Season 10 of Chicago Fire hasn’t always been the easiest for Kelly Severide, particularly with Stella’s long absence and the (fortunately brief) tension after her return. The departure of Casey to look after the Darden boys in Oregon meant that he’d no longer see his best friend on a daily basis. Luckily, Casey is on the way back for Severide’s wedding, as Jesse Spencer is returning for the Season 10 finale, and fans will get to see Spencer and Taylor Kinney together again. But how is the Casey/Severide bromance holding up with all the distance? The showrunners revealed their current status.
Chicago Fire co-showrunners Derek Haas and Andrea Newman spoke with CinemaBlend in honor of the upcoming return of Jesse Spencer after his emotional departure in the 200th episode, and I had to ask for the latest on one of my favorite dynamics of the whole show. Haas explained how Severide and Casey's bond is holding up despite Casey's absence:
Oh, they're great. Severide and Casey are great. There was never a question. I think with two guys who have been in the trenches as long as they have together and have just been forged in fire, it doesn't matter what the distance is for those two guys. Or how long it would take. I think the two of them, if it was six years apart, you'd walk in and have the same conversation that you were having when you left.
It’ll take more than a couple of thousand miles and months of separation to split these best friends and cut Casey as best man! Whether or not Casey is geared up and ready to race into fire with the rest of 51 again when he returns in the finale remains to be seen, but fans at least don’t have to worry that things will be awkward or uncomfortable between him and Severide. Longtime viewers (who can revisit the early days with a Peacock subscription) can certainly vouch for how their bond has been “forged in fire” in the trenches, and it’s nice to know that Severide will have his best friend and best man by his side in Chicago to marry Stella.
Of course, that’s all assuming that the nuptials actually happen, and nothing is ever guaranteed in a Chicago Fire finale. This is a show that will deal out intense hostage situations in the middle of a season – things can go sideways very quickly in finales, and the showrunners promised as much when talking about Casey’s return. The best-laid plans can be thwarted! Whatever happens by the end of the episode, Andrea Newman was full of praise for Jesse Spencer for returning so that Casey could make good on his promise:
I think that's something that's really great about Jesse, one of many things really great about Jesse Spencer, is he understood that Casey made a promise to Severide to be his best man and Casey is a man of his word. And Jesse got that as well as we did that that was going to be important to him.
All things considered, fans have a lot to look forward to with the Season 10 finale, which is saying something since it’s still several weeks away! The episode will also see the return of Brett, who left Chicago to spend time with Casey in Portland. The showrunners have confirmed that the tenth season finale will be Brett’s return, so Violet’s mentions of her usual partner returning in “a month” don’t mean that she’ll be back in the next episode or two. Fire received an order for 22 episodes in Season 10.
For now, you can look forward to the next episode of Chicago Fire on Wednesday, May 11 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Chicago Med at 8 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. Check out our spring TV finale schedule for when the One Chicago shows as well as many others will hit the airwaves over the next couple of months.
