When “Chicago Fire” returns for Season 12 on January 17, Firehouse 51 will be a very different place. That shift will be felt most strongly and immediately due to Alberto Rosende, who is making his final appearance as Blake Gallo in the season premiere. Rosende first joined “Chicago Fire” in Season 8 before being bumped up to a series regular. A brash young firefighter, Gallo wasn’t a fan favorite “Chicago Fire” character at first, though his friendship with fellow rookies Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) added some levity to the series.
Gallo and Violet may have ended up friends, but they had a fast-burning romance in Season 8. The open relationship was a source of contention and jealousy, and the pair was kaput by the end of the season. Rosende’s departure puts the kibosh on any hope that Gallo and Violet would get back together. According to showrunner Andrea Newman, that was never the plan anyway.
“I think they’ve become such good friends that that would have been a twisty-turny place to get to,” Newman said to Variety about the romance making a comeback. “I think their relationship really evolved into a beautiful friendship. So in terms of Violet, I don’t feel like that was going to be endgame. Their friendship became so important at that stage.”
Gallo has a strong reason for leaving
Alberto Rosende’s series exit in the “Chicago Fire” Season 12 premiere may feel abrupt, but for Andrea Newman, it’s more like a mic drop. “There was something that almost felt like the Super Bowl about it, like the quarterback who retires after a Super Bowl,” Newman continued in the same Variety interview. “Not that he’s retiring from the business, but his leaving makes some sense because he had such a strong season and as a character, has evolved so much.”
Newman also promised that the end of Gallo’s “Chicago Fire” tenure will feel justified. “Gallo has very specific reasons for leaving when he does,” she went on. “It’ll affect everybody and from a writing standpoint, it’s sad not to have Gallo to write for, but like I said, it felt natural in some strange way. He will be very missed by all.”
In some ways, Rosende’s early exit feels like a way of priming viewers for a much bigger shakeup later in the season. Season 12 will be Kara Killmer’s “Chicago Fire” swan song, though Newman says she’ll get more closure. The showrunner promised that Killmer’s Sylvie Brett will appear in much of the season, even if it is a shortened one, in order to give her the sendoff she deserves. The exact contours of her journey are still a mystery, but they will certainly involve Casey’s (Jesse Spencer) big Season 11 finale proposal.
