The showrunner said a few things we interpret as encouraging.

We’re going to be honest with you. It doesn’t look good for Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) at the moment. The character has had a pretty rough season 13 on Chicago Fire, between the unhealthy romances, the drinking problem, and now, the decision to walk away from duty at 51.

The character has a lot he needs to figure out within himself, and the episode “Bar Time” made it seem as though fans would be left without Carver’s presence for the indefinite future. We aren’t here to say definitively, that the character is coming back. We are here to point to some comments by the showrunnner, Andrea Newman, that may hint toward a return sooner than you might think.

Did Sam Carver leave Chicago Fire for good?

Newman told TV Line that Carver and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) would be getting it during crucial points of the season, and we saw this come to pass in ‘Bar Time.” The two characters had a nasty exchange before Carver decided to exit 51.

The thing is, the showrunner alluded to there being more between Carver and Violet. “There’s a lot of repercussions that still are playing out from what happened at the end of last season,” she explained. “They’re trying to figure out where they’re at and where each of their emotional lives are at and how they can connect — if they can connect.”

We definitely saw a failed attempt at connection in “Bar Time,” but the quote that puts us somewhat at ease, with regard to Carver’s future, is the fact that Andrea Newman referred to the end of the season when she discussed the Carver and Violet dynamic.

Carver and Violet have unfinished business

“A lot [is going to] happen between the two of them as we head towards the end of the season,” she teased. “Bar Time” was episode 14 in a season slated for 22 episodes, so that leaves plenty of space and screen time for Carver to return, or to at least appear in more scenes with Violet.

We don’t think Newman would allude to episode 14 being close to the end of a given season, and the way things ended between Carver and Violet, with the former writing the latter a sweet note, suggest there is still a lot more these two need to figure out. It feels like there’s deeper connections that have yet to be made. And we sincerely hope they happen sooner rather than later.