Chicago Fire EP Talks New 'Roadblocks' for Casey and Brett,

Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wednesday’s Chicago Fire. Proceed at your own risk!

Chicago Fire‘s return on Wednesday was a tough one for various ‘shipper factions, with not one but two pairings taking a hit.

First, Casey and Brett had a much-needed talk about the abrupt ending to their make-out session. “My feelings for you, they’re real, Sylvie, regardless of Gabby,” Casey reassured the blonde, who quickly retorted, “There is no ‘regardless of Gabby.’ That’s the point.”

Then to make things very clear, Brett added, “What happened between us, it can’t happen again. Ever.” And although she doesn’t want to lose Casey’s friendship, Brett requested that he give her “a little space right now,” because she “can’t go right back to the way things were” before they locked lips.

Later, Casey confessed to Severide that he hasn’t had any contact with or really thought about his ex-wife for months. “Sylvie’s been the only one on my mind,” he admitted. But she wants space, and the strength of his feelings is exactly why he needs to back off. “Maybe it’s for the best,” Casey concluded.

Elsewhere, Severide discovered that people were gossiping about Stella’s quick climb up the CFD ladder and how sleeping with a connected firefighter probably isn’t hurting her. So like his pal, Severide decided to give Stella her space instead of helping her study for the lieutenant’s exam like he promised. When Severide offered his girlfriend a vague excuse rather than explaining the situation, Stella noted his “weird” behavior to Brett.

Below, showrunner Derek Haas previews the new characters who will be thwarting Brett and Casey’s potential romance, and reveals how worried Severide and Stella fans should be.

TVLINE | Casey says he’s going to give Brett her space — or at least that’s what he tells Severide. How steadfast will he be in that? Is he actually going to follow through with that, or is he going to maybe fight for Brett?
There are going to be some more obstacles thrown at that relationship in the terms of some new characters arriving in the next episode. There’s a look on Casey’s face that you’ll know when you see it in Episode 4. I thought Jesse Spencer did a very good job of conveying a lot with just a look… This is not going to be smooth sailing for a while for either of them.

TVLINE | Are these new characters new love interests?
They’re, I would say, potential roadblocks to a Brett/Casey relationship.

TVLINE | Brett is really adamant about the fact that Gabby’s always going to be an issue, but Casey says he actually hasn’t really thought about her lately. So is that something that they can reconcile?
Well, I don’t know. Honestly, I can tell you the genesis of that, and where I felt like it was a very honest conversation is that, on our show, we try our damnedest as writers to acknowledge and to honor the history of the show. That’s why we’ll bring up characters that haven’t been around for seven seasons, like when Severide went and got the door off the ambulance to honor the memory of Shay. And with Gabby, the audience watched six years of this relationship between Casey and Gabby, and then she came back last season — at this time, actually — and they slept together again. So this isn’t something you can just shrug off, and Brett knew Gabby really well. So when Casey says, “Well, regardless of Gabby,” and Brett says, “There is no ‘regardless of Gabby,’” that, to me, felt really honest and how that would happen in real life.

TVLINE | But the fact that he says that he hasn’t really been thinking about Gabby lately, does that signify that he’s moved on? Has he gotten some closure in the relationship?
Well, he might think so, but I’m not sure that’s true.

TVLINE | And it doesn’t seem like Brett would believe it. They do not seem to be on the same page.
No. That’s a very good description.

TVLINE | Severide is keeping his distance from Stella because he learns what people are saying about her and the potential job promotion. How much of a toll is that going to take on their relationship?
It’s going to get bad, because Severide can be frustrating because he doesn’t always express what’s on his mind. [Laughs] And sometimes, he gets these ideas of how to handle things that he thinks are best and doesn’t realize he’s doing damage. But in his mind, he’s doing the right thing, and he wants Stella to achieve her dreams on her terms and doesn’t want anyone to think there was any sort of favoritism or shortcut for her. So he thinks he’s doing the right thing, but will that be interpreted correctly? Probably not.