The Chicago Fire cast saw actor Jesse Spencer leave the show during Episode No. 200 on Wednesday night.
Matthew Casey has officially left Firehouse 51 to move to Portland and take care of Griffin and Ben Darden.
His story on the show has come full circle, going all the way back to what happened to Andy Darden on the series premiere and leading to Casey going to take care of the boys in Portland.
Most of the episode called Two Hundred focused on Casey saying goodbye to the other main characters, with a lot of time spent discussing his future with Sylvie Brett. As it stands, they are going to try to make a long-distance relationship work.
This was not what Chicago Fire fans wanted to see happen on the show, and the common assumption was that the writers and producers were just using another “what if” trick that would end with Casey just staying in Chicago.
Instead, when we all tune in for the next episode, we aren’t going to see Jesse Spencer on the Chicago Fire cast any longer.
Will Matthew Casey return to Firehouse 51?
It looks like the plan is for Casey to become a guest-starring character who can pop up for major events as the show continues its run. This means we could definitely see Casey resurface to appear at the eventual wedding for Kelly Severide and Stella Kidd.
There were also some key phrases used in the episode that included “end date” for the time that he would be away from his pals. The door appears to be wide open for Casey to return as a full-time character a few years down the road if Jesse Spencer decides to pick up the mantle again.
For now, though, Spencer is taking a break from acting and we have to consider it a blessing that he decided to come back for a few Season 10 episodes in order to give the character a bit of closure. Still, Casey starting up that relationship with Brett right before moving away has left a lot of Chicago Fire fans wanting more.
A huge shift within the Chicago Fire cast
Some good news to take away from Chicago Fire’s 200th episode was that Chief Boden is back at Firehouse 51. He will provide a familiar face, even as the rest of the squad has to adjust to Casey moving on to other things.
A new face will end up joining the station, and now we also have an opening that Kidd can fill in once she gets back from Boston. There is also an opportunity here for the One Chicago writers to develop other characters further and move in a different storytelling direction.
Hopefully, Jesse Spencer returns to play Matthew Casey after a short amount of time and that he misses his co-workers enough to come back after a short break. At least we can hope.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.