What just happened? Did Mackey leave the show? Wasn’t she introduced only nine episodes ago? What is happening?
Last night’s Chicago Fire was a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions. Casey suffered what might be a severe injury, Mackey was suddenly written out of the show, and then there was that random Dawsey bait that came out of nowhere.
I am still scratching my head over that last part, but we’ll talk more about this in a minute.
All in all, “Double Red” was a solid episode with a bit too much going on.
Mackey is leaving? What?
Color me shocked. I did not see this coming at all. We understand that Adriyan Rae had something personal going, causing her to leave Chicago. We absolutely respect that.
But Mackey’s sudden exit felt like a punch to the gut. We were starting to get to know her!
During a mandatory training with Mouch, Ritter, and Gallo over at Firehouse 33, Mackey excelled in all the drills the chief there threw her way. With a fantastic performance and glowing reviews, the Chief made her an excellent offer: to transfer over to Firehouse 33.
They could use her Spanish fluency, and she would have a shot of becoming Paramedic in Charge.
It was a tough decision to make, especially since she was getting used to working at a busy house like 51. But with Joe and Brett encouraging her to take this opportunity, she decided to take the plunge.
I will admit it’s sad to see her go. Adriyan Rae brought nothing but light and fun to the show with her portrayal of Gianna Mackey. She was an incredible addition to Chicago Fire this season, and I truly hope this is not the last we will see of her.
Casey’s injury and inheritance
It looks like Casey’s head injury from way back in season 2 is finally coming back to haunt him. During a call with a drunk driver, Casey tried to get the man to turn off the engine and give him the keys but was entirely unsuccessful in his quest.
The driver hit the gas pedal instead and dragged Casey along for a terrifying joy ride that ended with Casey flying a few yards when the car suddenly stopped.
In the process, Casey hit his head on the ground hard; but the tough guy he is, he just shrugged it off and insisted he was fine. But of course, he wasn’t.
Over the course of this shift and the next, he was plagued with searing headaches that made him disoriented. When he checked his scans and results from his old injury, it was clear where this was going.
The results said if he suffered another head injury, it could be catastrophic.
His sister Christy showed up at the firehouse, saying their Uncle Jake, who had recently passed, left them an inheritance. At first, Casey doesn’t want to go dig up old wounds, but his sister convinced him they should check it out.
So they went to the bank expecting to find something about their mother, but their Uncle Jake only left them a small box. Inside, there was a Rolex watch that had zero meaning to them.
Disappointed, Christy told him he could keep it and sell it if he wanted. Still suffering from the intense headaches, he decided to get the watch appraised, at least to see if it’s worth anything at all.
To his absolute surprise, he finds out that the watch is worth $80,000.
But the appraisal guy said the watch is in excellent condition and pointed out initials at the bottom. Casey took the watch back to Christy and said the watch’s engraved initials are their aunt’s.
She died 50 years before Uncle Jake, but he still carried the watch around and cared for it immensely.
There was this whole speech from Christy about how Matt should keep the watch, and the fact their Uncle held on to his first love like this would probably mean more to Casey.
Seriously, what the hell?
Haven’t we spent the past eight episodes — not to mention the past two seasons — watching Casey move on with his life and fall for Brett?
Hasn’t he just said just a few episodes ago that he hasn’t even thought about Dawson (his supposed first love in this situation) in a long time and that Sylvie was the only one in his mind? Wasn’t he out of his mind with jealousy literally last week?
What is even the point of bringing Dawson back into this? Why do a complete 180 when he had been steadily moving forward with his life?
I hope this won’t undo the great development between Casey and Brett over the past two seasons.
Other highlights of Chicago Fire
- Stella being all mysterious about her big purchase was hilarious to me.
- Now that Mackey is leaving, will Violet step in at Firehouse 51? I really liked her last season, and her chemistry with Gallo is off the charts.
- Mouch wanting to be valued and admired warmed my heart. He deserves the world.
- The whole thing with Brett and Diggins was hilarious. I wonder if she’s going to keep the cat now.
Chicago Fire airs on Wednesdays at 9/8C on NBC.