Chicago Fire came back in style. “The Wrong Guy,” the first season 12 episode in nearly a month, was an absolute highlight, and part of the reason was the screen time it afforded Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney). The character was front and center, leading Firehouse 51 and chopping it up with his wife, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo).
It’s the guy we’ve wanted to see for most of season 12, but haven’t really gotten the chance to due to long scheduling breaks and episodes in which the character is simply not around. Fans took notice, too, flooding social media with praise for the “old school” Severide and the electric chemistry he had with Kidd. Chicago Fire giveth, and Chicago Fire taketh away, however.
Kelly Severide gets taken hostage in 1212
The celebration came to a tense close when “The Wrong Guy” gave way to the promo for the May 8 episode, “Inside Man.” Despite only being 15 seconds long, the promo makes it clear that our beloved Severide is going to be in serious trouble.
Armed men break into Firehouse 51 and take off with one of the firetrucks. The kicker? Severide is working on one of the trucks, and therefore goes along for the ride. It’s as dangerous (and possibly deadly) as it sounds). There are cutaways to Severide driving the truck, and engaging in physically reckless driving near what appear to be man-made fires.
It’s basically Severide’s version of Die Hard, which is to say, he’s one capable guy being tasked with taking out an entire team of villains. We’ve never seen a situation like this on the show, but as Violet points out in the promo’s voiceover, there’s nobody better equipt to deal with it than Severide.
This tense scenario is something Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman alluded to weeks ago. “If Severide can overcome a terrifying crime in [Episode] 1211,” she explained to TV Line. “And make it to the finale, there could be a major revelation for Kelly and Stella then.” The showrunner capped off her cryptic statement by saying: “And that is all I’ll say on that!”
The smart money is on Severide pulling through, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be an easy path to success for our 51 veteran.
