#OneChicago Crossover Will Impact Stella and Severide’s Relationship: ‘Big Decisions Are Being Made,’ EP Says
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the #OneChicago crossover. Proceed at your own risk!
#OneChicago’s first crossover in five years put Fire couple “Stellaride” through the wringer on Wednesday.
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Stella and Severide began the three-hour event discussing their vacation plans: She wanted to get out of town soon, while Severide preferred to wait until they could take more than just a long weekend off. But Stella argued that they needed to make the time rather than waiting for the perfect circumstances.
Pretty soon, the pair had bigger problems to worry about as a gas explosion trapped Stella underground in a train with P.D.’s Ruzek and dozens of passengers. The situation looked more dire with every hour as the foundation above started to give way, the air supply began to dwindle and passengers developed life-threatening health problems. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that Ruzek suspected that one of the offenders responsible for the explosion might be on the train.
There wasn’t a great signal underground, limiting Stella and Ruzek’s ability to communicate with their colleagues and loved ones up top. When Ruzek was finally able to briefly get reception, Burgess passed on a message from a worried Severide to Stella: “You were right. You have to make the time.” It means he’s scared, Burgess explained to Ruzek.
Thankfully, Severide and Firehouse 51 were able to get to the train, eventually — their attempts involved looking into Al Capone’s secret tunnels! — to rescue Stella, Ruzek and the rest of the passengers. Upon their reunion, Severide was ready to take that long weekend trip, ASAP. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Tonight,” he told his wife.
The ordeal that Severide and Stella went through in the crossover, being torn apart and possibly facing death, will impact their relationship and bring up a very important topic that was tabled in the season premiere.
After OFI and Girls on Fire trips that forced the couple to do long-distance, “they’ve made some promises to each other to not be separated again and not be apart as much as possible, and then this episode does tear them apart,” showrunner Andrea Newman says.
“Moving forward, it’s kind of about figuring out where they are as a couple,” Newman continues, “and the conversations about family really come up in that. That’s something that they’re dealing with going forward, and big decisions are being made.”
As you’ll recall, Stella told her husband earlier this season that she wasn’t ready to have a child. But there’s nothing like a life-or-death crisis to make your reevaluate your life. In next Wednesday’s episode, Stella will also get a visit from her cousin, who reveals surprising family history that will have a “lasting impact” on the lieutenant.
“I think between the events of the crossover and the person from her past coming forward and talking about her past in a way that she hadn’t thought of it before, it’ll impact how she sees her relationship with Severide and how she sees the idea of family going forward,” Newman previews.
Some more highlights from the intense crossover event:
— The crossover was no picnic for “Burzek,” either, who tried to put on a brave face, but when Burgess offered to take Makayla out of school so she could talk with Ruzek, you could really feel how serious and scary the situation was for the couple. (Ruzek, of course, resisted the offer and insisted he was going to be fine.)
— Speaking of couples in crisis, Mouch realized Trudy was pissed at him because he forgot her birthday! Then she ended up getting shot by one of the offenders, and if there was anyone whose survival was of genuine concern, it was Trudy’s. Ripley and Lenox had to freeze her body to perform surgery, during which she coded multiple times, leaving Mouch an emotional mess. And even when she finally woke up, it almost seemed like Trudy might have some complications (amnesia, anyone?). We bet Mouch will never forget another birthday now!
— The crossover gave us many new character combos — Frost/Violet/Novak, Voight/Pascal, Mouch/Ripley/Lenox — but perhaps most interesting was seeing how P.D.’s no-nonsense Voight and Burgess reacted to Lenox’s very different type of straightforwardness when they pushed her to let them question the burned offender, and she resisted. Burgess even threatened to arrest Lenox for impeding an investigation and told her any victims’ deaths will be on her hands! Despite that harshness, Lenox did end up breaking HIPAA to offer Burgess some medical information about the patient that led Intelligence to some important intel.
— As for the explosion, it was the work of a group of people, including a city employee who got cancer on the job, who felt they were own compensation by the city and were after a drive containing $250 million worth of city employee pension funds. They broke into the city’s IT room with the help of an inside person, Bates, a building security guard who used to work on the CPD force with Voight and Platt. Oh, and Bates was the one who shot Platt from behind!
— A moment of appreciation for all the extras and terrific guest stars, especially the young performers playing the burned offender’s daughter, Ellie, and the two kids on the subway train.
#OneChicago fans, what did you think of the crossover? And are you hoping it speeds up Stella and Severide’s family plans?
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