Violet’s emotions running high after Monica dies likely has something to do with her own experience of unexpectedly losing a loved one. In Chicago Fire season 10, her romantic partner, Chief Evan Hawkins, suddenly died during a freak accident while responding to a case. It may have already been few years now, with Violet already moving on, but it shouldn’t be underestimated how grief can come back in waves. Knowing that Chief Pascal is about to undergo a similar pain triggers Violet’s past trauma, resulting in her reaction.
Chief Evans’ death was one of the most jaw-dropping losses in recent years of One Chicago, even though he wasn’t technically a member of the first responder procedural’s core cast. To make things worse, he and Violet were just in the process of stabilizing their relationship following a series of personal and professional issues that stemmed from him being her boss. Chicago Fire also didn’t even hint that a devastating loss was upon Firehouse 51. It happened in a random episode in the middle of the year.
It’s worth noting that this doesn’t mean that Violet cannot be in a healthy relationship. As previously noted, she has been in a couple of partnerships since Chief Evans died — the most notable one was with Sam Carver. However, the pair’s brewing affair was cut short after he suspected that she was still hung up on her late ex, while she assumed that he was in love with Kidd — something that may have been true in his earliest days at Firehouse 51, but clearly, not anymore. Still, one would assume that seeing a similar tragedy could bring the trauma back to the surface for Violet.
While Hank Voight’s Intelligence team also go through various missions where they risk their lives, as they deal with criminals, the people at Firehouse 51 have been the closest to danger whenever they are on-shift out of all the squads in One Chicago. They run towards collapsing buildings and save people from precarious situations. Granted that Chicago Fire season 13, episode 15’s latest casualty is not a member of Chief Pascal’s respond team, Mouch, Kidd, and the rest responding to a freak accident where someone is killed still highlights how much they are exposed to trauma.
Violet being very emotional upon Monica’s death may seem like an inconsequential element, but it’s a great way to really emphasize the emotional toll that this job brings on them without bogging the show down. Granted that watching Monica die is making her relive memories of Chief Evans’ final moment, it shouldn’t also be forgotten how that’s compounded with so many other tragedies that she has seen firsthand. It’s curious if this is something that Chicago Fire season 13 will explore in future episodes, especially if Violet wants to rekindle her romance with Carver.
