We are watching another member of the 51 trio get ready to leave.
Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) is on his way out. The character has been part of Chicago Fire since 2018, but now, it seems as though he only has a handful of episodes left. It was a shocking revelation, and the timing of this NBC announcement, just like an episode of Chicago Fire was airing, did not help to ease the loss.
It’s already bad enough that the firefighting drama will be losing Sam Carver (Jake Lockett), but to lose Ritter has implications that go beyond even his own character. Ritter has built incredibly close friendships over the course of his time at Firehouse 51, and his absence will mean we may never get to see the different aspects of characters that he brought out.
Ritter will be leaving best friend Violet behind
Ritter and Herrmann (David Eigenberg) established a fun rapport during their scenes together, but the one character who will suffer the most in his absence is Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith). It wasn’t too long ago when Chicago Fire derived a lot of its lighter storylines and romantic tension from the trio of Ritter, Violet and Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende).
These three were inseparable for a while, but then Gallo moved to Michigan. Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman acknowledged the toll that Gallo’s departure had on the other two, and claimed they would grow even closer as a result during a 2024 interview with Looper.
“It’s especially difficult for Ritter and Violet. That trio has become such a center point of the show, and they’re so close,” Newman explained. “They’ll be leaning on each other a lot more… That goodbye is a special moment for the three of them in particular, and the three actors were really close too.” We’ve gotten some more Ritter and Violet bonding since Gallo left, but now that Ritter is leaving, the trio we once knew and loved is officially dead. Now there’s only one.
Ritter only has a few episodes left
Not only will Violet be losing the man she still has romantic feelings for in Carver, but she will be losing one of her best friends in Ritter. It’s a brutal proposition, and may wind up being even more brutal than we realize, depending on how the Chicago Fire writers go about writing both Carver and Ritter off the show. We can only hope that both men survive, and therefore able to go about living their lives. That way, they could return to 51 if the stars ever aligned.
As it stands, we may be tempted to go back and rewatch episodes featuring the Ritter, Violet and Gallo trio during the offseason as a means of reminding the great friendship that was.
