Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 2 draws an unexpected parallel between Stella Kidd and Chicago PD‘s Hank Voight. The two characters are nothing alike—except for that “Primary Search” makes Stella responsible for a bunch of people, similar to how Voight has been held responsible for what happens to everyone else in the Intelligence Unit. At least no one is blaming Stella the way that Voight has been blamed over the years. But it’s a surprise nonetheless.
“Primary Search” begins and ends with Stella, Kelly Severide and Isaiah, the 14-year-old that they’re fostering. The ending scene of Stella smiling as she watches Severide and Isaiah playing video games together does not make up for breaking her heart (and that of the fans) in the Season 14 premiere. But not only does Stella have a kid at home, she’s basically got one at the firehouse in the person of Sal Vasquez. When Vasquez catches her off-guard again, Stella makes him write an incident report and then teaches him about “alternative” options. She tells Severide that this is a “teaching moment,” but it just feels awkward on both sides.
She doesn’t inform Vasquez why she’s making him write the report; why not explain it to him and start building a dialogue? Yet on the other hand, even though she’s his lieutenant, Stella seems to be the only one dealing with Vasquez in the whole firehouse. Pascal—who doesn’t appear in this hour, presumably due to how actors have been rotated in and out of One Chicago episodes for the last few years—is the one whose neck is on the line, but he’s passed the buck to Stella. Other people have made comments about Vasquez, like when he breaks one of Stella’s firehouse records here, but that’s about it.
And as for Vasquez himself, his second outing shows that Chicago Fire is still figuring him out. Some important tidbits are given about his backstory, but in one scene he can be brash and angry, and in another he’s explaining himself and trying to do better. Does the series want him to be a problem child for Stella, or is he going to grow beyond their current tension? Brandon Larracuente certainly has the ability to make him more than a rogue element. But Stella, even though she has an incredibly big heart, shouldn’t be carrying everyone else’s weight on her shoulders. That works on Chicago PD because Voight wants to be that force of nature. On Chicago Fire, Stella just deserves a break already.
Elsewhere in “Primary Search,” Mouch realizes how much pressure Christopher Herrmann’s voluntary demotion at the end of Season 13 put on his friend financially, and decides that he wants to sell his stake in Molly’s. This is a much more important and sad moment than Chicago Fire lets it be. Molly’s is an institution that rose to be one of the most recognizable settings in the whole franchise. It was like Cheers for One Chicago. But after the death of Otis, the exit of Gabriela Dawson, and just less stories about the bar, Molly’s feels less significant. And now with Mouch walking away, it’s no longer that group effort from within Firehouse 51. Now it’s just Herrmann and his odd glassware.
Last but certainly not least, Darren Ritter returns to 51 only to leave again. “Primary Search” is Ritter’s swan song, as actor Daniel Kyri’s departure was revealed before Chicago Fire Season 14 started. Showrunner Andrea Newman explained why she felt Ritter reuniting with Dwayne was his best ending. Viewers may or may not agree with her based on this episode. On one hand, it’s wonderful that Ritter and his mentor Mouch get one last scene together, because their relationship has always been a thing of beauty. It’s also fantastic that Violet Mikami has a role to play in Ritter’s future, given that the trio of Ritter, Violet and Blake Gallo were such good friends. And of course, viewers will appreciate that Chicago Fire doesn’t kill or injure Ritter like a few other departing characters before him.
However, the way that Ritter’s departure is engineered leaves something to be desired. It’s understandable that certain things have to happen off-screen for logistical reasons—but even so, Ritter just telling Violet that he and Dwayne reconciled over the phone is not enough. That’s a huge moment for Ritter, yet the audience doesn’t get to see or hear any of it, similar to how Sylvie Brett and Matt Casey (temporarily) broke up over the phone. There isn’t that emotional payoff. The same could be said for how Ritter adds that he cleared his “extended furlough” with Pascal and Stella. It would have been great to see that conversation with Stella, and let them say goodbye. Plus, how would Ritter leaving impact Stella, having to let go of someone she cares about while also trying to let someone else in? That scene could have further strengthened her arc in this episode, too.
“Primary Search” is not a terrible Chicago Fire episode. It has an action-packed opening, and it carries plot threads from the season premiere forward and then some. (Everyone knows the mystery of Vasquez’s dad is a time bomb waiting to explode later in the season.) But it misses opportunities for much bigger moments. And it asks a lot of Stella Kidd, when she’s already been through an awful lot. Hopefully some of these plot points will pay off for her and for the show sooner rather than later.
