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Chicago Fire Bosses Talk Bringing Back [Spoiler] to 'Wreck Some Lives'

Warning: The following contains spoilers from Wednesday’s Chicago Fire. Proceed at your own risk!

Here comes trouble!

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On Wednesday’s Chicago Fire fall finale, an incident between Carver and a city employee during a rescue call sparked an IAD investigation. But even more shocking than the grenade that detonated at the end of the episode, leaving Carver and Stella’s lives in jeopardy, was who strode into Firehouse 51 earlier in the hour to question Carver: It was Violet’s disgraced former paramedic partner Emma (played by Caitlin Carver), who is now somehow working for IAD! (With an episode title like “Nemesis,” maybe we should have seen her return coming?)

Below, showrunners Derek Haas and Andrea Newman talk about what the surprise reappearance of 51’s dastardly foe means for the crew. Plus, the EPs tease the “profound” fallout of that explosive cliffhanger.

TVLINE | Talk to me about how the idea of bringing back Emma in this really unexpected way came together. Why her? Why now?
DEREK HAAS | I can just say that in this show, there’s nothing that Andrea and I love more than remembering an old villain and bringing them back to wreck some lives. [Laughs] She was so good last year at playing that that bringing Caitlin back just was top of mind. We didn’t know where or when we would fit her in, but winter finales are always fun for these kinds of [obstacles], and we wanted it to be a big surprise, but not be the end of the episode, because sometimes you want people just going, “Oh, God, what else is coming?”
ANDREA NEWMAN | We love this character. We love our villains, but the character is so fun because she just does not see herself as a villain at all. So it’s like the way our guys feel about her versus the way she sees her place at 51. She feels completely connected to 51, and that’s a fun thing to explore, too.

TVLINE | Well we be seeing more of her when the show returns in January?
HAAS | Yes, we will.

TVLINE | What kind of trouble is she going to be causing for 51?
HAAS | Let’s just say that of all the characters who probably shouldn’t mess with her, Violet raises her hand. [Laughs]

Chicago Fire Emma Returns
Chicago Fire Emma Returns

TVLINE | She said some interesting things to Violet in this episode about it not being the worst thing to have a friend in IAD. What should we take away from that little exchange?


HAAS | It seemed a little threatening to me. It’s always glossed up in a smile from Emma Jacobs. She does things with a smile, but sometimes her eyes kind of are saying otherwise. [Laughs]

TVLINE | How did she go from disgraced paramedic to this important position?
HAAS | That’s something we explore in the upcoming episodes. That’s a question that people at the firehouse want answered.

TVLINE | And we also have to talk about the cliffhanger. I know you can’t give away what happens, but can you tease a bit of the fallout?
NEWMAN | The fallout is profound, and it’s profound for Severide, as well as for Kidd and Carver. We explore it for a while, the aftershocks of the incident and all the relationships between Carver and Kidd, and Severide and Kidd. Everything gets a little shake up coming out of that.

Fire fans, what did you think of Emma’s unexpected return and the episode? Grade it below, then hit the comments!

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