‘Chicago Fire’: What Happened to Rebecca Jones?
Chicago Fire has had its fair share of characters come and go over the years. Longtime One Chicago fans might remember a character named Rebecca Jones, who was portrayed by Daisy Betts. It’s been a long time since Jones has been on Chicago Fire, and some fans may have forgotten what happened to her.
Who was Rebecca Jones on ‘Chicago Fire’?
Rebecca Jones was introduced in Chicago Fire Season 2. She was a firefighter candidate who trained alongside Gabriela Dawson. Rebecca is the daughter of a deputy district fire chief and is eager to prove herself. However, she doesn’t always go about it the right way.
Dawson holds some resentment toward Jones after she spots her cheating during a written exam. Dawson fails the final physical exam, while Jones passes, despite the fact that Dawson helped her when her hose got stuck on the stairs. Jones then becomes the new candidate at Firehouse 51, while Dawson goes back to paramedic work.
What happened to Rebecca Jones in ‘Chicago Fire’ Season 2?
Jones doesn’t immediately fit in at Firehouse 51. She is the only woman on Truck 81 and she comes off as entitled because of her father. Jones is also reprimanded by Matthew Casey for not following orders and at one point has an anonymous formal complaint filed against her.
Eventually, things begin to get better for Jones, and she even settles some of the tension between her and Dawson. Unfortunately, at this time Jones’ father orders Casey and Chief Boden to fire her in the hopes that she will work a safer desk job. Casy and Boden refuse to fire Jones, but she plans to leave and take the desk job anyway.
At Molly’s, Jones tells Herrmann the news. She also explains her father’s icy attitude toward her. When Jones was 10 years old she and her mother were in a car accident. Jones’ mother died and now she is a constant reminder of the incident to her father. Although Herrmann tries to offer Jones support, she commits suicide shortly after their talk.
Why did the writers kill off Jones?
In a 2014 interview with TV Guide, Chicago Fire executive producer Matt Olmstead explained the writers’ decision to kill off Rebecca Jones. “We wanted to do an arc with this female firefighter, the Jones character, and we knew going in that she was going to be a bit of an antagonist for the Dawson character,” Olmstead told the outlet.
He explained that the original plan was for Jones to get injured and decide to leave firefighting behind. She was also supposed to have a brief romance with Jeff Clarke, a character played by Jeff Hephner. However, Hephner got another opportunity and left Chicago Fire.
“So then we looked at the Jones character fresh and that’s when we were like — as we often times do — how can we get the maximum impact of this character leaving the show?” Olmstead continued.
“As opposed to just, ‘I’m not cut out for it,’ hand in a resignation and leave, we started exploring options, and one of them was: What would it be like? What would the emotional ramification be for our main characters if her character was to die? That’s what we started digging in on.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
