Taylor Kinney is back in action as Kelly Severide after his extended hiatus from the NBC show in new Chicago Fire season 12 promotional stills.

Kelly Severide is back in uniform in new Chicago Fire season 12 images. Almost a year since Taylor Kinney’s request for personal time off from One Chicago, he returns to reprise his fan-favorite firefighter character in light of the series’ delayed premiere. Not much has been revealed about what really motivated his absence, but there were concerns that it was an indication of his departure from the NBC series, which isn’t the case — at least per the Chicago Fire season 12 premiere.

TVLine releases a couple of promotional stills from the Chicago Fire season 12 premiere, “Barely Gone,” which sees Severide back in action with the rest of the Firehouse 51. Check out the images below:

In addition to the images, there are details about what the premiere episode will entail. As Severide deals with an arson case, his relationship with Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) will also be tested.

What Severide’s Firehouse 51 Means For Chicago Fire Season 12?

Narratively, the Chicago Fire season 11 episode, “Damage Control,” revealed that Severide was sent to an OFI training camp at the last minute, which he gladly attended, considering his penchant for being a fire cop. It was a solid excuse for his sudden absence, but for some reason, One Chicago continued to make a big deal out of it, causing concerns that it was setting up a much bigger plot twist involving the character. In the Chicago Fire season 11 finale, Stella Kidd became so fed up with the situation that she took it upon herself to follow her husband in the hopes of bringing him home.

What happens when they reunite is currently uncertain, and unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Chicago Fire season 12 will show what that conversation was like. Instead, the procedural jumps to when things are seemingly back to normal at Chief Boden’s firehouse. These images don’t feature any indication of how that tense reunion went down, but it likely won’t be easy for the couple moving forward, especially considering Severide’s failed communication with his wife, resulting in additional stress on her.

Severide’s return also means big developments to the current dynamic at Firehouse 51. Joe Cruz went through a lot to properly take over Squad 3 in his absence, and it will be disappointing if Kidd’s husband reclaims his old spot after his extended absence. All of these need to be tackled in Chicago Fire season 12 sooner rather than later, which makes its storytelling in the upcoming year trickier, considering the upcoming departures of Brett and Gallo.