So I’ve been thinking back on Brettsey this morning, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s hilarious some of the haters out there call Brett a snake or a traitor.

I’m NOT going to debate them because there’s no point BUT let me just point out the canonical order of events.

7x19 - first hint that Brettsey may become romantic. But who gave that first hint? Nope! Not Brett!

Casey!

And so begins his crush.

7x20 - MATT goes to Kyle on Brett’s behalf because Brett felt guilty about their breakup keeping the chaplain away from the house. So he goes to tell Kyle to come by because Brett can take it. She’s strong.

7x21 - THEN LIKE AN ADORABLE DUMMY, Kyle DOES come by the house and Casey tries to keep him from seeing Brett. Hmmm. Wonder why that could be, Captain? (I think Stella knows the answer lol)

7x22 - MATT tries to ask SYLVIE out. Yep. It was HIS IDEA. He fails miserably cause they get interrupted and he’s an adorable nervous dork who doesn’t know how to talk to his crush. BUT HE TRIED.

If only he hadn’t freaked out after seeing a totally innocent hug between Sylvie and Kyle. And then stuck his foot in it trying to be overly supportive about something he THOUGHT Sylvie wanted.

Also HE was the one who looked majorly upset after Kyle proposed, and regretful while talking to her after.

(Though Sylvie looked like she wasn’t sure of her decision AT ALL and more than a little regretful herself.)

Then Sylvie goes off to try and make it work with Kyle and Casey focuses on 51 and the mess with hearing.

BUT when she comes back in 8x03, let’s notice WHO goes in for the hug.

We also had Smart Girl in this episode. Hmmm. Conveniently timed to distract him from Brett’s return in his life? Suspicious.

8x04 was the crossover which gave us some nice casual friendship moments. We’re getting back to normal. Or as normal as they can be.

8x07 - in which CASEY is a nosey dork who tries to casually ask if Ryan is Sylvie’s boyfriend.

He is also the one seeking her out to compliment her on a job well done that he was very pointedly paying attention to and ends up mimicking later in the episode. Because he PAYS ATTENTION. Hm, wonder why?

*pause*

I somehow missed jealous Casey and can’t find what episode it was in. Maybe 8x03? But it MUST be included.

And again, seeks HER OUT offers to buy HER a drink. And then offers HER encouragement.

Brett was literally just minding her own business the whole episode.

8x09 - HE asks BRETT for advice. Again seeking HER out. Clearly, her opinion is important to him. He trusts her. And she was right. He needed to see Gabby again. Jesse and Monica called 8x09 closure and both Gabby and Matt needed that.

I’ll take a moment here to address Brett’s side of things thus far:

Brett was reluctant to accept or encourage her own feelings for Casey this entire time. She pushed back against Olivia, Foster, and Kidd in S7. But by the time 7x22 happens she’s coming around to the idea.

Then Matt does a dumb thing and pushes her toward Kyle, leading her to believe her feelings are one sided.

So, when Kyle proposes she says yes. Likely thinking Kyle is a good man and she’d be an idiot to let him go because she MIGHT have feelings for Casey.

She tries to make it work with Kyle because she Sylvie does care about him and WHO would want two failed engagements in their history?

No one.

So when she comes back she just wants to get her Chicago life back to normal AND still thinks her feelings for Casey were one sided.

We get little glimpses that her feelings are still there with the way she reacts to him or to his questions about Ryan.

BUT in her mind Casey thinks of her as a friend & she wants him to be happy so when he asks about Gabby she’s his FRIEND. Not the woman with feelings for him.

His happiness when she sees him after spending time with Gabby likely confirms to her that she’s got an unreturned crush. So in 8x10 it feels like she’s stepped back a little & given herself space.

All so she can try & NOT feel anything more than platonic for him.

That’s my take, anyway. Alright now onto 8x11.

8x11 - Brett seeks Casey out for I think the second time ever (the first being to arrange a game night so she could set him up with Olivia) to encourage Matt on a rough day.

You can ACTUALLY SEE his crush reviving itself and growing exponentially larger. Seriously, LOOK AT HIS FACE.

8x13 - RIGHT OFF THE BAT these two should be lovers connect over Mr. Larson.

Paraphrasing but:

*Brett saying she’s gonna check on Mr. Larson*
Casey: I’LL GO WITH YOU.
Brett: uh...okay?

*check on Mr. Larson*
*reassure him about his cat*
*look like a couple*

Okay, now to talk about this moment.

First shot, normal distance between them. Second shot, Matt notices Sylvie is upset. Third shot, MATT comforts Sylvie. Fourth shot, MATT steps closer to her.

Notice MATT is the one reaching out here. Not Sylvie.

AGAIN, Casey reaches out by asking Brett her post-shift plans. When she says she’s going to go look for the cat, he’s surprised but DOESN’T HESITATE to help.

(Sidenotes: his face when he says “ThE cAt?!” Will never not make me laugh & Casey no one buys your “morning off” excuse)

Not about their journey but...

I wanna talk about the fact that the writers had Brett & Casey’s plot center around a couple who’d been happily married for 40+ years.

Might it be intended to show us that this is the kind of relationship both Brett & Casey could have together?

Nothing to add, I just love the way Matt is looking at her in the last two screencaps

Now I just wanna talk about her little smile. She’s so happy he offered to go with her.

Here is the big moment for me.

I mentioned that Sylvie put space between them in 8x10. As if she put up a wall to protect herself? I think this moment is where it starts to come down.

Matt keeps reaching out so the wall is starting to crumble, even if she doesn’t see it yet.

His face as he listens to her is one of my favorite things. He knows she’s trusting him with something deeply personal and he is giving her the consideration she deserves.

The encouragement he gives her is possibly the SWEETEST encouragement. I love hearing him tell her been impressed by her because the audience has seen that but Sylvie hasn’t. Not really.

Her smile in the last cap is all because of him and it’s BEAUTIFUL.

Nothing important to add except...

Matt Casey helped Sylvie Brett smuggle a cat into the hospital.

That’s the gesture of a man with a serious infatuation.

Zoomed in on the first cap cause OMG HERRMANN YOU RUINED A MOMENT AND I’M SO MAD AT YOU.

Matt was having a cup of coffee with the woman of his dreams, Herrmann. Take your outrage elsewhere!

Y’all!

She walks in and his face lights up.

I mean come on.

But I love this little scene. Because it shows how wonderful a team they can be. Sylvie has an idea and takes it to Matt who helps her turn into a heartwarming gesture for Mr. Larson.

These two together are an unstoppable force of goodness. I love them.

I mean at this point Mr. Larson HAS to assume they’re a couple right? They’ve been together EVERY TIME he’s seen them.

I’m gonna close out the 8x13 discussion with these shots because it’s heartbreaking and touching. Mr. & Mrs. Larson deserved this tribute.

And it’s also to remind you that Brett and Casey did this for him. TOGETHER.

8x14 - BRETT goes to Casey FIRST. Third time ever. And again you can tell by the look on Casey’s face he knows how sensitive this is for her and he’s taking it very seriously.

Brett is trusting him to do the RIGHT thing. Even though she asks him one thing, Matt knows her. And Brett knows that too. See? Her walls are still coming down.

I LOVE that Matt keeps it. It just proves to me that he cares. He could simply do as he’s asked but he’s thinking deeper and bigger than that in an effort to help and protect Sylvie.

I don’t have anything to say, I just want you to laugh at Sylvie’s indecision and Matt’s proud face.

Annddd Sylvie Brett confusing the HECK out of Matt will never not be funny to me.

His face! “This is a terrible idea but I’m doing it anyway because I have no ability to say no to her.”

This is the face of a man who is already plotting how and when to come back and get the letter out of the trash.

I’m not watching the episode so I might be paraphrasing the dialogue but this quick moment between them is precious.

“Are you sure?”
“Yes, no looking back.”

The takes his arm & short circuits his brain like a high school kid who’s crush spoke to him for the first time ever.

Matt “Heart Eyes” Casey strikes again.

MATT seeking her out once he’s clear of danger. Yep. MATT.

“Oh, boy.”

THESE FLIRTS. Look at them.

Also, to address the implication by some people that Brett is imposing on Matt by confiding in him...

The man in this last screencap DOES NOT feel as if she intruded. He is SHOCKED and FLOORED and HONORED that she trusts him enough to include him in her life.

8x15 - Look who starts the episode by waiting on Brett to get back from a call?

YUP! That would be MATT. Not Brett waiting on him, MATT waiting on HER.

HE’S the one checking in on HER. And look at her face! He is blowing through that wall she tried to put up between them. Quickly and easily.

and who offered to save her a dinner plate like a truly caring not-boyfriend?

YES THAT’s RIGHT MATT.

Again, WHO went to WHO?

MATT was the one to look in on Sylvie.

Also did Brett ask Matt to go to Rockford with her? NOPE. Didn’t even hint that she wanted him to go.

He OFFERED. He WANTED to go so that he could SUPPORT her.

Sidenote: her smile after he walks away.

She’s telling him about her childhood and he’s eating it up. look at his face. Matt “Heart Eyes” Casey, everyone.

His face when she comes back upset. This is a man who cares about Sylvie a LOT and hates seeing her upset. I mean, HIS FACE.

She’s just seen her birth mom for the first time RIGHT before a call and LOOK AT MATT. He’s so concerned.

8x15 also has THIS LOOK. This HUGE poignant look! And MATT looks over at Sylvie first. He’s going into a life threatening situation and he’s thinking about HER.

8x16 - This honestly might be my favorite.

He’s sought her out to check on her plenty of times before but this time he sought her out for HER THOUGHTS and ENCOURAGEMENT for HIMSELF.

These dorks! Why are they so cute?!

Check out Julie’s “So, this is the boyfriend?” grin.

I would like to point out that Julie and Sylvie help Matt solve the case. This conversation is how he found the guy. They’re a team even sometimes by accident.

Julie and Sylvie are so sweet why did Derek deny Sylvie this relationship I’m getting distracted by these emotions.

LOOK AT MATT’S SMILE JUST BECAUSE HE’S SEEING SYLVIE HAPPY.

“He’s terrific. How long have you been dating?”

Not “are you dating?” HOW LONG. JULIE SEEING THE COUPLE VIBES TOO.

Waiting on the wife and the mother-in-law.

Most importantly in this episode we see Brett push back on feeling anything more than friendship for Matt AGAIN.

This whole time Sylvie has been determined to not let her feelings for Matt escalate and it’s getting harder and harder to deny everytime someone notices.

She’s been running from what she really wants with Matt. Either afraid of it being one sided or afraid of it being to messy — maybe a combo of both.

But at every point she denies it which means, with a few exceptions, when Matt wanted to know how she was HE had to go to HER.

Sylvie kept her distance from him most of the time and tried to mind her own business but Matt, as a Derek says, is a truly reliable guy and a great shoulder to lean on. She trusts, respects, and values him so she can never stay away for very long.

8x17 -

Matt Casey’s “in-no-way-related-to-the-episodes-plot” heart eyes that are totally gratuitous and only included to remind us he has A MAD MAD CRUSH. Seriously, no other reason for them. They are heart eyes for the sake of heart eyes.

Hi, hot realtor that I really wanted Matt to find out about so he would get his rear in gear.

PS - FOSTER’S FACE.

And HERE is where Brett has been called out for final time. Julie straight up telling her she’s hung up on Matt is the moment that sends Brett down the path to owning up to what she feels.

In this moment, she’s STILL running. She’s pointedly NOT pursuing Matt.

Babygirl watching Matt walk by and internally struggling with her feelings. Not knowing that Matt is freaking CRAZY about her and thinking it’s one sided and he’ll never go for it.

Sorry, hot realtor, Sylvie’s finally confronted her feelings for Matt and admitted to herself that what she feels is ANYTHING BUT platonic.

She can’t date you right now. Or ever.

8x18 -

It’s only after she accepts her feelings and in a very uncertain situation that Sylvie truly actively opens up to Matt and reaches out to him first.

THIS was a BIG moment for her and a step forward for the two of them. She’s running TOWARD him. Not away.

“Everything okay?”
“Not sure.”
And suddenly there’s a Matt Casey shaped hole in the wall. Boy is GONE. When Sylvie calls, HE SHOWS UP. End of story.

Literally goes straight there, right to her.

LOOK AT THE PAIN ON HIS FACE. This is a man who is WRECKED on Sylvie’s behalf. DO YOU SEE HIM?! My heart hurts for BOTH of them.

Yeah, they didn’t show us this but based on these looks you can bet your ass Matt Casey did not move from that spot until Sylvie came back out.

Ugh her sad lost face kills me.

And it looks like it’s killing Matt too.

This man cares for her SO much. No one is FORCING him to care for her the way he does and no one is manipulating him. He started feeling something for her FIRST and it’s grown into the deep mutual connection it is now.

We’re on 8x19 now btw.

He cares for her simply because he DOES. Because they’ve gotten closer and he’s seen her in a new light. He appreciates all that she is and all she wants to be and she feels the same about him.

Her pain is his pain and this episode makes that abundantly clear.

Sidenote: Stella and Matt teaming up to look after Sylvie is my new favorite thing.

I love how Matt just suddenly appears over Stella’s shoulder.

He physically CANNOT stay away. He’s hovering there to keep one eye on her and the other on the protestors because his job is important but Sylvie is too.

And Sylvie runs TOWARD Matt for a second time, even when he’s not physically around.

She seeks comfort in his space and around his things. This is a bit deal for them too. One more way she’s embracing how important Matt is to her.

*big

For those who call this an invasion of his space, please see my BAJILLION previous tweets. Matt has made it VERY CLEAR to Sylvie that he WANTS to be there for her & she’s WELCOME to come find him anytime.

Also LOOK AT HIS FACE. He wants to help her deal with this any way he can.

Just gonna post this screen cap again and focus on his face because it KILLS ME.

I want to point out, that as far as I can recall anytime we’ve seen Brett really truly cry she’s found some place out of the way where she won’t be seen. Her car or a deserted hallway...etc.

BUT in this scene she is letting herself break down in front of Matt. She’s not hiding.

And Matt is steadfast in his support and comfort. He doesn’t hesitate, he’s not reluctant. He eagerly holds her through it. (And runs his fingers through her hair?! )

His hand briefly cradling her head

Yeah, this is not a guy who is “just being a good friend”. This is a man comforting a woman he has deep meaningful feelings for.

Sorry not sorry.

His hand on her back after Stella interrupts them gives me some FEELS too.

I mean look close they’re sitting on his cot.

I want to keep going and mention Sylvie short circuiting Matt’s brain again with her hand to his face but that’s a deleted scene and not technically canon, so I won’t.

Instead, let’s talk about those across the wedding aisle eyes.

Those vows? Yeah, they’re important for Joe & Chloe, Stellaride, AND BRETTSEY. Shows don’t have characters make eyes at each other at a wedding for no reason.

8x20 - only one Brettsey moment here to discuss and it’s tiny but I still find it meaningful.

Brett is upset about Foster and Casey unintentionally helps her work through it. It says a lot that even when he’s not really trying his words carry a LOT of weight with Brett.

I’ve tweeted all of this & walked you through it from this angle to show you that at EVERY point it was MATT CASEY who escalated the relationship he has with Sylvie Brett.

He took it to the next level each time by being a constantly caring force in her life.

At no point has Sylvie ever chased Matt. IN FACT, Sylvie is the one who tried to put on the brakes & step away.

Sylvie’s not a snake or a traitor. She’s a woman who is falling for a man who is proving how much he cares about her every day. Messy history or not, that’s the TRUTH.