Gabby Dawson's Worst Storyline On Chicago Fire

Starring as a high-profile regular on NBC's red-hot ratings champ "Chicago Fire" since the show's pilot episode in 2012, Gabriela "Gabby" Dawson (Monica Raymond) made her last appearance on the show in the 2019 episode "Best Friend Magic" (per IMDb). The truth is, during her 139 outings on the series, plus two crossover episodes of "Chicago Med" and nine installments of "Chicago P.D.," Raymond's strong-willed Gabby Dawson and her various storylines on the show have generated a wide range of fan responses, both positive and negative.

Among Dawson's many narratives that might raise eyebrows or cause comments: in Season 1, she seems to be performing tasks and taking on duties that are far above her qualifications, actions that could have serious consequences for her career. Then there's her failed first attempt to pass her physical agility test at the Chicago Fire Academy. Is this woman really up to the demands of what will be a challenging job? Spoiler: she eventually passes just fine in the Season 2 episode, "Real Never Waits." And while Gabby has plenty of fodder for fans to complain about, what stands out as Dawson's worst storyline on "Chicago Fire"?

In addition to the heart-stopping first responder action she experiences as a paramedic and then as a firefighter, one of Dawson's ongoing storylines involves her romance with former Firehouse 51 captain Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer). As the series progresses, the Dawsey combo has what seems to be, frankly, an overload of complications. The fact is, they date, get serious, contemplate marriage, separate, get pregnant together, lose the child, adopt a kid, give the kid up, grow apart and reunite again. During this time, Gabby seems increasingly unwilling to trust Casey, even at one point refusing to discuss getting pregnant together, which she's intent on doing even though her medical issues make it a life-threatening decision for her.

As time passes, this dubious affair seems to make less and less sense, eventually flatlining due primarily to Gabby's inexplicably shabby treatment of Casey, right up until she pushes him away one last time and suddenly moves to Puerto Rico. Making this relationship such a centerpiece of the show's early seasons is hard to fathom. After all, how believable is a storyline demanding that viewers stick with two characters who experience a totally unrealistic amount of drama and amazingly still stay together, only to have the whole romantic house of cards collapse with Gabby's sudden, Casey-crushing announcement that she's bailing out? And she's not just ditching Casey, but her entire life, commitments, and other friendships in Chicago.

For "Chicago Fire" fans pondering the volatile Dawsey equation, what better oracle than an online poll? And, in the show's subreddit, Reddit user TheQuirkyReddit is happy to oblige Chi-Hards with a survey titled, "Did Gabby Dawson and Matt Casey have a good relationship..." Out of 400-plus Reddit voters, 21 say Yes, a whopping 256 vote No, and 114 equivocate, saying Kind of. In the same thread, TheQuirkyReddit feels it isn't the characters at fault, it's the scriptwriters' decision to saddle them with a romantic entanglement: "I think that Gabby and Matt are good people but together as a couple they were not... there were just so many things wrong with the relationship." Reddit commenter parisoctober agrees, saying the pair's story simply doesn't add up and that "Ultimately they were good people who had some good moments together but weren't right for each other." Another Redditor in the discussion gets to the heart of the problem with the Dawsey plot line, saying: "The more I rewatch the series, the more I realized that these two were clearly different people."

And finally, So Many Shows' writer Ariel B. sums up complaints about the Dawsey storyline on "Chicago Fire" in an article titled, "Has Chicago Fire 'Jumped the Shark'?" asserting, "One of my biggest issues with the show were [sic] Dawson and Casey as a couple."