One Chicago’s top 5 new character moments of 2019

1. Gallo’s devastating loss

Though Alberto Rosende’s debut as firefighter Blake Gallo was a jaw-dropping moment for the One Chicago history books, it pales in comparison to what audiences learned about his history. Gallo’s emotional past and heartbreaking loss of his family came to light during not one, but two episodes of Chicago Fire.

While Gallo was initially introduced as a high-energy wildcard, he quickly became one of the most grounded characters, and it turned out there was a very serious purpose that was driving all that energy. The real reason Gallo became a firefighter was because he lost his own family in a house fire when he was a little boy. His mother, father, and younger sister—all gone in the blink of an eye.

Gallo bonded with the firemen who helped get him out of the house, and decided to become a first responder himself because of all the time he spent at their firehouse. When his old chief let Wallace Boden (Eamonn Walker) know of Blake’s loss, Boden regretted his earlier apprehension about Gallo joining Firehouse 51.

It would have probably been good to let his second in command know about Gallo’s trauma, though, as Captain Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) harshly laid down the law with his new recruit for a lapse in judgment in the Chicago Fire episode “What Went Wrong.”

When Boden revealed to Casey that Gallo’s past may have caused his adverse reaction, Casey realized that he and Gallo needed to have a real heart-to-heart conversation. That’s precisely what took place in his office, and Gallo told him everything in an emotional reveal.

Casey understood because of his own experience with losing someone in a fire—his former fiancé, Hallie Thomas (Teri Reeves) died in a blaze at the end of Chicago Fire season 1. He also reassured Gallo that his emotions were what would make him into a great firefighter.

Casey’s right in that respect, but another reason this rollercoaster of a scene matters is due to Alberto Rosende’s stellar acting chops. The ways in which he portrayed the extra layers that come with grief were phenomenal. It truly added to the well-rounded nature of Blake Gallo, and makes it easy to see why Chicago Fire recently announced Rosende’s promotion to series regular.

These are just the first great moments that One Chicago’s newest main characters have brought into the universe. There’s still half of this season to go, and they’re not going anywhere any time soon. We can’t wait to see what Marcel, Rojas and Gallo have ahead of them when Chicago Med, Chicago PD and Chicago Fire return in January.

For the latest Chicago Fire season 8 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Fire category at One Chicago Center.