Chicago Fire’s Miranda Rae Mayo: ‘Things Get Complicated Between Severide, Damon and Kidd’

Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide aren’t having a child yet on Chicago Fire — but they are sort of adopting a new family member in Severide’s half-brother Damon, who is going to cause problems for the couple.

In this Wednesday’s episode (NBC, 9/8c), Damon disobeys Kidd’s orders on a call, and then turns to Severide to protect him, leading to “a really sticky situation” for Stella, her portrayer Miranda Rae Mayo tells TVLine.

“That’s her husband. That’s, technically, her brother-in-law, but first and foremost, he is on truck, and when we’re on an incident, you have to follow orders,” Mayor says. “It’s not just a logistical error where somebody might be inconvenienced for half an hour. People’s lives are on the line, and there’s a reason why there’s a chain of command. So not just for the victim’s wellbeing, not just for Stella’s wellbeing, but for his wellbeing, for the whole crew’s wellbeing, and that’s a huge deal as far as trust goes. In her mind, she needs to be able to trust him. If they go into a burning building, she’s got to know that he is going to follow orders because if something happens, that’s on her, that’s on the house. It’s very important that he follows orders, and it’s a big deal when he doesn’t.”

The fact that Damon goes around Stella to Severide for help, circumventing her ranking, only makes the situation even more fraught for the trio.

“It’s a juicy episode, and I think [Severide] feels particularly between a rock and a hard place because it is important to him to be a mentor to Damon, especially since he was so neglected by Benny,” Mayo previews. “I think there’s a part of him that feels very enthusiastic and earnest about being there for his brother and having a brother to be there for.”

“It looks like it may be just a misunderstanding or a miscommunication, so then to see how it all unfolds, that is where you really start to see things get complicated between Severide, Damon and Kidd,” Mayo adds.

Below, the actress also talks about how Stella’s declaration that she’s not ready to start a family will impact “Stellaride” and previews more tension between her character and the new chief Dom Pascal.

TVLINE | Stella told Severide she doesn’t feel ready to have a child yet. What’s contributing to that feeling for her and holding her back from taking that step?

I know from my own experience and people in my life who had rocky upbringings, I think raising children becomes even more of an important decision because we know what it feels like to be in a turbulent home. So it’s like the choice to have kids is taken very seriously. I think that’s part of what she’s going through is really wanting it to be ideal. I think she’s being a bit of a perfectionist.

But also, both her and Kelly are firefighters. I also think it just costs her more career wise right now to have children. It doesn’t really affect Kelly in the same that it affects Stella. It would be a big sacrifice for her to take time out and to devote a significant amount of time to raising their child when Stella really is so passionate about being a lieutenant and her truck company and the firehouse. So I think that there is just some fear around what it means to be a parent, especially in this field, and seeing children, people get hurt, day in and day out. Like she says in Episode 1, there’s a dread that comes over her, thinking about the possibilities of what that would mean for her own child and thinking about how that would take her out of the game for a minute, and I don’t think she’s ready for that just yet.

TVLINE | When you see that in the script and you know that she would have to step away from work in order to have a child, is there a part of you, as an actress, that thinks, “What does this mean for me? Am I going to have to take a backseat from the show as well?”

Sure! Of course! Absolutely. And it’s interesting also, just as a person, it’s funny, I can relate. I think I’m a person who wants kids, and it’s funny, like, how Stella and I, I feel like we’re of different minds.

TVLINE | Have you had any conversations with showrunner Andrea Newman about where it’s headed, and has she reassured you that Stella’s presence isn’t going to be diminished at all?

Yeah. I’m really lucky. The writers have shared that they want Stella to, absolutely, be in on the action. and that’s where we love seeing her. But who knows, this could be something that changes over the course of the season. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I love her being the truck lieutenant.

TVLINE | I think it was a pretty important distinction that she said she doesn’t feel ready, not that she doesn’t want to have kids. Would you say that’s a fair assessment, that she does want children, just not right now?

Yeah. I think that she is just a bit paralyzed with fear, and we’ve seen this in Stella before, when she had the opportunity to move up as lieutenant and just kind of froze and found a reason to go to Boston and do Girls on Fire. I think that’s something she can do is just kind of freeze. And so, I would not be surprised if she warms up to the idea.

TVLINE | In the meantime, it seems like Severide is pretty supportive and he’s understanding when she says she’s not ready yet. How will their differing feelings on this subject impact their relationship as the season progresses?

We’ll see. I know that that’s something that Kelly’s character has always wanted. So I think it is one of those things that has the potential to create major tension in their relationship, but so far, he’s very understanding.

TVLINE | From the promo, it seems more so that it’s Damon who’s creating tension between them. How’s Stella feeling about the revelation that Damon is Severide’s half-brother and this relationship that the two of them are developing?

Here’s the thing: I think if Damon was more open, she would be more excited, enthusiastic. But throughout the entire time that he has [been in] the firehouse, he has been very secretive and kind of holding things to the chest, which here’s the thing, totally understandable. Like, I can empathize with Damon. It’s something that it makes sense why he would feel nervous about sharing that part of his life. Stella’s big thing is like, “We’re on a crew together. I need to be able to trust you. Point blank, period. If I ask you a question, I need you to be straight with me” and he wasn’t. So it’s big red flags for her, and I think she just feels she’s in a really, really, really precarious situation. It’s sticky because that’s her husband, and I think there’s a part that’s like, “Wait, family,” but also, it’s because of her own experience with her own family and placing more trust in the chosen family that she has. I don’t think that that buys him any extra grace from her.

TVLINE | How long can they keep that Damon familial connection hidden from Pascal?

I mean, I think it’s easier because their last names are different, but that’s a great question. You’ll have to watch and see.

TVLINE | She and Pascal got off on the wrong foot, let’s say, and he said he’s going to be keeping an eye on her and Severide because they’re not supposed to be working on the same shift. How much trouble is that going to cause for them?

I mean, here’s the thing: I don’t think Stella was trying to get off on the right foot with whatever new chief came in unless it was Herrmann. Then that would have felt right, but it’s a longer process to become chief, so there’s no way that that was going to happen right away. But I think that since they got off on the wrong foot, we witness a tension between them so far throughout the majority of the season because, bottom line, is he will never be Boden to her, and she’s fighting herself in being professional and not letting her personal expectations that are based on the past affect the way that she shows up, day to day. I think, ultimately, a lot comes down to leadership, wanting to be a good leader, really wanting to follow in Boden’s footsteps, and I think Stella puts a lot of pressure on herself, and I think she’s experiencing a good amount of turmoil this season in, like, really trying to carry this torch within herself that justifies the belief that Boden had in her and has.