Chicago Fire Season 14 is the final season for Daniel Kyri, who has played Darren Ritter for seven seasons.
The character is one of the three leaving the show due to budget reasons, and the season premiere begins setting up an exit arc for him after revealing that Carver (Jake Lockett) and Damon (Michael Bradway) are no longer part of the firehouse.
This was to be expected after Kyri returned for a limited time to film some final scenes for his character.
My first choice would be to keep Ritter on the show and give him more screen time, but since the departure cannot be reversed, I laud the showrunner’s decision to give him a proper exit arc.
Ritter and Dwayne Were Never Really Over
Photo: NBC (Screenshot)What they came up with is not far from what I had anticipated, as it involves his relationship with Officer Dwayne Monroe (Samuel B. Jackson).
It is revealed that even after Dwayne called it quits with Ritter, they had kept in touch and were communicating more frequently lately.
However, Ritter grows concerned when days go by without Dwayne contacting him, so he uses his Chicago P.D. connections and has Mouch (Christian Stolte) ask Trudy (Amy Morton) to look into it.
It’s revealed that Dwayne got shot and has been in the hospital, explaining his silence.
Ritter jumps on the next flight and is in New York, just in time to be on Dwayne’s side as he wakes up.
The latter is happy to see the former, hinting at deep existing feelings between them.
The direction the writers took with this story couldn’t have been better. I mean, we’ve never seen Ritter get into a relationship that lasted more than several episodes.
While they can’t undo all the mistakes they made with Ritter over the years, at least they are giving him a decent goodbye.
I think this is the most we’ve seen of Ritter in one episode in a really long time, maybe ever.
Is Ritter Leaving ‘Chicago Fire’ for Good?
Photo: Peter Gordon/NBCYes, Ritter is leaving Chicago Fire.
Based on the exit story, it seems like he will move to New York to be with Dwayne.
While the season premiere does not reveal their plans, we may see what they decide in the coming episodes.
However, Chicago Fire has a habit of addressing things in passing, so maybe this is the last we’ll see of them.
That would be a mistake since we need to see Firehouse 51 give him a proper tearful goodbye.
However, showrunner Andrea Newman said that there’s always the chance that the characters could drop by at any moment.
“We love the actors, we love the characters, and we want to give them some good, surprising moments and goodbyes, and then maybe hellos later down the line,” she said.
Chicago Fire Season 14, Wednesdays on NBC.