Why ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 8 Shouldn’t Include a Casey/Brett Romance

Meredith Jacobs July 8, 2019, 3:00 pm

“He was married to my best friend. I dated her brother,” Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) pointed out.

By the end of Chicago Fire Season 7, it certainly looked like the pieces were in place for an eventual Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Brett romance. Really, it was more surprising that they didn’t at least share a kiss than it was that the series seemed to be going there with Dawson’s (Monica Raymund) husband and best friend.

The final episodes of the season were filled with the cliché moments that usually precede a couple getting together on a show. There was the misunderstanding (“We should totally be dating,” Brett told him, meaning they should both be seeing people). Casey’s conversation with her ex-boyfriend, Kyle (Teddy Sears), led to the chaplain reconsidering their future and the firefighter looking at her in a new light.

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Her friend Olivia told her they were “meant for each other” after Brett tried to set her up with Matt. Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Foster (Annie Ilonzeh) dismissed Sylvie’s concerns about why it would be a terrible idea. The two got into each other’s personal space when she bandaged an injury he sustained on the job, and then they took a step back. Brett even got engaged just as Casey seemed about ready to make a move. And they were ultimately put in a life-or-death situation at the end of the season to likely help them reevaluate their feelings.

(Adrian Burrows/NBC)

But this is definitely a case of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”

First of all, imagine the drama that could, should, and probably would ensue, just because of the Dawson(s) of it. Just because Gabby and Antonio (Jon Seda) are no longer on the One Chicago shows, doesn’t mean they don’t exist in-universe. Casey was still married to Gabby, and Sylvie still dated Antonio. It’s all too easy to picture Gabby returning for a visit just as Casey and Brett have gotten together and the couple trying to figure out how to tell her (or her walking in on them). Let’s avoid that happening, even if Gabby were to be happy for them.

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Is it too hard for the show to just have them be friends? They both lost Gabby when she left, and yes, that helped them grow closer, but why not embrace that friendship? We’ve already seen the ups and downs and challenges of dating within the firehouse — first with Gabby and Casey and now with Severide (Taylor Kinney) and Kidd. We don’t necessarily need another in-house relationship, at least not one that would have to be as prominent as Severide and Kidd’s.

But with the steps that have been taken in this potential romance, it does seem like something has to happen and a conversation has to take place. That’s where the season-ending call could come into play. With their lives on the line (Casey’s more than Brett’s), that will likely cause everyone involved to rethink some of their choices. Lean on that with Casey and Brett, especially if Season 8 doesn’t feature a romance between the two of them. Have them acknowledge the potential was there but they realized it wasn’t, in fact, meant to be.

(Adrian Burrows/NBC)

And that call will likely lead to the end of Brett and Kyle’s short-lived engagement, as cute as they are together. After all, he was offered a job that requires him to move and he asked her to go with him when he proposed. But we don’t see Sylvie leaving the firehouse or the two having a successful long-distance engagement (or marriage), so unless he decides not to take that job, we expect the fire to play a role in her breaking up with him.

Whatever does happen, we just hope that Season 8 addresses the potential it has introduced for Casey and Brett sooner rather then later.

Chicago Fire, Season 8 Premiere, Wednesday, September 25, 9/8c, NBC