I Need Sylvie and Matt To Return to 'Chicago Fire' in Season 14
Season 13 of Chicago Fire was chaotic, to put it nicely. With Season 12 bringing an end to Chief Boden's (Eamonn Walker), a new chief took charge in the form of Dom Pascal (Dermot Mulroney), and, well, he wasn't Boden.
Terse, short with niceties, and with an aura of suspicion about him, it took time for Firehouse 51 to embrace Pascal. (They finally did, when his wife died.) Additionally, Cruz's (Joe Minoso) past came back to haunt him. Mouch (Christian Stolte) and Herrmann (David Eigenberg) passed the officer exams, seemingly setting up a scenario which would see Herrmann displace Pascal as chief, adding a season-long tension that laid underneath. Carver (Jake Lockett) battled with alcoholism and with his feelings for Violet (Hanako Greensmith), who, in turn, struggled with her own feelings for him.
Then there was the epic One Chicago crossover event "In the Trenches", which was one of the franchise's best. Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Severide (Taylor Kinney) work towards adopting a baby, coming close before having the rug pulled out from underneath them. Carver and Ritter (Daniel Kyri) aren't returning next season, adding another layer of speculation as to how they would be bowing out. The Season 13 finale did some great work in tying up loose ends heading into next season — apart from still no indication of how Ritter ends up leaving — and introducing some intriguing new storylines. What I believe Firehouse 51 needs this upcoming season is serenity now (yes, I heard it), and one way to do it is to bring home Matthew (Jesse Spencer), Sylvie (Kara Killmer), and the rest of the Casey clan. And the timing couldn't be better.
"Brettsey" Tied the Knot Before Leaving 'Chicago Fire' in Season 12
"Sylvie Brett, getting here to this place was the toughest battle of my life, but it was worth every moment because we're here now. You are my port in the storm." So began Casey in his wedding vows in Season 12, Episode 1 (titled "Port in the Storm," oddly enough), in a beautiful ceremony officiated by Boden in an aquarium. (How they get there is one of the series' funniest secondary storylines). He's not wrong, given the history of the pair over the course of the tenure on the show. A Brettsey tease appeared in the Season 7 finale, with Brett staring at him adoringly (prompting partner Foster (Annie Ilonzeh) to say, "Jump him already.") after a call that saw Casey talking to a young boy he rescued from a car wreck. The feeling was clearly mutual, with Casey going to approach Brett about a date, only to see her hug her ex, Kyle Sheffield (Teddy Sears), and assumed they were back together. They did, in fact, get together, with Brett leaving Chicago to join Sheffield in Indiana at the beginning of Season 8, only for Brett to return two episodes later, having broken up, and rejoined the team in Episode 3, with Casey saying, "51 just hasn't been the same without you."
Brettsey appeared to be back again, only for Casey's ex, and Brett's former partner, Gabby Dawson (Monica Raymund), to reappear and pour water on the simmering couple. But when Brett's mother, who she had only just reunited with, passed away after giving birth to her half-sister, Casey was there to help her through her grief. The pairing, which still hadn't been formalized to this point, reached a new level the night following a particularly stressful day that saw her held at gunpoint during a rescue in the Season 9 premiere. She asked Casey to spend the night, and, in what is almost unprecedented in the genre, instead of ripping their clothes off and hitting the sack, they play games and laugh. But Brettsey was still on hold after Casey couldn't commit to being over Dawson. It would take a serious injury to Casey while on a call to draw them back together, with Brett by his side as he recovered from the start. Finally, in Season 9, Episode 16, Brettsey was made official after they profess their love for each other and kiss passionately.
Only for Brettsey to survive, they'd have to navigate the perils of the long-distance relationship, with Casey moving to Oregon to be a stand-in parent for his late teammate's two sons. They gave it the old proverbial college try, but in the Season 11 premiere, Brettsey, again, was over. Over the course of the season, Brett decided to adopt a baby, which sent her then-boyfriend running. The timing couldn't be better, with Casey in town. After hearing about it, Casey made his way to Brett's and proposed in the Season 11 finale, saying, "Sylvie Brett, we were meant to be. Will you make me and the three kids the luckiest family in the world? Marry me." The answer was going to have to wait until the Season 12 premiere, revealing that she did, indeed, say yes. Hence, the aforementioned wedding, and the end of the long-distance relationship with Brett, now Casey (and who shall henceforth be Sylvie), moved to Portland, putting an end to their Chicago Fire days.
The Timing is Right for the Return of Brettsey to 'Chicago Fire'
Image via NBC
Image via NBC
Image via NBC
Image via NBC
Image via NBC
Since then, I've heard nothing about the Caseys. Zilch. Zero. Nada. No updates as to their well-being, no drop-in visits, so easy to do from Portland to Chicago (although if it was that easy, the whole long-distance debacle wouldn't have happened in the first place). The two fan favorites are seemingly doing well, carrying on with their family, which has probably even grown since then. Or maybe they're not doing well at all. It's not like I care, despite seeing them evolve over years on the show. But that's the problem. I do care, and it's more than a little annoying that there hasn't been a bread crumb about them since they left. But now is the time to rectify that, NBC, and I know why — and how — you'll do it.
For starters, Casey left Firehouse 51 to move to Oregon to take care of the Darden boys, promising to take care of them until Ben (Liam Booth) turns 18 and can go to school in Chicago. That was three years ago in 2022, and if you add Ben's age at the time, 15, and 3, where — and even yours truly can do the math — you get the magic 18. He can go to school in Chicago, and the whole family can come with. Depending on what happens with Violet, there could potentially be an opening for Sylvie at Firehouse 51, and with both Carver and Ritter leaving, there would be holes where Casey fits in, so that's not an issue. Showrunner Andrea Newman has even said the door's open, and we'll find out more about Brettsey in the new season. So the question isn't how they get back, it's why.
Story-wise, with Severide and Kidd taking in two teenagers with a baby on the way, they're in a very, very similar situation to what Casey and Sylvie have been through, and would be around for the support they're going to need to make it work. The show is missing that bromance element that Severide and Casey shared (what with their cigars and stuff) and Severide and Pascal certainly aren't there. Sylvie, too, has an indescribable spark she brought to the show that the Violet/Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) dynamic comes close to, but comes just short. A Sylvie/Novak pairing, though, would be fun. Their return would also bring that sense of calm back to Firehouse 51 after their tumultuous year, a pair of alum that slip easily back in without the disruptions that new crew members normally bring. Selfishly, I just want to know how they're doing, and if a picture is worth a thousand words, an appearance, however small, would be worth millions.
