How Gallo’s Chicago Fire Season 12 Exit Affects Violet & Ritter Teased By Showrunner
Chicago Fire showrunner Andrea Newman opens up about how Blake Gallo’s exit during the season 12 premiere will impact Violet Mikami and Darren Ritter going forward. The first episode of the new season revealed Gallo was leaving the city and moving to Michigan with his aunt. He returns to Firehouse 51 for a brief farewell, and his final scene closes the door on his story.
Speaking with Looper, Newman explains that Gallo leaving will have an impact on his close friends, Violet and Ritter, throughout Chicago Fire season 12. The showrunner mentions how important the small group has become in recent seasons, detailing the difficulty of someone leaving both on and off camera. Check out what Newman had to say below:
The goodbye is hard for everybody, but it’s especially difficult for Ritter and Violet. That trio has become such a center point of the show, and they’re so close. They’ll be leaning on each other a lot more; Violet will be leaning on Brett a lot more. But that goodbye is a special moment for the three of them in particular, and the three actors were really close too. That day on set when we shot that goodbye was very emotional. There were a lot of real tears.
What Will Happen to Violet & Ritter In Chicago Fire Season 12?
Before leaving, Gallo was close friends with both Violet and Ritter, with the trio becoming their own element of the series. However, by the end of Chicago Fire season 11, the two members of the trio who will remain on the series were going through their own story arcs. For Violet, this involves still healing from Evans Hawkins’ death, while Newman teased an increased focus on Ritter at the start of season 12.
The showrunner’s reveal that Violet and Brett will form a stronger bond may result in a bittersweet ending to their friendship. This is because the latter is leaving the series in season 12, though she will continue to appear throughout most of the season. Once she is gone, the young paramedic will likely have a strengthened bond with Ritter moving forward, given their relationship over the years.
Chicago Fire season 12 finally solves Matt Casey’s cliffhanger proposal in season 11, but it is at the expense of Sylvie Brett and her story.
Now that Gallo has exited the show, it makes sense for his closest friends to get more time to develop over the course of season 12. Although it’s unclear what their own Chicago Fire futures will hold, the series will no doubt give them memorable moments together, and with other members of the team. With a shortened season now underway, it remains to be seen just how much focus the duo will have in the upcoming episodes.
New episodes of Chicago Fire air Wednesdays on NBC.
