One Chicago’s Top 5 best developing friendships
By Kari Highman
3. Blake Gallo and Darren Ritter
This Chicago Fire duo wasn’t surprising since they’re the newest recruits to join Firehouse 51, but it was a surprise to see how they interacted, since they hadn’t shared two words together before things got very serious for two of One Chicago’s freshest faces.
“What Went Wrong” saw Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) go to Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) for advice regarding what to do about his disagreement with Casey. Ritter offered some sound advice, telling Gallo that if he’s learned anything since being at Firehouse 51, it’s that they are truly a family. He assured Gallo that he just needed to give his new colleagues a chance. When Gallo took Ritter’s advice, it led to him having an important conversation with Matt.
If it wasn’t for Ritter’s wisdom, who knows how long Gallo would have avoided the elephant in the room that led to his awkwardness with Captain Casey. Of course, that was a very difficult subject to breach, as Gallo lost his own family in a fire which led him to overreact on the call Firehouse 51 was handling.
Ritter didn’t know the specifics surrounding Gallo’s anxiety, but that didn’t matter. He was willing to offer some kind words and a shoulder when the newcomer needed one. That’s the definition of a true friend if we’ve ever seen one.
Once Chicago Fire returns in January, let’s hope there are more scenes between Ritter and Gallo. It makes sense that they would become fast friends, since they’re both young firefighters who are also fresh faces at the firehouse. They need a support system if they’re going to navigate the ins and outs of Firehouse 51.
Perhaps the writers will give Gallo the opportunity to lend Ritter his ear in return. One way to do this would be to bring up Ritter’s boyfriend, who was first mentioned in “A Real Shot in the Arm.” While One Chicago audiences have yet to meet him, maybe Gallo could have relationship advice to dole out. After all, we don’t know anything about his romantic life yet, and almost nothing about his new friend’s!