Chicago Fire Review: The Right Thing (Season 10 Episode 4)
Is Matt Casey… leaving Firehouse 51?
All signs point to yes on Chicago Fire Season 10 Episode 4, “The Right Thing,” and if that’s the case, it’s going to take a whole lot of time to recover.
At first, it seems more likely that Casey could be bringing the Darden boys back to Chicago with him. When he arrives in Oregon to check in on them, he sees their living situation is worse than he thought.
But the kicker is that with their aunt no longer taking care of them, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be put in foster care. And they’d be separated if so.
Casey is so good with the boys — right upon arrival, he’s able to not only help get things back in order, but also to deal with some teenage attitude and share some of his cooking skills. He’s the perfect person to be in their lives, and it’s a side of Matt Casey that’s really enjoyable to watch. One that I’d like to be able to see more of.
It’s also quite a payoff to bring back a storyline that essentially kicked off the series, and honestly, my heart really wants those boys to wind up in Chicago with him.
But as the social worker and guidance counselor point out, that’s just not what’s best. Not only would that solution uproot the boys all over again, but it would mean they’d be a long way from their mother.
At that moment, it sure seems obvious that there’s only one other solution.
With everything we know about Casey, his friendship with Andy Darden, and the way we’ve seen him take care of others in the past, it’s not surprising when he tells Herrmann that he thinks he has to move to Oregon.
But oof, does that hurt.
The promo for the next episode makes it seem like it could be his final one, as well.
Add to that, in my recent interview with Joe Minoso, he suggested that Chicago Fire’s 200th episode would bring about big change. “…a lot of things are kind of tilting in that episode that are really going to change the shape of the show forever,” Minoso stated in the interview. “There’s going to be some things you’re going to love. There’s going to be some things you’re going to hate. There’s going to be a lot in the middle.”
It seems like foreshadowing a bit that Mouch and Gallo are so taken with the guy who fills in for Casey at first, also. He’s a great replacement at first, and they even admit there are things they like about him better than Casey.
But by the end, he’s not all he’s cracked up to be. That they’ve already gone through those emotions over it doesn’t feel like a coincidence.
This could all be a fake-out, and there could be some other solution. But if Jesse Spencer is leaving the series, it certainly is a full-circle way to write him out — to have him leave for Darden’s children when, again, Darden’s death as key catalyst for the start of the series. It’s also a reason that makes perfect sense, which isn’t always the case.
The question would then become, what about Brett?
Well, speaking of Brett, that’s another key part of this episode. The new paramedic chief has been convinced to give Brett’s program idea a chance. But first, he wants to get to know her, so he joins her for a shift to observe.
It’s all pretty standard, and of course, he gets to witness Brett’s excellent skills in thinking on her feet and talking people down. She’s worried it’s a bad thing, but we all know that the chief is impressed with what he sees.
And it is certainly gratifying that he comes around with a van and gives her program the go-ahead. She deserves it, and this whole thing already means something really fascinating for her character. She’ll be able to explore things she hasn’t before, and we’ll see some different sides to her — that is if it all pans out and she doesn’t take off to Oregon too.
Elsewhere on the episode, Ritter is having relationship troubles that he’s desperately trying to fix.
I appreciate seeing Ritter at the center of a storyline like this, because as I’ve said quite often, the new generation at the firehouse hasn’t given us much of an opportunity for us to be invested in them. This season is changing that little by little.
What’s unfortunate is that an incident at Molly’s solidifies the end of Ritter’s relationship, mainly because it’s clear the passion just isn’t there anymore.
Homophobia has no place at Molly’s, and one of the best scenes of the episode has the entire firehouse defending Ritter.
There’s nothing quite like seeing all of them come together like that, though maybe what’s even better is that when the same guy who was hurling insults is in danger, they all rush to help. Because of course they do — these are Chicago’s heroes, after all.
Other thoughts:
- It’s a nice touch that we see Boden and Herrmann meeting up for their weekly coffee at the top of this episode.
- Seriously, who gets out of their car in a car wash??
- It feels odd that Stella is absent during this episode.
What did you think of this episode of Chicago Fire? Do you think Casey will really leave? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
Ashley Bissette Sumerel
Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.