The beginning is in sight for Chicago Fire Season 12, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Every season of the show is impactful, entertaining, and fun. These are the promises of Chicago Fire, and it is why we tune in week after week.
With the season on the horizon, now is the appropriate time to revisit what happened in season 11 and how that carries over to Season 12.
There are some things we would love to see more of, but there are others that we could do without. The following is a wish list, but it’s more of a prayer that we hope falls on the writers’ ears.
We Want Casey and Brett to Stick Around for a While
By now, any true Chicago Fire fan knows everything there is to know about Brettsey and their shocking development in the season 11 finale.
It is also true that we know that Kara Kilmer is set to exit Chicago Fire in Season 12.
Season 11 saw Sylvie undergo a remarkable transformation when, while working, she came across a case that touched her heart and made her realize that she wanted to be a mother.
She fought tooth and nail to keep the baby, but when she was just getting to settle down, he ex-boyfriend dropped a surprise on her and proposed.
We know that Casey and Sylvie are meant to be, and the answer to that proposal will be an enthusiastic yes.
We would have loved to see them reconnect and settle in Chicago to raise the baby and any more they might have, but unforeseen developments in the lives of the actors who portray the characters pull them elsewhere.
Jesse Spencer left the show but dropped by occasionally. He has never signed back on, leading to the fact that he might not return permanently. That and Kara Kilmer’s planned exit means we won’t see how their story plays out in the long run.
But in the short run, we would love to see them get together and plan for their future (wedding?) for several episodes.
It would be devastating if they packed their bags in one or two episodes and never heard from again. Given that Casey was also on assignment, it would be beneficial to have him around longer to resolve the storyline, which ended on a cliffhanger fully.
We Want Severide to Return
Last we heard of Severide, he was somewhere in America, and Stella went to find him.
There are some issues in Severide’s life where he feels like he should be doing something else about fire, but he feels obligated to stay in Chicago because that’s where his life is.
News broke that Taylor Kinney will be returning for Season 12, but it can go either way based on where we left him off in the story. He could be back permanently, or he could be back to set up a permanent exit.
I’m not against someone leaving a show for whichever reason, but for a show and franchise that has seen main and recurring characters leave more times than we can count, it needs Severide.
He represents the show’s longevity, which would not feel the same without him.
We still need his incredible investigative brain, bravery, and firefighting experience.
If he sticks around, it would prevent Carver from sniffing around Stella.
We Want Ritter to Get More Screentime
Chicago Fire has a large cast ensemble and manages to balance screentime between the characters, but when it comes to Darren Ritter, there is not that much development in him.
The show gives Blake and Violet a lot of development in their personal lives and shows that on screen, but somehow, everything about Ritter happens offscreen.
As their only Black Queer character currently, the sidelining can come off as something else entirely wrong.
We Don’t Want Mouch to Die
Speaking of permanent fixtures, Mouch is another one.
As David Eigenberg said about Christian Stolte, we would not want to lose him either. Mouch is like everyone’s grandfather who knows what to do when the kids have problems.
If we kept track, we could prove that he had helped every character on the show deal with one issue or the other.
Everything can get intense on Chicago Fire, and his masterful art of delivering comedy would be missed. He lightens a show that would be otherwise too heavy to enjoy.
We Want Violet and Carver to Get Together
Violet and Carver would be are fire together.
When Carver helped fix Violet’s lights, something sparked in them. They were a potential couple no one saw coming, and we loved them.
Their getting together would solve several issues we don’t want to see in the season.
We Want Carver to Get Over His Feelings for Stella
Carver started giving Stella eyes somewhere in Chicago Fire Season 11, which also surprised him and us.
While Stella is easy to fall in love with, it would be a bad idea because she is married and his superior.
There is no justification for why they should be together because Stella doesn’t reciprocate the feelings.
It would be a messy storyline to navigate with the various layers it entails.
We More Emergencies on the High Rises
Chicago Fire is at its best when it responds to fire emergencies, and if those emergencies are in storied buildings like high rises.
It creates a tense atmosphere because anything can happen, and that’s the thrill.
The viewer feels triumph when their favorite character emerges from the inferno unscathed, living to save another life.
While it’s not always a good idea to judge a show by what it was in the past, these emergencies take us to the show’s early seasons.
Over to you, Chicago Fire Fanatics.
What are your hopes for the upcoming seasons? Did we capture them all?
Share in the comments section.
Chicago Fire Season 12 premieres on January 15 on NBC.
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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
