‘Chicago Fire’: Stella Kidd's absence explained amid Severide's trouble with Hopkins
Things haven't been going well at Firehouse 51. The overhaul at the CFD, the transferred shifts, and the curtailed hours have made a major dent in the morale of the firefighters who risk their lives being the first responders whenever a fire breaks out in the city. Moreover, the devastating budget cuts have gone a long way toward making Firehouse 51 feel barren and quiet, in stark contrast to the previous years of intense activity. To top it all, the sudden termination of beloved Chief Dom Pascal, played by Dermot Mulroney, has only added fuel to the fire.
The regular audience of 'Chicago Fire' was startled to find fan-favorite Stella Kidd missing from the episode that aired on Wednesday. Kidd wasn't alone in her absence; several other first responders at the fire station were also missing. Before leaving, Pascal had spoken with Taylor Kinney's Kelly Severide, entreating the latter to appear for the Captain's examination and become the next chief at the station. Unfortunately, despite acing the exam with flying colors, Severide returned to his previous post due to bureaucratic obstacles created by the CFD. The resultant budget cuts have left a deep imprint on the work culture at Firehouse 51.
Right off the bat, the episode referred to the lack of working firefighters when Chief Assistant Lucy reported to Severide following his return to Firehouse 51. Lucy asked him, "Saw the schedule. No truck or engine, no Ambo. Everyone off except Squad?" In response to this, all Severide could say was, "Yeah, we're spread thin, counting on you to pick up the slack." That wasn't the end of Severide's troubles, since he soon learned of a surprise visit from interim Battalion Chief Andre Hopkins, who had been sent as Pascal's replacement. Since Firehouse 51 is the apple of CFD's eye, Hopkins came down for a visit with a special mandate: to review whether the fire station could live up to its fame.
Hopkins, on his part, was irritated by almost anything and everything. He was displeased that Severide had moved his belongings into Pascal's erstwhile office. He also looked down on the fire station's run-down condition and was annoyed by how things worked out at Firehouse 51. It wasn't long before Hopkins pulled Severide to the side and expressed his dissatisfaction at the latter's lack of compliance with protocol. Hopkins further addressed the issue of the in-house relationship between two lieutenants. Following this exchange with Hopkins, Severide called up Stella, stating, "I know you won't get this today, I just wanted to hear your voice anyway. Something's going on with this new Chief, feels like he's gunning for me. I gotta figure out what's going on. Anyway, give me a call back whenever you get out of there, no matter what time it is. Love you." 'Chicago Fire' airs new episodes at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
