Spoilers ahead for the Season 12 finale of Chicago Fire, called "Never Say Goodbye."
Chicago Fire has earned its reputation for delivering game-changing finales, with twists that range from proposals to characters on death's door. "Never Say Goodbye" didn't conclude on any life-or-death cliffhangers, but the emotional goodbye to Boden combined with the bombshell reveal for Severide just after he pitched making a big decision with Stella definitely raise some questions for Season 13 in the fall 2024 TV schedule. All in all, by the time the final credits rolled and Chicago P.D. started on One Chicago finale night, I was flashing back to what showrunner Andrea Newman told CinemaBlend this spring.
But first things first!
How Chicago Fire Wrapped Season 12
News that Eamonn Walker was departing Chicago Fire as Boden but still expected to recur in Season 13 broke well ahead of the finale, so it was no surprise that he tossed his hat into the ring for the Deputy Commissioner position and got the job. Still, the scene of the heroes of Firehouse 51 saying goodbye to him and expressing how much he meant to them was such a wonderful and powerful moment that I immediately figured that something was about to go terribly wrong to make up for it.
There was a very big twist that followed, although it wasn't terribly wrong in a way that Season 13 is going to premiere with a crisis to resolve. Damon revealed the secret that he's been keeping and why he was being kind of shady about Severide. The two have a family connection: both are sons of Benny Severide.
The reveal immediately made me wonder if part of why Michael Bradway was cast as Damon was because of the eye color that I can really only describe as "Severide blue," as well as wonder just how many secret kids Benny fathered over the course of his life. Katie may have left Fire as an important character years ago, but longtime fans undoubtedly remember the first half-sibling that Severide encountered over the course of the series.
There were other story threads left dangling at the end of "Never Say Goodbye," ranging from Boden touchingly naming Herrmann as his chosen successor as Chief at 51 to whatever is going on with Carver. The one I'm most curious about is Severide floating the idea of starting a family to Stella, with credit to the Squad lieutenant for immediately acknowledging that the decision would have a much bigger impact on her than it would on him.
On the whole, even though there are no boats sinking or roofs falling as of the end of the Season 12 finale, there were still cliffhangers and unanswered questions to guide how Season 13 picks up, as Andrea Newman indicated to CinemaBlend.
What Andrea Newman Said About Season 13 Resolving Cliffhangers
I spoke with the Chicago Fire showrunner for the final episodes of Season 12, including Severide's Die Hard-esque adventure in the 250th episode. At the time, I didn't yet know what the cliffhangers would be at the end of "Never Say Goodbye," but I knew the show well enough to ask Andrea Newman if the writers had plans for how the Season 12 cliffhangers would play out in Season 13. She shared:
We have general plans and then you start getting into the nitty gritty once you gather back up for the season, and we always know – when there are cliffhangers especially – how we want those to land. You know, the runway and coming down from them, but we have lots of stories to plan yet for next season. It's always fun to see how they play out. You become a viewer when you're a writer too and you see it. I love watching it the night of and just feeling like the audience is feeling, and so that will affect how we land all these stories too. It's just how that punch feels when you're watching.
Apparently, live viewing reactions to episodes and twists do indeed affect how cliffhangers are resolved on Chicago Fire. That's not to say that fans are dictating every move made on the original One Chicago show, though! I then asked the showrunner if she gets a kick out of seeing how passionately viewers react to certain Chicago Fire twists, and she shared:
I do, I do! It's funny because I'm one of those people who screams at the TV set, and I do that watching it. It freaks out my husband every time. He's like, 'You've seen this, you wrote this! You know what [happens]!' It feels different! And I'm screaming along with everybody else. [laughs] I'm usually having the same reaction as the fans are and it's a little psychotic probably but it's true. You get jazzed. When I watched the cut of [Episode] 11, I was cursing a mile a minute and screaming because I was so into it.
Of course, Chicago Fire fans aren't always universally enthusiastic about the twists and turns of this series, but Andrea Newman enjoys those reactions as well. She continued:
I love hearing fan reactions and all too often that's how I feel, and fans hate bad guys and that's our goal too, so when you see somebody saying like, 'Oh I hate Chief Robinson!' You're like Yeah, what the hell is she doing here?' [laughs] And then you know, you write the best you can to keep everybody kind of hating her and that ride being as fun as possible. And hating her and seeing that she's got a point sometimes too, which is just as aggravating.
So, if fans react positively to Damon as Severide's secret half brother, Herrmann as new Firehouse 51 leader, and the idea of Stellaride starting a family, will those storylines be explored in Season 13? It's impossible to say at this point, but the showrunner's comments provide something to think about over summer hiatus.
Chicago Fire will return to NBC for Season 13 in the fall, once again between Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. for the network's successful One Chicago Wednesdays. You can also revisit earlier episodes of all three shows streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
