Spoilers ahead for the January 22 episode of Chicago Fire Season 8, called "Then Nick Porter Happened.
The heroes of Chicago Fire spent "Then Nick Porter Happened" dealing with a series of false alarms at a private school that got in the way of their ability to answer real emergency calls, but there was more going on than just the case of the week. The titular Nick Porter moved into Otis' vacant room at Cruz and Brett's apartment, and Stella Kidd spent most of the hour trying to plan a surprise birthday trip for Severide. The episode ended with a Stellaride development that raises the question: will more firefighters than Cruz get engaged this season?
At first, it seemed like some trouble could be brewing on the Stellaride front after Severide misunderstood Stella's birthday surprise-related caginess for relationship issues, but they continue to be solid. Stella's attempts to surprise Severide with a romantic cruise went sideways when others at Firehouse 51 shared that they kind of hate cruises and then he overheard the conversation, and she ended up settling to propose a cake, candle, and a night cuddling on the couch. While Severide liked the sound of that, he had one way to make it better: Stella could move in.
Stella happily agreed, and now the loft is poised to be the home of Stella, Severide, and Casey, unless Severide takes Casey up on his Season 8 premiere offer to move out and make room for Severide and Stella to build a life together. This is a big step forward for arguably the most solid central relationship since Dawsey fell apart (and only temporarily got back together), and I'm wondering if Severide could be going down on one knee before the final credits roll on the eighth season.
Of course, Chicago Fire already has one couple headed for wedding bells thanks to Cruz and Chloe's engagement, and even Nick Porter's marriage horror stories in this episode didn't discourage Cruz from wanting to tie the knot. Stellaride getting engaged would steal their thunder a bit, but One Chicago can use all the love it can get, right? Especially with Fire airing directly before P.D., which is more likely to be packed with shootouts and drug deals than flourishing love stories.
Besides, two engaged couples don't have to translate to two weddings ASAP. And hey, Severide just survived a fight to the death! He deserves happy stories moving forward, right? All of this said, moving in together doesn't mean planning on tying the knot, and Stella seemed fairly surprised by Severide's proposition that she move in. The marriage question may not have come up yet, and they may take things at a careful pace. There's no rush, but I think we can take these two moving in together as a sign that long-term commitment is on the books, and not a lot may be happening on the Casey/Brett front.
Find out when new episodes of Chicago Fire air in NBC's One Chicago block on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, between episodes of Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. For some viewing options set elsewhere than the Windy City, swing by our 2020 winter and spring premiere schedule.
