I hope you’re wearing your seatbelts because this ride is about to get bumpy.
Coming around the corner on next week’s Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 11 is a joy ride courtesy of someone with a whole lot of nerve.
The promo promises an action-packed episode. Truck 81 is stolen, but the thieves don’t seem to know they’ve got a passenger.
That’s right — Severide is along for what may just be his most exciting day on that truck yet.
In the last episode, the writers teased some mysteries surrounding a couple of new characters, so we’ll be holding our breath to see if anything new is revealed there.
The quick 30-second promo that aired after Chicago Fire Season 12 Episode 10 ended revealed that Truck 81 was stolen. We don’t know who took it, but we do know that Severide was on the truck when it took off.
Because, of course, he was.
It goes without saying that there will be a massive team effort to recover the truck (and rescue Severide), but he’s not the type to wait around to be saved.
That likely means we can expect some heroics and maybe even some reckless behavior on Severide’s part as he tries to escape.
He’s been on desk duty while covering for Boden, handling the day-to-day at the firehouse and missing out on the action. I’m willing to bet he’ll get a nice big adrenaline rush from the events we’re about to see unfold.
We’ve talked about how the energy between Stella and Severide has been fairly lukewarm lately. Maybe a big crisis will heat things up for those two.
It would be nice to see their relationship revive. It doesn’t need to be anything crazy, but a little something to remind us that they’re a couple would be perfect.
The promo didn’t address it, and the photos we have so far haven’t given us many clues, but “The Wrong Guy” set up a couple of pretty big mysteries.
Will we find out more about Novak’s past? Why is she so reluctant to join the team permanently? She’s obviously an incredible paramedic with a gift for talking to people in crisis.
So, what is it about Novak that has her keeping people at arm’s length?
And, not to harp too much on the issue, but will we find out what her first name actually is? The verdict seems to be that “Rosie” was a mistake in the captions on “Something About Her.”
But is it Lizzie (as she’s called on the show) or Lyla (as she’s listed in every online source)? Here’s hoping “Inside Man” clears that up.
The other mysterious newcomer is Jack Damon, a floater assigned to the 51 who says he learned from Severide at the academy.
Severide doesn’t remember him, though, and Damon exhibited some shady behavior throughout “The Wrong Guy.”
Between the strange obsession with Stella, the probable lie about his academy days, and the shady conversation he had on the phone that Ritter overheard, this guy is definitely hiding something big.
Fans are speculating online about who Damon is and what his intentions are. Some folks are assuming that he’s another of Severide’s half-siblings, but others think the relation might be a little closer than that.
Is there any chance that Damon is actually Severide’s son? There are a few devoted fans who think so, and it makes sense, honestly. There’s also a stalker theory, but that’s been done before.
Chicago Fire has already explored the surprise half-sibling avenue, so if the writers want to add another relative to Severide’s family tree, having it be his child isn’t the worst idea.
We haven’t been given much insight on whether there are children in Stellaride’s future, but chances are Stella might be a little put off by the idea of suddenly being a stepmother to a full-grown adult man.
There’s also the possibility that Damon isn’t related to anyone. Could it be that he has sinister intentions? One of the most popular fan theories right now actually ties into next week’s plot.
That theory suggests that Damon is a plant, acting as a literal “inside man” for the group that steals the fire engine in the upcoming installment.
If that’s it, this would be a genius move by the writers. They’ve shrouded the guy in mystery and also made him relatively likable already, so no one in the house would suspect him.
Carver, who is still pretty new himself, has already shown nervousness about Damon’s presence, and Ritter overheard the strange phone call he made, so maybe folks won’t be as charmed by the new guy as it seems.
If Damon isn’t involved with the plot to steal Truck 81, we probably have at least another week of waiting before we learn more about him. It seems that Severide’s field trip will take precedence in the coming episode.
Next week’s hour is practically guaranteed to be an exciting one, which will be a nice change of pace after a few of this season’s episodes have been on the dull side.
We’re eagerly waiting to see how it all plays out — we’re not too worried about losing Severide, but anything could happen.
Until then, let us know your theories about the newcomers and whether we should be looking out for big-picture storylines with them.
Haley Whitmire White is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.
