Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 12: This One Stella Question Finally Gets Answered

Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 12, “Relief Cut” finally circles back around to a question fans of the NBC show have been asking for years: who was Stella Kidd before? The insight that the episode gives into Stella’s history makes up for the fact that it’s a slow outing by the series’ admittedly high standards, and the fact that the network’s marketing department spoils the big Stellaride moment. Finally, fans have the extra piece of Stella’s past they’ve been asking for.

“Relief Cut” brings in someone else from Stella’s past — this time, viewers meet her estranged cousin Cole. But unlike the other characters who’ve come in and mostly just caused problems for her, Cole provides some additional perspective on her earlier years (with a side order of trouble). Elsewhere, Kylie Estevez is back again to mix things up with Christopher Herrmann, so while there’s not a ton of action in the episode, there’s plenty of entertainment to be had.

Chicago Fire Finally Explores More of Stella’s Troubled History

Season 13 Gets to What Should’ve Been Done Years Ago

Ever since Chicago Fire introduced Stella Kidd’s psychotic ex-husband Grant Smith in Season 4, audiences have clamored to explore Stella’s history further. It’s clear that she went through a lot that influenced the character fans know and love, and especially since Stella has been the female lead of the show for years now, there’s no excuse for not exploring this important period in her life. “Relief Cut” finally does that, albeit in a pretty cliched way.

A conversation between Stella’s cousin Cole and her husband Kelly Severide means that Severide (and the audience) learn more about Stella’s youth — most notably how she supported her aunt Laverne and two cousins when Laverne struggled with postpartum depression. There’s also an earlier scene with Cole and Stella, in which she admits that she was embarrassed to face her family after her involvement with Grant and her “drug spiral.” This episode doesn’t really delve into that dark period in Stella’s life, so viewers don’t have all the answers yet, but even these two scenes provide so much more context to further appreciate Stella.

There are two downsides to the way this plays out, though. One is that someone from Stella’s past visiting the firehouse has been done twice before. Grant did it in Season 4, and then her old friend Tyler popped up largely to create romantic drama for Stellaride. The other issue is one that has nothing to do with the episode itself, but rather the marketing. The culmination of this story arc is that Stella admits to Severide that she doesn’t know if she wants to get pregnant, but she’s interested in adopting, and he supports the idea. However, NBC’s promo for this episode uses a decent chunk of that scene — so the emotional impact is dulled somewhat because the ad has already told fans what the ending is about.

Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 12 Pairs Herrmann & Kylie

David Eigenberg & Katelynn Shennett Make a Good Team

Whenever Chicago Fire needs to find something exciting to spice up an episode, it just needs to throw David Eigenberg into the mix. Eigenberg always delivers, and his storyline in “Relief Cut” provides the fire-related action of the week. When Herrmann learns that fire hydrants are being stolen and sold to scrap yards for quick cash (similar to catalytic converter thefts), he’s determined to put an end to the proceedings. Viewers already know that means they’re going to get another moment where Eigenberg gets to deliver some impressive monologue. But what makes the plot more fun is that his partner in crime is Katelynn Shennett, who returns as office assistant turned firefighter Kylie Estevez.

This storyline could easily have gone to Herrmann and Joe Cruz, or Herrmann and Darren Ritter, since both Cruz and Ritter are common allies for Herrmann. Instead, pairing him with Kylie creates a different kind of dynamic, because they’re exact opposites personality-wise but share the same ability to think on their feet. Their strategy of planting a new fire hydrant with a tracking device in it is pretty smart, and the audience gets not one but two opportunities to gloat. The first is when the manager of the scrap yard is arrested, with both Herrmann and Chief Dom Pascal giving the guy a piece of his mind. The second is when Herrmann confronts the Chicago city treasurer at a fundraising gala, in order to pay for replacement hydrants.

Longtime fans know how good Herrmann is at causing a scene, and how great Eigenberg is when those big moments come. Herrmann’s whole rant after the death of Brian “Otis” Zvonecek is one of the best monologues in Chicago Fire history. In “Relief Cut,” Herrmann gets an entire fire hose out of his car and makes the city treasurer feel just how heavy it is, while pointing out that two of the missing hydrants are the ones next to his daughter’s school. Everyone knows the Herrmann moment is coming, and yet that doesn’t stop it from being positively awesome to watch.

Chicago Fire Episode 12 Includes an Unearned Breakup

Darren Ritter Deserves Better Than This Plotline

What “Relief Cut” doesn’t do is find something for Ambulance 61. The brief call in which Violet Mikami and Lizzie Novak respond to a woman who’s suffered a facial injury at a club is not only cringe-worthy, but feels just like an excuse to get the two of them and Darren Ritter into the same nightclub later. As for Ritter, the character played by Daniel Kyri gets to the point everyone knew he was headed for, and that’s still not fair to him. Ritter is dumped by his boyfriend Dwayne in “Relief Cut,” in another example of the One Chicago universe quickly torpedoing a couple when their relationship appears to have served its purpose story-wise. Ritter having expressed a need for personal space feels just like Maggie Lockwood suddenly having doubts about Loren Johnson on Chicago Med; both are unconvincing justifications for a breakup that happens soon afterward.

Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 12 doesn’t feature any massive plot twists, giant fires, or canon-changing revelations, which is possibly be design, since it’s happening right after the One Chicago crossover that threatened Stella’s life and involved literal explosions. The one major call that occurs in the episode isn’t even that dramatic. But the episode succeeds because it looks deeper into a character who deserves exploring, and because it leans on the show’s most reliable actor to carry everything home. There’s even a possible tease for the future when Ritter asks Sam Carver if it’s weird that Pascal can have some “dark thoughts.” Is Chicago Fire revisiting the idea that Pascal might be a little disturbed? That’s a question for the rest of Season 12, but “Relief Cut” gives fans enough to hold them over until the next big event at Firehouse 51.