Are Stellaride breaking up? ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 15 Episode 2 puts fan-favorite ship under stress from HQ
Season 15 of 'Chicago Fire' returned with Episode 2, titled 'Rattle the Cage', featuring everyone's favorite couple, Stellaride, facing a massive challenge. Stellaride, aka Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly Severide (Taylor Jackson Kinney), have been married since the Season 10 finale. An inner-firehouse relationship is considered taboo, but the firefighters have kept theirs off the Chicago Fire Department's (CFD) radar due to their working arrangement. Both were Lieutenants commanding separate trucks. There was no power imbalance because they held the same posts. But that has changed this season, as Severide has been appointed Firehouse 51's Chief. This means that he is now Kidd's boss, which makes things murky and raises the Department's eyebrows.
Severide met with Chief Lowen (Joel Steingold) at the Firehouse. The Chief was impressed by Kidd and her work on the probies. He did not expect such good work after what he had heard about Severide and Kidd at HQ. Severide pushed him to reveal more, and he said some people were concerned about Kidd working under him. He warned Severide to tread lightly so no one would question him. After Lowen departed, Kidd arrived and asked her husband how the meeting went. Severide hid Lowen's concerns and only shared that he was impressed. Kidd was happy and asked if the discretionary budget could go into Keisler sled, which could be used to train the probies. Severide quickly walked off from the conversation, saying he would think about it. He probably did not want to give the impression that he was being partial to Kidd's requests.
The next time the couple appeared, they were in a full-blown fight. Kidd informed Severide that she sent Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente) home after he got into a fight with a probie. She decided without Severide's orders, which rattled him. Severide was angry that he would need to arrange a floater, file an incident report, and, worse, inform HQ. He ordered Kidd to get Vasquez back, and she protested, saying it would look bad if she backed down. Severide pointed out that it wasn't her call to make, and he couldn't always say yes to her at his job. Kidd exited, saying that she got the message loud and clear. Later, Kidd informed Severide she reinstated Vasquez and clarified that she didn't expect him to give in. At this point, Severide opened up about the HQ's concerns. Kidd understood his situation and promised she would be there for him no matter what.
In the end, Severide told Kidd to put in the request for Keiser Sled. He did not want the situation to stop Kidd from doing what she felt was right. They would figure the rest out. The episode also featured a new romance brewing between Paramedic In Charge Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) and her high school classmate. 'Chicago Fire' Season 15 airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT / 9/8c) on NBC.
