Chicago Fire has had its fair share of great friendships throughout its history. Casey and Severide. Stella and Gabby. And these days, the dynamic duo of Violet (Hanako Greensmith) and Lizz (Joceyln Hudon). Fangirlish had a chance to talk to the two about the latest episode, ‘Instinct’, which focuses on their relationship and also highlights the connection they both share with Sal Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente).
At the end of ‘Instinct’, one thing seems clear. Violet is the most important relationship for Lizzie, and Lizzie is the most important relationship for Violet. But where do they go next? “ I genuinely think the way moving forward is we’ve solidified two things. We have solidified that Novak and Violet have like an impenetrable bond, unbreakable bond, and it is further strengthened by the trust they have in one another, despite whatever romantic snafu,” Greensmith said.
“And also, I think it solidifies that both Novak and Violet have huge reasons to respect Vasquez for the way that he has taken the time to know us and care for us. I think it’s just solidified a lot of like the, for lack of a better word, intimacy between all three characters, but the primary one being the one between Novak and Violet.”
For Hudon, “It kind of rearranged, or affirmed the pyramid of, um, our values.” What’s at the top? Simple. “ I think number one is Violet, Novak, and their partnership. Whatever happens after that is fine.”
“It’s an upside-down triangle,” Greensmith joked.
Vasquez aside, though, this episode saw Violet and Lizzie communicate about their feelings even when it was hard. And that was really refreshing to see, particularly on TV, which is sometimes guilty of milking drama for the sake of drama. “There’s been a lot of personal development for Novak in the few seasons that she’s been there,” Hudon explained.
And that has been exemplified by her relationship with Violet, which is the closest relationship she has. “I think because of the job they have, they go through so many hard things together all the time. It’s not always personal things. So I think it might be kind of like ripping off the band-aid, see how it goes, situation. And the fact that Violet finally tells her, and then Lizzie can just process the information, deal with it, and then respond. And for her response to be respected, I think that just makes them stronger.”
There’s a level of trust there, too, and validation in the response. “It might just be kind of testing out. They haven’t really had this problem before. So I think just testing out the waters and seeing that it goes well, and the fact that she’s allowed to say what’s on her mind and for it to be heard is, is like huge for her. Cause I don’t think she was used to that. She used to bounce around, and now she’s like, “All right, this is what a family is.” And “this is what communicating is.” And she’s just kind of learning how to do that.”
“So I think that just having the response from Violet is huge and just being accepted and heard and being like, all right, I said it, and we can move on.”
As we contemplated how much we enjoy the dynamic between Violet and Lizzie, we had to ask about the other big female character on the show, Miranda Rae Mayo’s Stella Kidd. When are we getting a girls’ night? They can even invite Lucy!
Greensmith was in. “I mean, selfishly, I would love that. I love all those women, and it would be so cool,” she told us. Hudon agreed, saying, “I know, that would be cool.”
“I feel like there are so few women in the firehouse. So it’s, it’s so rare that we get to overlap,” Greensmith added. “Obviously, I get the luxury of working with Jocelyn all the time, but Miranda is often off doing things like hanging from a building or kissing Taylor. So hard to find.”
But they’re both in for an episode focused on the women of Firehouse 51. “It would be fun for all of us to work together, or just do a girls’ night or something,” Hudon said. In fact, she even had ideas!
“Thunder From Down Under,” she added, to laughter from Greensmith. And hey, Kelly Severide might not like the idea so much, but we’re in.
We also talked to both Greensmith and Hudon about things like what their characters’ love language is, and what their red flags would be. And the answer wasn’t that surprising.
“I would say for Violet, it’s probably acts of service. I can’t imagine her being very elegant in expressing loving sentiments towards someone on the daily. Or her being physical either. I think she’s like, yeah, things get done, and I appreciate it when you help me get them done.”
“And then I would say her red flag is, I think, probably her inability to, to truly like, kindly and effectively communicate. It takes her a while. And I think this episode kind of shows that.”
Hudon was on the same train with the love languages. “I think I’m the acts of service also,” to which Greensmith joked, “That’s okay. We all have the same love language.”
“They’re paramedics,” Hudon continued. “I feel like that’s their whole… It’s probably why they’re in this industry. They’re like, I need to help people with my hands.” And her red flag? “Noncommittal with the boys,” she laughed.
And for Greensmith and Hudon, there’s a clear message they’d have for their characters if they could speak to them. “I would say you’re safe,” Hudon told us.
“Yeah, I would say you can lean on people. I think all of us can listen to those two things.”
Probably carry them forward, too, as the characters move on to this new normal that might involve a romance for one of them, but that will always see them put each other first.
Chicago Fire airs on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
