Why Did Sylvie Brett Leave Chicago Fire?

Chicago Fire has featured many characters that have come and gone over the years. But why did a fan-favorite like Sylvie Brett leave the series?

SUMMARY
– Fans were disappointed by Sylvie Brett’s departure from Chicago Fire after 10 seasons, but her story ended on a high note.
– Actress Kara Killmer is moving on to new projects but hasn’t ruled out a return to Chicago Fire for a guest spot.
– With Sylvie Brett gone, there will be a new paramedic at Firehouse 51, potentially shaking up dynamics in future episodes.

Since September 2014, when Chicago Fire began airing its third season, Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) has been an important part of Firehouse 51. She began as the new partner for Gabby Dawson (Monica Raymund) and soon became the most consistent paramedic on Ambulance 61. That’s why fans were so disappointed to learn that Sylvie Brett would be leaving Chicago Fire before the end of the show’s 12th season.

The cast of Chicago Fire, unlike some of Wolf Entertainment’s other shows, has been relatively consistent over the show’s 12 seasons. Most major departures have come after multiple seasons on the show, giving the audience the time to identify with and get to know the character — and grieve the loss. When Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer) left the show at the beginning of Season 10, fans were disappointed to see a staple character go, but eventually, they realized that the show had the opportunity to take on new storylines and characters that wouldn’t have fit with Matt Casey around. It will be interesting to see what direction Chicago Fire moves in with its most recent departure.

Who Was Sylvie Brett?

While at Firehouse 51, Sylvie Brett had seven partners: Peter Mills (Charlie Barnett), Gabby Dawson, Jessica “Chili” Chilton (Dora Madison), Jimmy Borelli (Steven R. McQueen), Emily Foster (Annie Ilonzeh), Gianna Mackey (Adriyan Rae), and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith).

When Sylvie Brett arrived at Firehouse 51 in Season 3, Episode 1, “Always,” the house was reeling from the loss of Leslie Shay (Lauren German), Gabby’s former partner who died in a building collapse in Season 2, Episode 22, “Real Never Waits,” so she wasn’t exactly warmly welcomed. Over time, however, Sylvie became one of the most beloved members of the team. She dated Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso) for a while and later became close friends and roommates with both him and Brian “Otis” Zvonecek (Yuri Sardarov). She also built a strong relationship with Randall “Mouch” McHolland (Christian Stolte), who helped her launch her paramedicine program, which visited patients who regularly called 9-1-1 with preventative medicine so that they would call 9-1-1 less. Brett and Mouch also co-wrote a firefighter-themed romance novel together.

Sylvie came to Chicago from Fowlerton, Indiana, after her engagement ended, and falling in love was a big part of her story on Chicago Fire. After dating Joe Cruz, Sylvie dated Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda), Gabby’s brother who worked for the Intelligence Division on Chicago P.D., and Kyle Sheffield (Teddy Sears), whom she met when he was the chaplain for CFD. Sylvie and Kyle were engaged briefly, and Sylvie even left town with him after Otis’ death in Season 8, Episode 1, “Sacred Ground,” but she realized that the quiet life they were living back in Fowlerton wasn’t what she wanted, and she returned to Chicago in Season 8, Episode 3, “Badlands.” After dancing around each other for much of Seasons 8 and 9, Sylvie begins dating Matt Casey in Season 9, Episode 16, “No Survivors.” When Matt moves to Portland to care for the children of one of his former firefighters, they try to do long distance but eventually end things.

Early in her time on Chicago Fire, Sylvie shares that she was adopted, and in Season 8, Episode 13, “A Chicago Welcome,” Brett is contacted by her birth mother, Julie, who is pregnant and wants to reconnect with Brett before the baby is born. Julie dies in childbirth in Season 8, Episode 19, “Light Things Up,” but Sylvie continues a relationship with her half-sister, Amelia, and Amelia’s father. In Season 11, Episode 20, “Never, Ever Make A Mistake,” Sylvie and her partner, Violet Mikami, arrive at a call where a baby was born still in the amniotic sac. Due to a mistake made by the paramedics on the previous shift, Violet and Sylvie don’t have the equipment they’re supposed to have, and the baby nearly dies. They manage to get the baby to Chicago Med, but the case takes a toll on Sylvie, who admits to Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) that the mother reminds her of her own mother.

Why Did Sylvie Brett Leave Firehouse 51?

Sylvie Brett had a number of interesting storylines on the show, one of which was when her high school friend, Hope Jacquinot, came to visit Sylvie and ended up staying in Chicago for a while. Hope got herself a job at Firehouse 51 in the office, where she hid Stella Kidd’s paycheck and then forged the Deputy District Chief’s signature to transfer Kidd to the Public Relations department.

When Amber, the mother from Season 11, Episode 20, “Never, Ever Make a Mistake,” leaves the baby in the firehouse’s safe haven drop box, Sylvie gets even more attached and tells Violet that she hopes to adopt her. In Season 11, Episode 22, “Red Waterfall,” some of Sylvie’s friends — Violet, Mouch, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), and Casey, who is in town for a task force he’s on with Kidd — go to visit Amber to tell her why she should choose Sylvie to adopt the baby. Later in the episode, Sylvie learns that she will be able to adopt the baby, whom she names Julia, after her birth mother. That same night, Casey shows up at her door and proposes.

After Sylvie says yes to Casey, they decide that she will move to Portland with him after they get married. Casey works for the Portland Fire Department and is still raising the two sons of his former firefighter. The Darden boys have to stay in Oregon due to Casey’s status as their temporary guardian, plus their mother is incarcerated nearby. Sylvie interviews to be a paramedic out in Oregon, and in Season 12, Episode 6, “Port in the Storm,” she marries Matt Casey. The episode is the last for the character.

Kara Killmer Was Sylvie Brett for 10 Seasons

Kara Killmer’s feature film debut was in 2015’s Beyond the Mask alongside Andrew Cheney and John Rhys-Davies. Killmer married Cheney in 2016.

Though Kara Killmer’s departure was a creative one for the show, the actress has expressed in several interviews that she felt the time was right and appreciated the way the writers chose to end Sylvie’s story. “I love that her journey starts as a jilted bride. She was left at the altar by her high school sweetheart in Fowlerton, Indiana, and she comes to Chicago to start over fresh. And I love that she ends up across the aisle from the man of her dreams, and with everything that she always wanted, this sort of like patchwork family. I couldn’t be happier for my own character,” Killmer said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Killmer, who was in over 200 combined episodes in the One Chicago franchise, got her start on a Hulu original reality web series called If I Can Dream, which aired in 2010. The show, created by Simon Fuller, moved five aspiring performers into a house in Hollywood and followed their journey as they tried to find work in their chosen field. The housemates included people like Justin Gaston, a contestant on Season 6 of Nashville Star and the star of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” music video, and Alex Lambert, a Season 9 contestant on American Idol. Killmer is arguably the most successful of the former contestants on the 32-episode show.

Now that she has concluded her time on Chicago Fire, Killmer has expressed interest in doing something new and different. “It is absolutely a privilege to have done 10 years on a Dick Wolf show,” she told The Hollywood Reporter, then expressing her excitement at seeing what comes next for her. Just like most of the cast members who have left Chicago Fire, Killmer also said that she would be happy to reprise her role at any point.

What’s Next for Chicago Fire?

Like most of the shows produced by Wolf Entertainment, Chicago Fire is slated to have 13 episodes in its 12th season, which was shortened due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

With Sylvie Brett’s departure, there will be a new paramedic at Firehouse 51, though there’s no indication as to who that will be yet. In Season 12, Episode 6, “Port in the Storm,” Violet was promoted to Paramedic in Charge (PIC), and the Paramedic Chief paid a visit to the firehouse to discuss Violet’s new partner. Though Boden typically likes to be involved in the choices that are made about who comes to his house, the Paramedic Chief made it pretty clear to Violet that her new partner would be assigned by the Paramedic Chief and that she wasn’t looking for Violet’s input. The new paramedic could slide right in and fit well at Firehouse 51, or they could shake up the dynamic — only time will tell.

Mouch promised Sylvie that he would continue to run her paramedicine program, and at their wedding, Matt and Sylvie encouraged Mouch not to rule out a leadership role before he retired. Perhaps the paramedicine program will play a role in Mouch taking on some new leadership. There are also plenty of changes happening at the firehouse that have nothing to do with Sylvie, including Violet’s relationship with firefighter Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) and whether firefighter Kylie Estevez (Katelynn Shennett) will return to Firehouse 51, where she worked in administration before passing her firefighters exam. Season 12 of Chicago Fire still has plenty of drama to come, but fans everywhere were pleased to see Sylvie Brett’s story end on such a high note.