Chicago Fire just broke the fourth wall in the most unexpected way

Chicago Fire has a devoted fanbase. A very devoted fanbase. We would not exist as a website if this were not true. Pardon the breaking of the literary fourth wall here, but it seems appropriate given what Chicago Fire just did in "Born of Fire." The episode was another solid outing for Firehouse 51, with lots of action and heart, but one scene early one absolutely broke the mold.

You may have missed it, as the opening credits for the episode were still rolling. Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) tells Violet (Hanako Greensmith) that she is planning to adopt a child with Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney). Violet is appropriately giddy, and makes a quick comment about there being a little "Stellaride."

Violet used the term "Stellaride" in the show

"Stellaride" is a term that was coined by One Chicago fans, and has never been uttered in the show. It took us aback, and it took Kidd aback. So much so, in fact, that the character told Severide about the term. "Did you know that they call us Stellaride?," she asked her husband. Severide pauses for a beat, then asks, pretty fairly: "Who's they?"

Kidd's response is even better. "I don't know, actually," she admits, before resuming her sales pitch about beefing up the Girls on Fire program. The exchange is brief, but it is wholly unique within the larger One Chicago franchise. This is the first time the characters have broken the fourth wall.

We have conducted, read, and listened to interviews in which One Chicago showrunners use terms like "Stellaride" and "Brettsey," but there has always been a clear divide between the terms the fans use in real life and the terms the characters use in the show.

Kidd and Severide subtly acknowledge the fans

There's never been an overlap. Until now. It's one thing to pass off "Stellaride" as a term concocted by Violet, but the writers chose to linger on the vagueness of "they" when Kidd recounted hearing it said out loud. "They," in this case, is the audience. It's us. The show is effectively winking at us, and the way that we invent terms to describe our favorite couples.

It's a pretty fun moment, though we imagine breaking the fourth wall won't become the norm on Chicago Fire. It worked in isolation, but we don't want to see the show go the Two and a Half Men route and become an endlessly winking, self-referential parody of itself. Fans can rest assured the rest of "Born of Fire" is standard Chicago Fire fare, and take solace in the fact that "Stellaride" is now canon.