Warning: The following post contains spoilers from the current season of Chicago Fire.
It seems 51 has truly said goodbye to yet another key character, at least that’s what the fifth episode of Chicago Fire season 13 seemed to suggest. After joining the cast in season 14, it appears that Michael Bradway’s time as Jack Damon on NBC’s hit drama has truly come to an end.
As fans will recall, in the third episode of the season, Kidd made the decision to put Damon back into the floater pool after he disobeyed a direct order on a call. After he was notified of the decision, Damon lashed out at Severide and it seemed like perhaps that episode was going to be a curtain call for the character.
However, in episode 4, we learned that Damon had landed at Firehouse 20 and he was actually doing really well at the new firehouse. During a visit to the firehouse to try to mend fences, Severide learned that the house’s lieutenant was actually looking to extend a full-time position to Damon and he explained to the house’s chief that Damon was let go from 51 as it simply wasn’t a good place for a kid fresh out of the academy to find his place with all the change going on at the house.
Severide later went to see Damon and we learn that Damon was offered the permanent position. The two brothers then seemed to make up, with Severide reminding him that he doesn’t need to live up to anyone’s name but rather should seek to become the best firefighter he can become and make a name for himself.
The moment left fans wondering if perhaps the storyline was used as an official exit for Bradway, and the show’s fifth episode seems to have confirmed that was indeed the case.
Chicago Fire season 13 episode 5 did not mention Damon at all, hinting he’s left the show
Interestingly, the fifth episode of Chicago Fire season 13 did not feature an appearance from Bradway nor did it mention Damon in any capacity. This seems to suggest that the storyline used in episode 4 in which we learned Damon had landed at Firehouse 20 was designed as an official exit storyline for the character, and honestly, that makes sense.
With Damon moving on to another firehouse, there really isn’t a natural way to incorporate the character into the show on a regular basis and that episode offered closure to the storyline first introduced in episode 3 when Damon was let go from 51. Rather than him simply burning bridges with Severide and going radio silent, we got to see the brothers patch things up in episode 4 and that final scene between the pair definitely felt like a goodbye.
Severide basically said, go make a name for yourself and stop trying to live up to the Severide name. We know that Damon is thriving at his new firehouse and has now landed a full-time spot at 20, so it makes sense that his time on the show comes to an end as there really isn’t a need to further the storyline on-screen, at least not at the moment.
The good news is that the door has been left open for Damon to return down the line and we do hope that we’ll get to see him back sometime down the road, but with a large ensemble, it makes sense that the show simply does not need to keep the character around in a key role.