Chicago Fire Review: Back with a Bang (Season 10 Episode 10)

It’s official. Stella Kidd is back, and her explanation for being gone so long and avoiding Severide’s calls is… fine? I guess?

Chicago Fire Season 10 Episode 10, “Bang with a Bang,” opens with her explaining her lengthy absence, which turns out, was all rooted in anxiety over her career. That seems reasonable enough, but it doesn’t quite justify the lack of communication with her fiance. And it seems wildly out of character for Stella Kidd.

That’s especially true since she comes back confident, well-rested, and as badass as she ever was. She even seems just a little surprised that Kelly is giving her the cold shoulder. It’s as though we as the audience are being asked to suspend our disbelief for the sake of these characters.

I assume this storytelling is rooted in real-life circumstances that made Miranda Rae Mayo unavailable for a spell, and the fact is, that happens plenty on television. Storytelling oftentimes has to work around what’s going on in real life, with the actors individually or, you know, with global pandemics. But the way Stella Kidd disappeared for so long feels pretty darn thin.

The explanation she gives Severide and also Boden could even work, possibly, if we were given more clues regarding her anxiety. Because the reaction to freeze, panic, stay away from home, ghost on your job and your fiance, all because you’re not quite ready to move forward in your career? That’s anxiety.

And of course, there’s another layer that Severide picks up on. She’s also potentially having cold feet about getting married. 

Life has come at her fast, with big, permanent changes. I’d absolutely buy the fact that she was being avoidant and having a reaction to those possibilities. But for as long as she was gone?

And again, coming back in a way that makes it feel like she hasn’t missed a beat? That’s harder to believe.  

Stella’s return also has an effect on Pelham, who puts it together pretty quickly that she was the person who should have gotten the position as lieutenant of Firehouse 51. Now with the additional drama he seems like he’s about to bring to the firehouse, there’s no telling how long he’ll really stick around.

He does do well with the rest of the crew when they have that explosive call — a car accident in a tunnel along with a potassium fire. I wouldn’t mind him sticking around. He’s an enjoyable character, and his interactions with the others work really well.

That call is also a heck of a way to return from hiatus. It’s the kind of big, suspenseful, engaging situation that makes Chicago Fire so much fun to watch.

Largely, that has to do with the way that the team of Firehouse 51 works together like a well-oiled machine. This one is special, too, because Boden jumps right in. I’m so glad he was able to get that promotion and remain at Firehouse 51.

I will say this, though: that call has something missing. It’s a place where Matt Casey’s absence is really felt — so much so, that I nearly expected him to appear amongst the chaos.

Meanwhile, Ritter makes a connection with a young cop during that call, and winds up helping him out later on as well. Ritter finds officer Tyler Dillon traumatized in that tunnel after watching someone die that he couldn’t save.

He does what he has to in order to get Dillon out of there, which is a great moment on its own — he removes his mask and gets stern in a way that I don’t think we’ve seen Ritter do in the past. 

It wouldn’t be Chicago Fire without these firefighters going out beyond their call of duty, and I like this moment for Ritter. He gets a specific purpose for this episode that allows him to step into the role of mentor.

I’m not sure why his fellow fighters would let him take off to Dillon’s home alone, knowing that he was going to hopefully prevent him from committing suicide, but it does give Ritter a nice opportunity to share some of his own experience.

The whole thing gets resolved when Ritter goes to Mouch for help, who then brings in Trudy from Chicago P.D. 

You know, I love any moment where Trudy appears on Chicago Fire to save the day.

Other thoughts:

• I’m glad they’re keeping Casey in the picture a little by having Brett go out to visit him. I can’t imagine how long that will last, but for now, it’s a good detail.
• Chief Hawkins and Violet definitely have chemistry, and I’m enjoying seeing that develop.
• Joe saving that hermit crab is so on brand, even if he didn’t have an additional reason for wanting to do it. It’s also fun anytime Capp gets a chance to offer some comedic relief. 

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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