Between Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD, there isn’t much that hasn’t been done before without the One Chicago franchise. The three shows have pulled off some incredible feats over the course of their runs, and, despite a collective 41 seasons between the shows, the One Chicago shows still continue to find ways to make history with first-time events.
This was the case in the latest episode of Chicago Fire, which made an interesting and unexpected creative choice by serving fans up a Stellaride episode fans won’t soon forget. The episode saw Severide tapped by the FBI to assist with an arson investigation, for which he investigated with some help from Kidd and Van Meter.
It was an incredible episode that brought about some shocking revelations and teed up a mystery that will carry into the episodes ahead, but the episode also managed to make a bit of One Chicago history in a way that might have gone unnoticed by some viewers.
Chicago Fire season 15 episode 4 was the first time a One Chicago episode featured only 2 series regulars
As Chicago Fire put Stellaride front and center, they did so at the expense of the rest of the ensemble, as Miranda Rae Mayo and Taylor Kinney were the only two series regulars who actually appeared in the episode. There was no appearance from any other member of the Chicago Fire season 15 cast with David Eigenberg (Herrmann), Christian Stolte (Mouch), Hanako Greensmith (Violet), Jocelyn Hudon (Novak), Brandon Larracuente (Vasquez), Da'Vinchi (Burke), Randy Flagler (Capp), Anthony Ferraris (Tony), and Joe Minoso (Cruz), all MIA in the episode.
In the context of the episode, it was explained that Severide and Kidd were both off for two days, which explained why the events of the episode did not take place at Firehouse 51. The pair intended to enjoy the rare time off, but then the FBI came knocking on their door, and they spent the time off work helping with the arson investigation and working alongside the various guest players in the episode.
Creatively, the episode was one of the show’s strongest hours, and the show told a really great story through the arson investigation. While it felt strange not to see the rest of the cast, their absence didn’t create a sense of loss within the episode, and as we got deeper into the case, any thoughts about what the rest of 51 was up to slipped away. The episode achieved what it set out to do, which was give fans a bottle episode that was self-contained but also progressed some key narratives in the process.
The episode was also a brilliant way to work around the cast restrictions, which create the need for series regulars to be sidelined from time to time throughout the season. And honestly, it likely worked as well as it did because it was Severide and Kidd that were featured as the only two series regulars in the episode.
Still, it was a historic moment for the franchise, as no One Chicago show has ever sidelined that many members of its cast in a single episode before. The episode marked the first time we’ve seen an episode led by only two series regulars, making the show’s 299th episode a historic one in its own right ahead of the show’s milestone 300th episode coming on November 4.
And for those who were missing the rest of the Firehouse 51 team, the good news is that everyone in the ensemble will be back for the 300th episode as the show prepares to say farewell to Joe Minoso.
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