Typically, when a character leaves town on Chicago Fire, that’s usually the sign that the character’s time on the show has come to an end.
Gabby left to work with a disaster relief organization in Puerto Rico; Peter Mills moved to North Carolina to help run his late father's restaurant; Gallo moved to Michigan to be closer to his recently discovered extended family; Casey, and later Brett, moved to Portland; Carver left town to start fresh in Denver; and Ritter moved to New York to be with Dwayne. While characters such as Gabby, Casey, and Carver have popped back up after their initial departures, typically when a character relocates to another city the odds of seeing them again on the show aren’t the best.
For this reason, when Chicago Fire pulled this storyline device out once again in season 14, episode 9, “Crime of Passion,” fans immediately accepted that it was the last we might see of Isaiah.
Isaiah entered Kidd and Severide’s lives early in season 14 after his mom, Shawna, was severely injured in a car accident. Kidd and Severide took him in and became his official foster parents, and it didn’t take long for the trio to grow close. In looking out for Isaiah and listening to the concerns he raised about his mom’s treatment, Kidd managed to get Shawna transferred to a long-term care facility in Cleveland with some help from Shannon Goodwin over at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.
Kidd accompanied Isaiah to Cleveland to help get his mom settled in at the new long-term care facility, and the pair traveled back and forth in the time after so he could visit with his mom. Shawna’s recovery progressed nicely and she eventually regained consciousness. Shortly after, Kidd and Severide were notified that Shawna had reached out to a longtime friend named Lydia, who had agreed to move to Cleveland to care for Isaiah as she continued to recover.
A meeting with Lydia was arranged, and she and Isaiah quickly hit things off, reconnecting after all these years. By the end of episode 9, Isaiah packed his belongings and bid farewell to Chicago as he left with Lydia to move to Cleveland. We feared this was the last we’d see of Isaiah, but then the writers gave us new hope.
After several episodes in which Kidd and Severide began working to process Isaiah’s move and the loss of the foster son they had grown so close to, we learned that Severide had taken time off to go visit Isaiah in Cleveland. In episode 12, Kidd shared that Severide was in Cleveland visiting Isaiah, which seemed like a throwaway line but it seems to hint that perhaps we haven’t seen the last of Isaiah this season or in general.
While he has moved to Cleveland to live with Lydia and be closer to his mom, the fact that Severide and Kidd are still in touch and visiting him, suggests perhaps we could see more of the character in season 14. Whether this comes from Lydia and Isaiah visiting Chicago, or us getting to see Kidd and/or Severide in Cleveland catching up with him, we’re not sure, but we’re more hopeful that perhaps this wasn’t a permanent goodbye.
As Kidd and Severide continue to explore their options in looking to start a family, it would be really sweet to see at least one more on-screen interaction or two between Isaiah, Kidd, and Severide. Perhaps the writers could work in a conversation in which Kidd is struggling with the idea of fostering another child, and speaking with Isaiah helps her realize the impact fostering had not only on his life, but hers and Severide’s as well; that while it hurt to say goodbye, the time they spent together was incredibly meaningful and will not be forgotten. That would be a really sweet way to bring the story to a close and end on a more uplifting note, than the somber goodbye we saw in episode 9 as Isaiah left town.
Of course, it’s possible that we really have seen the last of Isaiah on-screen and that future mentions of the character will only be in passing conversation. However, we truly hope the episode 12 Easter egg was used to foreshadow a possible appearance, as we’d love to have at least one more chance to see Isaiah before his time on Chicago Fire truly comes to an end.