Chicago Fire star Monica Raymund is leaving the show and it’s a big deal. Here are 5 reasons Fire will miss Gabriela Dawson in Chicago Fire season 7.
Last Thursday, Chicago Fire fans saw Gabriela Dawson thinking about leaving Firehouse 51. Now this Thursday, we know she won’t be coming back.
After less than a week of speculation about Dawson’s future, Monica Raymund has confirmed on Twitter that she will not extend her contract with the NBC series and that Thursday was her last episode. She’s driven her last shift in Ambulance 61 after six seasons, more than 120 episodes, and a lot of memories for the characters and One Chicago fans alike. And while we wish her the best of luck with whatever she does next, we’re going to miss her here, too.
The idea of Chicago Fire without Gabriela Dawson is not a small consideration. She’s one of the main characters, she’s been with the firehouse squad from the very first episode, and she’s been part of many of the biggest developments in the show’s canon. To recognize how much Dawson, and Monica Raymund, have given to the franchise we’ve decided to look at all the ways that the series won’t be the same without her.
Click through the below slideshow for the five reasons we think Chicago Fire is going to miss Gabriela Dawson next season, and let us know what you’ll miss most about the character in the comments at the end of this article.
5. She’s been a great mother figure
We discussed this on Mother’s Day, but there aren’t a lot of mothers we actually get to see in the One Chicago fandom. Even less when you count those we get to see doing parenting on a regular basis—and Gabriela Dawson was one of them.
Being a mother was part of Dawson’s story from relatively early on in Chicago Fire history. She and future husband Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) were expecting a child a few seasons ago, only for Dawson to suffer a heartbreaking miscarriage.
Dawson went on to fill the parenting void in her life with a pair of surrogate children: her foster son Louie, whom she decided to return to his biological family in Chicago Fire season 4, and this season it was the troubled teenager Bria (recurring guest star Quinn Cooke).
After sending Bria off to her high school prom, Dawson told Casey she wanted to try for another baby—only to discover in the Chicago Fire season finale that she had an aneurysm that could kill her if she became pregnant. Even so, she still insisted on trying, because that’s how much she’s wanted to be a mom.
With Monica Raymund’s exit, we’re not going to get to see the much-hoped-for Dawsey baby, but even though she didn’t have a child of her own on the show, Dawson still did an awful lot of being a mom. Whether it was with Louie, Bria or even trying to take care of her own father, she was as much a parent as anyone and she was incredibly devoted.
That’s why we wished so hard for that baby—because Dawson was an awesome mom and with her being gone, that’s one less mother being represented in the One Chicago universe.
4. She always had advice for everyone
Was there anyone who dispensed more advice than Gabriela Dawson? Whenever someone in her life was going through a major life change or had a problem, it seemed like Dawson was always there to give them a much-needed word of counsel—or just be their shoulder to lean on. With her gone, who’s going to have that insight into everyone else’s issues?
Chicago Fire season 6 gave out several examples of that. It was Dawson who could tell that Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) wasn’t over Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) and told her as much early in the season, before the two got together. And Dawson was also there for partner Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) when Brett had a meltdown fearing she could be pregnant, without once mentioning how that could’ve been uncomfortable for her given her past miscarriage.
Dawson’s relationship with Brett is the case study in how much of a friend Dawson has been. She has listed to Brett’s worries and problems about her relationship for awhile now, even though that relationship was with her own brother Antonio (Jon Seda). Brett kept looking to Gabriela as a sort of intermediary and/or sounding board in the Brettonio relationship, and Dawson listened and she offered up her two cents way after we would’ve told Brett we didn’t want to hear it anymore.
That’s one of the things that’s going to frustrate about Monica Raymund leaving. Unless she’s able to come back for an episode to send off Dawson, the last scene between Dawson and Brett will be a fight. It’s a sad way to end a partnership after they’ve been there for each other for so long.
3. She had the best sibling relationship
It’s not just Chicago Fire that Monica Raymund’s departure effects. There’s also going to be some fallout on Chicago PD, because of the close relationship between Dawson and Antonio. The bond of the Dawson siblings is one of One Chicago’s best sibling relationships.
We got to enjoy a lot of Gabriela and Antonio moments on Chicago Fire. Whenever there was any kind of need for police help at Firehouse 51, it seemed like the default line was always something about Dawson calling her brother. Antonio also made plenty of stops by, whether it was in his job with the Intelligence Unit or because of his romance with Brett. Even when he decided to make the move to the State’s Attorney’s Office (and Chicago Justice), there was the scene on Chicago PD where he talked about it with his sister.
There are other sibling relationships in One Chicago, but none with the screen time that we’ve seen for the Dawsons. Jay and Will Halstead are great but don’t spend nearly as many scenes together; both of them had big issues this year but didn’t share those with each other. Kevin Atwater’s siblings got sent off to Texas. Gabriela and Antonio felt like real siblings, sharing the same journey, supporting each other all the time, and also being there for their father even when he was more trouble than anything.
Antonio isn’t going anywhere, but by losing Gabriela, we’re not going to get to see that sibling bond on-screen anymore. We’ll miss the continued development of that relationship. And since Antonio’s single again, that also means he doesn’t have many reasons to visit Firehouse 51 next season either.
2. She’s one-half of the biggest ship
The huge question mark surrounding a Dawson-less Chicago Fire is that it ostensibly means the end of Dawsey. And Dawsey isn’t just the ship that Chicago Fire hangs its hat on, but it’s also the first ship in the whole One Chicago franchise, and still its most popular and most high-profile.
It’s very, very unlikely that these two aren’t over somehow in Chicago Fire season 7. It’d be hard to have Casey continue to be married to someone that he (and we) never see. And especially given the current explanation for her exit—that she’s leaving him behind and going to Puerto Rico—he would be understandably upset, even more than he was when we saw their last scene together. Nothing says “I love you” like leaving you and going someplace else without you.
There’s nothing that can be done about that unless Monica Raymund can be persuaded to come back and wrap up her story, but it’s a frustrating end to a relationship that helped build the whole One Chicago franchise. Dawsey was a clear part of Chicago Fire‘s plan from the first season; even when Casey was back together with his ex-fiancee Hallie Thomas (Teri Reeves), Hallie just felt like a speed bump on the road to his dating Dawson.
They’re one of the few couples that consists of two main characters, who’ve gotten all the way to the altar. Other characters have gotten married, but to recurring characters; other main characters are together, but except for Platt and Mouch, we haven’t seen them put a ring on it. So Dawsey’s given us a unique cross-section of a marriage where we’ve gotten a lot of screen time devoted to it, and watched it grow and watched it struggle. Fans will be sad to see it end, but no one will be more disappointed than Casey. Where does he go from here?
1. She fought for everyone
Gabriela Dawson was a true fighter. We saw time and time again throughout her six seasons on Chicago Fire that she fought in the face of everything—when people told her she couldn’t, when Casey disagreed with her, when it seemed impossible, even against medical advice. Dawson has been fierce, and we’ll miss that dedication she brought to Firehouse 51.
When we spoke to Chicago Fire co-creator Derek Haas earlier this season, he compared Gabriela Dawson to Wonder Woman, telling us “We’ve had Wonder Woman on our show for six seasons.” And he’s absolutely right.
Dawson has taken everything that the show had to throw at her and she’s pulled through. Among the very long list of challenges she’s overcome: being stuck in an elevator by a crazy person, going undercover, being trapped in a collapsed parking garage, and thinking her husband could be dead twice in the last two seasons (yay for cliffhangers). But where other people might fold, Dawson’s always just got on with it.
In the Chicago Fire season 6 episode “A Breaking Point” Dawson not only gets herself out of that garage but becomes a leader and helps guide everyone inside to safety (and in fact, she warned the construction crew that it was dangerous in the first place!). She’s treated patients in all kinds of tough circumstances, isn’t afraid to tell someone to step off when they need to hear it, and as we’ve seen with Bria is also willing to go the extra mile when someone needs more than medical help. Her job doesn’t stop when she gets out of Ambulance 61.
With the departure of Gabriela Dawson, Chicago Fire isn’t just losing its female lead. It’s losing one of the One Chicago franchise’s fiercest, most prominent female characters. Whoever comes onto the ambulance next will have a long shadow to work under.
Next: 5 love lessons from Chicago Fire's Dawson and Casey
How much will you miss Gabriela Dawson in Chicago Fire season 7? Tell us the biggest reason you’ll miss Monica Raymund’s character in the comments.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.