Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 12 Review: Relief Cut

Stella and Kelly make a decision about their future on Chicago Fire Season 13 Episode 12, “Relief Cut.”

It stems from a last-minute visit from Stella’s cousin, who immediately gives Severide a hard time. Cole accuses Severide of keeping Stella away from her family — a shocking accusation that takes him aback. 

Cole believes there’s no other reason Stella wouldn’t see her family, and all of this conflict allows us to learn a bit more about Stella Kidd’s background. It’s been a long time since we’ve learned much about her history — a history that shaped her character and was significant in the beginning of her relationship with Kelly. 

Since then, we haven’t gotten much else, so this visit creates a good opportunity for that. It’s too bad it’s taken this long. 

Stella admits she hasn’t been seeing her family, ultimately, because she was embarrassed and didn’t think she should after she’d gone down a bad path years ago.

Luckily, Cole and Severide make amends quickly once it’s clear Severide hasn’t been keeping Stella from anyone, Cole gives Severide some insight into what Stella’s childhood had been like.

After losing her parents, she’d gone to live with them and wound up taking care of her aunt — and cousins — while her aunt suffered from postpartum depression.

Those experiences shaped her and her feelings about having a family, which leads us to the decision she and Severide make. Stella says she wants a family with Kelly, but she isn’t sure she wants to get pregnant. Instead, she’d like to consider adoption, and he agrees he says he thinks that would be “just right.”

It’s a sweet moment between the two of them, and it’s played well — emotional and authentic. It also makes a lot of sense for them to adopt instead of having a baby of their own.

But here’s the issue: this has been done before. Yes, the situations were a bit different with Gabby Dawson and Sylvie Brett, but it still feels like this has become the go-to move for the women working at Firehouse 51. 

While there’s a progression for Kidd and Severide, Ritter’s relationship takes the opposite turn. 

After admitting to Dwayne that he doesn’t want to move in together, Dwyane has been cold toward him. Then, outside on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, they were supposed to be having a date, but Dwayne breaks up with Ritter instead before they even make it inside.

He says it’s clear they don’t want the same things — Dwayne wants to be able to move forward and eventually get married, while Ritter is still hesitant about that type of commitment. 

Seeing Ritter go through any heartbreak is difficult — he’s a character you just always want to root for. 

It’s even tough seeing how upset he is when he’s not able to perform a relief cut on a call, and Kidd moves him on to something else because of it. The way everyone rallies around him on both, though, is heartening.  

Elsewhere on the episode, Herrmann and Kylie are on a mission to find stolen fire hydrants. It sounds like an odd problem, but it’s one that’s grounded in reality — a real issue that poses problems for firefighters.

It’s smart writing for Chicago Fire to focus on that, and it’s one of those times when you have to appreciate how realistic this show can be. These firefighters aren’t rushing out to life-threatening calls on every single shift.

Sometimes, there are other issues, and the day-by-day stuff matters to their characters and their jobs just as much — maybe more so.

Herrmann is always good at taking up a cause he really cares about, and this goes from locating the stolen hydrants with a plan that involves a GPS tracker to proving a point at a professional event in order to seek funding to stop the problem once and for all. 

It’s satisfying the way all of that plays out, from Kylie’s part in it to Pascal’s support and then Herrmann throwing a heavy hose at a government official and asking him to catch it. Gosh, I really do love Herrmann. 

Other thoughts:

• Lila appearing in the morning at Kidd and Severide’s apartment after sleeping with Kidd’s cousin is a really fun moment, especially with Kidd and Severide’s reactions. 
• Small details continue to show a little more about Dom Pascal. On this episode, Carver and Ritter agree that it seems Pascal’s mind goes to dark places really quickly, which seems like it will be significant later.
• I remain frustrated that someone is always missing for one reason or another this season. 

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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