Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 11, “Inside Man” is a classic Kelly Severide episode that reinforces actor Taylor Kinney’s value to the NBC series.
Kelly Severide (actor Taylor Kinney) in CFD jacket in front of Chicago Fire cast art
The following contains major spoilers for Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 11, “Inside Man,” which debuted Wednesday, May 8 on NBC.
When Chicago Fire actor Taylor Kinney took a leave of absence, fans panicked because Kinney was clearly the star of the NBC show. Season 12, Episode 11, “Inside Man” reaffirms just how critical both Kinney and his character Kelly Severide are to the long-running firefighter drama. The story revolves around Severide in every way possible, and by putting him in peril for the umpteenth time, reiterates his importance to Firehouse 51.
The premise of a fire truck being stolen directly out of a firehouse might sound farfetched, but it’s something that has happened in real life, and it puts Kinney in his element. With the numerous action scenes that Chicago Fire has handed him over the years, he wrangles the physical part of the episode easily, while the Stellaride relationship provides emotional depth. “Inside Man” is a standalone episode — but one that gives fans a lot to be excited about.
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Threatening Kelly Severide’s health and safety is a recurring theme on Chicago Fire. While the show has messed with all of its characters at one point or another over 12 seasons, Severide and his BFF Matthew Casey have particularly been through the wringer — ostensibly because Severide and Casey were the leaders of Firehouse 51, but also because their personalities are very proactive. Severide in particular throws himself into everything headfirst. When “Inside Man” shows him hiding on the about to be stolen fire truck inside of simply trying to get away from the scene, the audience’s reaction is “yeah, that’s typical Severide.” On any other show it would seem like a dramatic license moment, but Severide brings his own dramatic license.
From that point on, Kinney has half of the show to himself as Chicago Fire cuts between Severide and everyone back at the firehouse. There are whole beats where Kinney is acting by himself because there’s only one other person in the bad guys’ warehouse and Severide is trying not to get caught. That means he has to sustain the tension as Severide sneaks inside, underneath and away from Truck 81. Even in the final act, when Severide is forced into acting as the truck driver, there’s not a whole lot of dialogue. With the help of now-veteran Chicago Fire director Brenna Malloy, Kinney communicates most of the episode’s drama through his reactions and expressions, in addition to the physicality required to be running around and fighting people. It’s almost a shame that Severide’s escape from the intentionally crashed truck happens off-screen, because he would have been great in those nervous moments while viewers watched him try to get out of the wreckage.
“Inside Man” acts in contrast to Chicago Fire Season 12, Episode 10, “The Wrong Guy,” which struggled because characters including Kelly Severide were forced into situations where they didn’t fit — even though they were supposed to be uncomfortable, the script went past that and felt like the whole hour didn’t make sense. But here, Severide is exactly where he ought to be: in the field, leading by example. Any other character put into his place would not have carried it off as successfully as Severide did, because stories like this are true to his character and play to Kinney’s strengths. And as Kinney goes, so does Chicago Fire.
