Spoilers ahead for Episode 14 of Chicago Fire Season 11, called "Run Like Hell."
Chicago Fire is going strong in Season 11, even with change on the way with Severide soon to be featured less for a time. More than a full season has passed since the drama said goodbye to Jesse Spencer as a series regular playing Matt Casey, but the events of "Run Like Hell" with Violet and Gallo had me flashing back to a Season 2 episode that aired nearly a decade ago, and it's all thanks to some Dawsey parallels.
Prior to Monica Raymund's departure as a series regular between Seasons 6 and 7 playing Gabriela Dawson, the Dawson/Casey relationship was the biggest and longest-running main pairing of the series. They had a lot of iconic moments over the years before Dawson went to Puerto Rico to help those in need, to the point that this isn't the first time I've spotted a different couple paralleling a Dawsey moment. (More on that later.)
In fact, this isn't even the first time that Fire has called back to the particular Season 2 episode that I'm thinking of, so let's get into what happened for Violet and Gallo and why Season 2 Dawson and Casey would probably be proud.
What Happened For Gallo And Violet In "Run Like Hell"
"Run Like Hell" gave Violet a break from her all-encompassing sadness in the wake of Hawkins' death, although she still had somebody to give her grief... albeit a less intense kind. After Carver called out sick to hide a larger issue, Munsell was brought into 51 as a floater for Truck 81 and proceeded to continuously flirt with Violet and ask her out with terrible date ideas. Gallo volunteered to be her fake boyfriend to discourage Munsell if he wouldn't listen to her.
Herrmann didn't seem 100% on board with the idea, but what viewer doesn't love a harmless little fake dating subplot? Violet ultimately took advantage of Gallo's offer and planted a huge kiss on him at Molly's as soon as she saw Munsell walk in. While it was ultimately unnecessary since he just wanted to announce that he was leaving for a new job, the promo indicates that Violet and Gallo won't just pretend that the kiss never happened.
An NBC executive addressed the future of Dick Wolf's One Chicago universe while Fire, P.D., and Med await renewals.
Now, Violet and Gallo already have a romantic history, so them getting together romantically in Season 11 would be very different than Dawson and Casey getting together romantically all the way back in Season 2. And even though Gallo has looked up to Casey, he's not Casey 2.0, and Violet definitely isn't a carbon copy of Gabby. Still, I was getting a sense of deja vu throughout this storyline, and not in the more unpleasant way that I did when it seemed like Fire was recreating Dawsey moments for Brett and Casey! So, let's dig into the similarities.
What Happened For Dawson And Casey In "Rhymes With Shout"
"Rhymes With Shout" was the eighth episode of Season 2 that was a game-changer for Dawsey. It started when Gabby was partnered with a floating paramedic by the name of Chout while Shay had stepped away from Ambulance 61 due to larger issues. Chout was clearly interested in Dawson before finally asking her out, but she firmly turned him down, and the episode ended with the first real kiss between her and Casey.
Honestly, aside from the two pairs having different dynamics and Carver being a firefighter while Chout was a paramedic, the storylines are pretty similar. Sure, Casey didn't stand in as a fake boyfriend for Gabby, and Chout wasn't as awful about pursuing Gabby as Munsell was about not taking no for an answer with Violet. Still, the floating EMT/firefighter coming into 51, asking out a major character, ending with two characters sharing a big kiss? I don't think I should be blamed for getting a little bit of Dawsey deja vu here! (Should I maybe be judged if I now hit up my Peacock Premium subscription to rewatch a little bit of Season 2, though?)
And while I wasn't a fan of how Chicago Fire basically redid the first big Dawson/Casey first kiss with Brett/Casey in Season 9, I thought this was a fun parallel for Violet and Gallo since neither one of them was involved with the Season 2 episode. That said, there's no guarantee that this was actually the start of a rekindled romance for Violet and Gallo, as the promo casts doubt on whether any genuine romantic feelings are present... and whether Gallo will survive an upcoming fire completely intact. Take a look:
It's possible that the underlying reason why Dawsey was on my mind was not only the recent callback to Casey, but also my hope that Severide's upcoming absence for Tyler Kinney's leave of absence will be written in as a visit to his former brother-in-arms. Given the end of "Run Like Hell," it looks like Chicago Fire may instead pursue the option of an OFI gig, but we'll have to wait and find out.
New episodes of Chicago Fire continue airing on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, between Chicago Med (which just saw Hannah battling herself in an episode) at 8 p.m. and Chicago P.D. (which just hit the 200th episode milestone with an Easter egg for fans and some filming challenges) at 10 p.m. You can also find more viewing options for the not-too-distant future on our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
