Chicago Fire delivered no shortage of twists in the first half of the tenth season, ranging from the Season 9 finale cliffhanger resolution through to the ambiguous ending to the midseason finale for Stella and Severide. The biggest change to come out of Season 10 so far, however, is undoubtedly the absence of Casey due to actor Jesse Spencer deciding to depart with the 200th episode. His departure meant that the relationship between Casey and Brett in Chicago had to be cut short with his move to Oregon, and their long-distance love story has hit some bumps along the way already. According to showrunner Derek Haas, there will be a development in the second half of the season.
Derek Haas spoke with CinemaBlend about what’s in store for Chicago Fire following the winter break. After previewing that fans should be nervous about the good ship Stellaride after their tense reunion at the end of the midseason finale, I asked if Brett leaving a voicemail for Casey rather than speaking with him means that Brettsey fans should be nervous for that relationship as well. The showrunner previewed:
No, I think that [relationship] is going well off screen. She's definitely gonna go see him at some point in the second half of the season. We don't have all of those i's dotted and t's crossed yet, but she's gonna go see him. And then hopefully, if everything breaks my way, we can get Jesse to come back and at least do an episode or two towards the end of the season, so that would be nice. But for now, yes, they're doing great.
Brett and Casey are getting a development in the form of her paying him a visit in Oregon, which wouldn’t seem like such a big deal if not for Jesse Spencer’s departure from Chicago Fire and the difficulties they’ve run into in staying connected. Derek Haas didn’t guarantee that everything will continue going well or that Brett will be satisfied with her trip whenever that happens, but he also didn’t give fans anything to be particularly nervous about. So, will Jesse Spencer return?
At the time of writing, it seems there is also no guarantee that Casey will appear in the flesh again in Season 10, or even make a voice cameo like he did following the 200th episode. Derek Haas’ comments about the second half of the season echo what he said ahead of that milestone episode, in that he hopes Spencer will return. Speaking with press ahead of the 200th episode back in October, the showrunner said:
Here's the thing: I never try to predict what's going to happen production-wise, but we're in the camp of whenever Jesse wants to come do an episode with us, we will move mountains and earth to make that happen. So we've been talking, we've been talking, we've got some ideas of what that would be.
As for whether Spencer returns, that remains to be seen. The future of Brett and Casey as a couple is uncertain as well, even if their relationship is “doing great” off-screen for now. Spencer is not slated to return as a series regular; assuming that Kara Killmer isn’t going anywhere and Brett’s storyline with paramedicine keeps picking up steam, Brett may have stronger ties to Chicago than ever before.
Of course, Casey’s move to Oregon means that he’s still closer than some other departures, and even Dawson managed to return despite her departure for Puerto Rico. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario that would bring Casey back, if only Spencer can make it work. Severide and Stella’s wedding seemed like a top contender, but even that isn’t guaranteed anymore after she went radio silent on him and, based on the promo for the midseason premiere, may not be ready for marriage after all. Take a look:
Unfortunately, the wait to see what’s next for Brettsey and Stellaride isn’t over yet. Chicago Fire will return with the midseason premiere on Wednesday, January 5 in its usual 9 p.m. ET time slot on NBC, between the Chicago Med return at 8 p.m. ET (with a cliffhanger for Will and Goodwin) and the Chicago P.D. return at 10 p.m. ET with the first episode of Upton and Halstead as a married couple.
