Is Chicago Fire's Stella Really That Bad, Or Do You Just Dislike A Female Focused Show?
Maybe it’s time to check up on your views again.
Ever since Stella Kidd became something of a central character in the story, social media platforms dedicated to Chicago Fire have been buzzing with hateful posts towards her.
While the internet generally enjoys a strong-willed, beautiful, and exciting female character, Stella was quickly deemed "too much."
No matter what her storyline consisted of, the hate wagon never slowed down during the 8 years that her character was on the show.
The dislike for the previous fanbase target, Gabriela Dawson, was explained by poor writing that trapped her in a repetitive cycle of bad decisions.
With Stella, however, users are starting to admit that they just don't like seeing so much of the series focused solely on her. Which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for Matt Casey and Kelly Severide. A key difference is that they are both men.
The qualities that male characters would be praised for, the female character can never get away with. It's not just Chicago Fire, it's a problem that still exists on pretty much every TV show on the air.
“People also say she’s “perfect” but I never see this about Severide and Casey either. They are also seen as amazing Lieutenants/ Captains and have been portrayed this way since early on. Nobody has said they are too “perfect”,” Redditor Less-Can-8901 said, coming to Stella Kidd’s defense on r/ChicagoFireNBC subreddit.
Granted, season 11 hasn't been the easiest for the entire Chicago Fire crew. Taylor Kinney's sudden and mysterious departure took a toll on the writers, who had to find ways to cut his character out of all the major storylines while still leaving him a way to come back.
It's more than likely that the increased focus on Stella Kidd and Sam Carver throughout season 11 was a result of such changes. Not the most popular in the fandom, but certainly a very telling one. Now, both the writers and the viewers of the show may come to Chicago Fire season 12 with a new perspective.
Source: Reddit