Warning! Spoilers ahead for Chicago Fire season 11 episode 3.
After a couple of break-ups, it seems like Chicago Fire might be splitting other romantic relationships to preserve Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Stella Kidd's (Miranda Rae Mayo) relationship. Dubbed the show's primary romance, the pair was dating for years until they finally tied the knot in the Chicago Fire season 10 finale. Despite a less-than-ideal honeymoon where they were attacked, Kidd and Severide are now past that and currently settling back into their old routine. As they continue to be hopelessly in love with each other, however, other Chicago Fire romances have recently ended.
Despite Jesse Spencer's exit, One Chicago opted to keep Matt Casey and Sylvie Brett's (Kara Kilmer) relationship going until they ultimately broke up in the Chicago Fire season 11 premiere. Meanwhile, not long after they rekindled their romance following a rough patch, Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) and Chief Evan Hawkins' (Jimmy Nichols) affair tragically cut short after he tragically died in a fire accident. It's worth noting that both of these happened in just the first three episodes of Chicago Fire season 11.
With Casey and Brett splitting up and Hawkins gone, Chicago Fire now has Severide and Kidd as serving as it's only active love story. This could be intentional to keep the newlyweds as a central focus. While the pair has never shied away from flirting with each other at work, it seems like the One Chicago series has been ramping things up for them. Considering a couple of consecutive break-ups, the series is now somehow compelled to keep things great for Severide and Kidd for balanced storytelling. Despite handling rather tragic incidents as a first-responder show, the Dick Wolf-produced project has attempted to incorporate some levity into its narrative so things don't get too dark and serious. Between this and the string of separations on One Chicago, it is highly unlikely that Kidd and Severide will undergo some serious issues that could lead to them breaking up.
What’s Next For Severide & Kidd?
Just because Severide and Kidd's relationship has stabilized, it doesn't mean that Chicago Fire is going to jump on the opportunity to rush what's next for the couple. Naturally, the next step in their relationship is to have kids, but it's doubtful if they are interested in that at this point. Getting married was already a big move for both of them considering their respective traumatic past. Kidd has been focused on her career, wanting to do so much with her passion project, Girls on Fire, and also becoming Firehouse 51's newest lieutenant, after the Chicago Fire season 10 finale saw Casey for the last time. Meanwhile, on top of spearheading Squad, Severide also regularly moonlights with the arson team. Given this, both will be invested in their careers — unless NBC throws them a curveball and introduce an unexpected pregnancy plotline.
As great as seeing Severide and Kidd very happy, Chicago Fire didn't really have to break up the rest of the couples in the show. They could have waited a little while to split up Casey and Brett, especially after what they discussed in the season 10 finale. Worse, there was no need to kill Hawkins at this point in its storytelling. He was such an interesting character and Nichols had great chemistry with Greensmith. The procedural could have further capitalized on that.
Chicago Fire season 11 airs Wednesdays on NBC.