Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of Chicago Fire Season 11, called "Something For The Pain."
Chicago Fire made its 2023 debut with an episode that had to resolve the explosive cliffhanger from last year's fall finale, which left the fates of Kidd, Carver, and Detective Pryma in jeopardy with Severide looking on in horror. As promised by the co-showrunner, "Something For The Pain" picked up where the last episode left off. The life-and-death danger was resolved early on, and by the end of the hour, Violet made a move that sets up a whole new problem for Firehouse 51.
Let's start with the good news that came out of the scary cliffhanger!
How Chicago Fire Resolved The Cliffhanger
The good news is that Kidd, Carver, and Pryma all survived the explosion and were alive and well-ish after a couple weeks of recovery. Kidd needed surgery after being hit with a piece of shrapnel – and required the pain meds that earned the episode its title – over on the Chicago Med set again, with a distressed Severide staying by her side in recovery. Pryma was still not up and at 'em by the time the final credits rolled, but his spirits were pretty high, and he's set to receive a medal for all the lives he saved. As Pryma pointed out, he saved them in the heroic act of accidentally being hit with the rocket, but the disaster would have been a lot worse without him.
That's not to say that all three of them could shake off the emotional effects of the explosion, though! Carver was on edge and second-guessing himself as soon as Kidd came back to work; Kidd herself was suffering from nightmares, although she covered well enough from everybody except Severide. As for Pryma, he's taking an early pension from the CPD. It seems like a safe bet that Kidd at least will be dealing with the trauma moving forward, but Pryma and Carver seemed to be okay by the end of "Something For The Pain."
How Violet Created A New Problem For Firehouse 51
Unfortunately, Violet made a move that guarantees that Emma is going to become a problem once again. Blinded by a need for revenge after learning that her sociopathic former paramedic partner had landed a job with CFD's Internal Affairs, Violet took her complaint to Emma's boss, who was willing to hear Violet out but couldn't do anything without proof that Emma was trying to blackmail Chief Hawkins, whose death was one of the most surprising on TV in 2022. Emma somehow found out that Violet had reported her, and now Violet isn't the only one with revenge on her mind.
While Emma didn't explicitly threaten Violet, she said that she thought that they were "even" after she cleared Carver in the bridge incident (which involved some serious stunt work from Taylor Kinney), then added "But now..." The implication is clear that Violet is now once again a target of Emma's. On its own, that doesn't necessarily mean that she would try to take down all of 51 to get to Violet, but Brett made the point to her partner that 51 has her back if Emma tries anything. If things go sideways, some collateral damage beyond Violet could be on the way!
For now, fans can at least stop worrying about Kidd and/or Carver suffering permanent physical injuries from the explosion. Sure, there's something new to worry about with Emma not too long after Violet thought she was free and clear of her Season 10 nemesis, but it's definitely a juicy storyline for the second half of Season 11 ahead. Tune in to NBC on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Chicago Fire, following Chicago Med – which has been hard at work on one doctor in particular – at 8 p.m. and ahead of Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. For some more viewing options in the coming weeks, check out our 2023 TV premiere schedule!
