Chicago Fire 12×13 “Never Say Goodbye” is an episode about endings and beginnings, but as has been the case with this show in what feels like too many occasions, those goodbyes aren’t really final. They can’t be. Firehouse 51 is family, and as much as Chief Boden won’t be part of the day-to-day for the show, or for the firehouse, that doesn’t mean he’s truly saying goodbye to these people, or to us. He never could. Just as it doesn’t mean the family, or the firehouse that Boden built, is going to crumble in his absence.
The hour, though, feels like it moves forward in a way that makes sense, or at least it sets up the pieces in a way that makes sense. Of course Boden would realize what the best place for him would be: as DC. And of course that means that someone has to replace him, and no, the best person for that job isn’t Severide. It never was. It all falls into place very well, especially considering we’ve seen how uncomfortable Severide is with the administrative side of the job.
It all sets up very nicely for next season, even as Boden says goodbye and everyone reafirms both his importance, and just how much he will never stop being a part of 51. But of course, this is a finale, so we still have some things to worry about.
a new (and old) family
I like the idea of Stellaride discussing starting a family way more than the show just giving us a pregnancy, I will say. They don’t really do the kind of job where I imagine someone like Stella would just leave a pregnancy to chance, considering how many risks she takes on a day-to-day basis. So, that means this always made more sense than a surprise pregnancy. And the recognition that yes, this is a bigger deal for Stella than it is for Kelly is important.
Honestly, though, I also just like how this gives us a continued storyline to follow through for next season that isn’t all bad drama. This might not be something they can figure out right away, but it is something they, as a couple, need to discuss and figure out timing for. Anyone in their positions in real life would have to do the same.
Then there’s the Damon drama, which is less surprising than it should be considering Benny Severide. That we got to Season 13 without something like this should actually be the surprise here. But hey, Severide wanted a family, and we all know that means change. We also know he isn’t as good at dealing with new people as he could be. This is …a nice new challenge for him, and for the family he and Stella want to build. So, why not?
I’m stupid enough to have fallen in love with you
The Carver and Violet thing was always going to blow up in their faces — or, more likely, in Carver’s face. We could see that coming a mile away. And blow up in his face it did, with Violet misunderstanding both his motives and his feelings, which leads to his confession and to him now avoiding Violet because he doesn’t want to face either. It’s both the expected kind of angst going into the hiatus and the kind of thing we didn’t even expect we would be into considering how much it hurt when this show killed off Hawkins.
In a way, we get it. We are Violet. It’s been hard to let go. Hard to accept that it’s okay to love someone new. But we cannot all be stuck in the past forever, and neither can Violet. It’s not healthy. And part of the problem is, of course, that she’s been keeping her relationship with Carver so “casual” that she doesn’t really know him enough to realize why this particular call would affect him so badly. And that’s not the basis for a lasting relationship.
Violet, deep down, wants more, just as Carver does. But to get that, she has to take that leap of faith, even if it’s scary. Otherwise she will always wonder what she could have had, once again, what she might have had for longer, if she’d just let herself.
All of these are good storylines to go into what is, thankfully, going to be a longer Season 13 for. Bring in more episodes of this characters. We can’t wait.
Things I think I think:
- The convo between Boden and Hermmann had me tearing up, I’m not gonna lie.
- Who would have known I would end up loving the relationship between Stella and Carver? WHO?
- And okay, I might actually really love this Damon development. I’m easy. I love complicated family dynamics.
- This show has given us way worse cliffhangers than this. I feel absolutely relaxed going into Season 13 in comparison.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago Fire 12×13 “Never Say Goodbye”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago Fire aired on Wednesdays on NBC.
The Stellaride stuff love that it was a discussion brought up by Severide shows how much he has grown in the past 12 seasons. I like Damons character and not surprised he’s Bennys kid. I can live with these cliffhanger and glad it wasn’t too bad. Boden stuff was emotional. I know he will be back just not full time but, still it was hard to say goodbye. He is the father figure the glue of that firehouse. He will be missed in every episode he is not in. Excited though for next season and these storylines to Continue and to see what will happen and develop from the finale.
I agree with a lot of what you said here. I am glad that they are making Herman Captain. Had they made Stella or Kelly Captain, it would have added drama to their relationship. While Kelly has outranked her, she was outside of his chain of command. Since Kelly had outranked her, having the tables turned could have caused drama. This way, while there may be friction with Herman and Severide as there was with Severide and Casey when Casey became Captain, at least it won’t be Stelleride drama.
Revealing Damon as Severide’s half brother was a good curveball. There are aspects of this I don’t like though. Can’t we just let Benny rest in peace? Yes, we all know Benny cheated on his wives/girlfriends and he was an absentee father. Last we saw him though, he had Kelly’s back and Boden’s for that matter. Kelly said at his funeral “he had your back even if you didn’t know it.” Now, that is going to be thrown away? Benny was an abusive father all of the sudden??? It has been 5 seasons since Benny died on the show and they have continued to use him as a plot vehicle for Kelly. I think it is long past time for this to come to an end. Assuming Daman isn’t lying, we are going to have a lot more Benny conversations. I have little doubt that this will impact Stelleride’s decision as to when (or if) they should start a family.