that Damon doesn’t want to do what she says. Pascal is upset and makes the chilling comment, “I’m the one who makes the final decision about who stays and who goes in the firehouse. And I’ll decide if your leadership is part of the problem.” If fans were charmed by Pascal before then because of his confidence and good looks, they definitely didn’t love him in this scene. Talk about a power play!
While the episode had a happy ending, with Pascal telling Stella to hire someone in Damon’s spot, it’s hard to feel 100% about this resolution. If Pascal and Stella continue to butt heads and he fires her later this season, it would be a massive bummer and also a huge mistake. Stella is not only a beloved character thanks to her marriage to Severide, which softens both of them, but she’s a brilliant lieutenant. She adds a level of compassion to Firehouse 51 that some others, including Pascal, don’t have.
In an interview with TV Line, Mayo explained that Stella and any new chief would have a hard time seeing eye to eye because she misses Boden (Eamonn Walker). She said, “Stella puts a lot of pressure on herself” and shared that the character is dealing with “a good amount of turmoil this season in, like, really trying to carry this torch within herself that justifies the belief that Boden had in her and has.”
Mayo also spoke about Stella being scared to start a family, which is one of the most relatable parts of her arc. And Chicago Fire fans will be happy to hear her say that Stella will have many storylines in season 13: “The writers have shared that they want Stella to, absolutely, be in on the action.” While Pascal has shown he has no problem moving people around or even firing them if he wants to, fans would hate to see Stella leave for good.
