We noticed that Gabriela Dawson went from paramedic to firefighter back to paramedic…
Gabriela Dawson (Monica Raymund) was as capable as they come. She not only saved multiple lives
during her time on Chicago Fire, but she did so through different professions! She joined the 51 team as a paramedic,
then graduated to firefighter, then went back to being a paramedic before leaving the show in season 8. It was a strange career path, and one we haven’t seen any of the other Chicago Fire characters take during the show’s 11 (soon to be 12) seasons. The biggest question fans have is: why? Why did the character keep changing up her professional title? Well, the reason may be more simple than you’d expect.
Gabriela Dawson Was a firefighter during seasons 2-6
Dawson was introduced as a paramedic in season 1. She quickly established a rapport with the other medics on her team. She grew increasingly close with the different firefighters in the 51, though, and eventually struck up a romance with one Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer).
Dawson was accepted to the Chicago Fire Academy, in season 2, despite initially failing her physical agility test due to a spraining her ankle. She made it clear that she wanted to eventually serve as a firefighter, and her relationship with Casey seemingly emboldened her. She achieved her goal by season’s end.
The character spent seasons 3 and 4 putting out fires, but by the time season 5 came around, something had changed. She was moved back to paramedic in season 6, with the logic being that she wanted space from Casey after their foster son was taken back by his biological parents.
Chicago Fire boss felt Dawson was more ‘interesting’ as a medic
It was a sad ultimately fair reason to split up the ex-couple, but Chicago Fire co-creator Michael Brandt revealed the real reason behind Dawson’s relocation during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
In Brandt’s estimation, Dawson was simply a more interesting character as a paramedic:
“”Dawson as a paramedic is such a strong character. Dawson and Shay, our duo as we called them, were strong in the first couple of seasons of the show. While not wanting to give anything away, we really would like to try and find that dynamic again and Dawson as paramedic is interesting.””
It makes, especially given the fun dynamic that Dawson eventually struck with Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) once she returned to the paramedic team.
It’s telling that when the character was ultimately written off of the show in season 6, and relocated to Puerto Rico, she continued to serve others through medicine. She was a strong firefighter, but a legendary paramedic as far as Chicago Fire history is concerned.
