I’m Worried ‘Chicago Fire’ Won’t Have Enough Time To Resolve These Characters’ Storylines Before Their Exit

Chicago Fire’s latest episode, “Permanent Damage,” brings Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) back to be reunited with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) and with his addiction under control, it’s looking good for the on-again, off-again pair to move forward with their relationship. Meanwhile, Lizzy Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) spends the episode trying to find a roommate, which ends up being Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri), setting up a wild situation with two of the series’ most fun characters. The two storylines – one that’s been simmering for some time, one that’s brand new – look to provide Chicago Fire writers with narrative fodder for some time. Well, three weeks at least, given Carver and Ritter are not returning to the series next year.

Finances, Not Fire, Are To Blame For Taking Out ‘Chicago Fire’s Carver and Ritter

The how of the characters being written off of the show is yet to be revealed, but the why is pretty straightforward: finances. Television programming is at a crossroads, where the ever-increasing rise in streaming has come at the expense of conventional network programming audiences. As a result, networks are implementing a variety of means to reduce production costs: cutting budgets, producing fewer episodes (CBS’ FBI franchise is one notable example), limiting the appearances of series regulars (“Permanent Damage” itself did not include Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo), who was “away at a training conference”), and pay cuts, among others.

Chicago Fire has already seen several of its veteran cast part ways with the series, for any one of the reasons listed above, as has its One Chicago kin. For Daniel Kyri and Jake Lockett specifically, it’s speculated that stalled salary renegotiations may have been what influenced NBC’s decision to let the actors go at the end of Chicago Fire‘s 13th Season. Knowing the two actors are not returning for Season 14, though, makes the timing of the two storylines involving the characters odd, to say the least.

The Recent Developments Involving ‘Chicago Fire’s Carver and Ritter Make Little Sense

With the end of Carver and Ritter’s run on the show fast approaching, it just makes little sense to have them involved in such prominent plot elements. Carver was already off-screen for prior episodes, so they had an easy out with the character. So why bring Carver back for a token four appearances? It hardly seems like enough time to bring a satisfactory conclusion to the Carver/Violet relationship, which means… well, we’ll get there shortly.

As for Ritter, inviting Novak to move in with him is a big life change for both characters. There’s so much potential in the situation, on many fronts. Comically, it lends itself easily to an Odd Couple-type living situation that plays well into Chicago Fire‘s winning balance of the dramatic and the humorous. Conversely, the situation looks like it would have given Kyri something deeper to work with, something teased at by his reaction at the end of the episode when he’s taken aback by Jack Damon’s (Michael Bradway) appearance to meet up with Novak for dinner. How does he reconcile himself with having allowed his solitude to be infringed upon without thinking through what that all entails?

Wrapping Up Carver and Ritter’s Character Arcs on ‘Chicago Fire’ Isn’t Going to be Pretty

It may not be logical, but Carver and Ritter are where they are at this point in the series, so how does Chicago Fire bring an end to their character arcs? Odds are good that it’s not going to be pretty for either character. Three episodes – the first of which, “Cut Me Open,” airs on May 7 – are not going to be long enough to bring a crowd-pleasing, satisfactory wrap to at least one character’s arc for sure, and more likely both.

Of the two, Ritter’s arc is the only one that has the possibility of ending positively. There’s been no tease of him being moved out of Chicago, no promise of a new job or family drama to prompt it, but it doesn’t mean something doesn’t come up. But if it’s going to happen, it has to be in this upcoming episode to give time for a proper send-off from his Firehouse 51 teammates and, more importantly, for the fans who’ve come to love him.

Or, Ritter’s arc can end on a sour note, which, unfortunately, seems to be the direction the series is taking Carver’s final days. By not taking the easy way out with Carver’s exit, as discussed above, then bringing him back is going to end in one of two ways: heartbreak, or tragedy. They’ve just reunited him with Violet, and by having them work together to track down a rogue medic, that spark between them is definitely reignited, and unless NBC plans on shipping both actors out, that fire’s going out one way or the other.

The lesser of two evils has Carver leaving town on his own accord for some reason, leaving Violet heartbroken. The other, and sadly, more likely scenario sees Carver leaving Firehouse 51 in a box, a casualty of a season-ending catastrophic blaze, leaving Violet and 51 heartbroken. The only question then is if Chicago Fire doubles-down on the catastrophe, with both Carver and Ritter sent off to the great beyond as heroes. Given how often we as fans have been on an emotional roller coaster this season, it may not be so crazy to believe. Certainly no less crazy than giving two outgoing characters engaging storylines heading into their final three episodes.

Chicago Fire returns next Wednesday for the final three episodes of Season 13 on NBC in the U.S.