“The beginning of that bond was the Bishop [Keith Kupferer] storyline, where both Kidd and Monica had been threatened – Severide and Pascal’s families – by Bishop, and then, Bishop’s garage was suddenly on fire,” Newman explained. “Pascal implied that he had done it. And Severide in that moment was looking at him like, ‘This guy’s a little shady, but also, I can relate to this guy. I can relate to the fact that he’d do anything for the people he loves.’ That’s a quality that Severide has, too.”
But it’s more than that. Their bond is also due to the fact that Severide has daddy issues. His father Benny (Treat Williams) had been demanding and difficult, and when he died, Severide looked for someone else to fill that role.
“He got a little bit of it in Van Meter [Tim Hopper], and now, a little bit in Pascal, too,” Newman said. “I think he’s willing to do almost anything to help Pascal, even though Severide himself has questions. Did Pascal do this? How that story plays out is going to be a big part of Severide going forward, how he trusts people around him.“Coming out of that process, I think they feel stronger than ever as a couple, and I think that means that they’re open to anything at that point,” Newman said, so adoption is still on the table. “At the end of that episode, they have a little bit of back and forth, and are on opposite sides for a moment, and then they come together. I feel like at the end of that episode, for the first time, you really see what Kidd looks like as a mom, and Severide looks like as a dad, the way they’re reacting and the way they’re looking at that baby. I think they come out of that stronger than ever, and more determined than ever to start a family in whatever form that may take for them.”
Also struggling with personal issues is Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), who broke up with her boyfriend Flynn (Steven Strait) when he tried to push her into attending medical school and becoming a doctor, and in so doing said aloud for the first time, “I’m in love with someone else.” That someone else, of course, is Carver (Jake Lockett), and he’s been announced as leaving the series at the end of the season.
So, where does that leave Violet?
“There’s a lot that isn’t going to be played out completely,” Newman admitted. “There’s a lot that’s going to be abbreviated to some degree, but I think it’ll be surprising. They have a little journey to go through themselves. They’re not done yet, but they have come, over the course of the season, to really get to know each other. This is a huge move for Violet, being able to say, ‘I love you’ after everything she’s been through. That she got to this place, that in and of itself, is a beautiful journey for her.”
