Chicago Fire Season 11 Finale: Casey Will Return, But Severide Is Still Out Of Action

During Season 11 of "Chicago Fire," fans got a welcome return of a beloved character. In the episode "Danger All Around," Jesse Spencer reprised his role as lead Matt Casey. Initially, the character traded the windy city to relocate to Oregon. But it wasn't his first time returning to FIrehouse 51, after his initial departure last year, as Casey appeared during Kelley Severide's (Taylor Kinney) and Stella Kidd's (Miranda Rae Mayo) wedding in Season 10. Still, Casey coming back had fans understandably ecstatic, especially in light of Kinney's leave of absence from the show earlier this year. 

Speaking of which, starting with the bad news, according to Variety, Kinney will not appear for the Season 11 finale set to air on May 24, 2023. But the good news is that Variety further reported that Casey isn't done making his rounds back in Chicago for this season. He will actually appear again for the Season 11 finale, which should at least help ease the news of Kinney's continued temporary absence. Although sure to be regarded as a welcome treat, Casey's appearance for the season finale makes a lot of sense, considering that during "Danger All Around," it was teased that he wasn't potentially done with his old home. In addition, Spencer noted how much he enjoyed being back with his old castmates this season.

Before returning to "Chicago Fire" this season, Jesse Spencer had been away from the show for over a year. Fans clearly missed the actor in his role as Matt Casey and thoroughly enjoyed his return for "Danger All Around." Fortunately, it's safe to say that Spencer also had a wholly positive experience coming back to "Chicago Fire" this season, as during an interview with NBC Insider, he compared it to riding an old bike. "It was really great," Spencer said. "It had been a while; it'd been, like, over a year or something since I'd been back. But it's like riding a bike, you know? There are familiar faces. I know pretty much all the crew and pretty much all the cast. I had a ball."

With such a lovely onset experience, it's no wonder Spencer will make another return before the season closes. But could his appearance in the finale confirm a more permanent return to Chicago? "Danger All Around" offered that his character Casey was at least contemplating a return and maybe rekindling his romance with Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer). Perhaps the finale will answer whether we'll see more of Casey for the next season.