“We got to tell each other how we really felt,” Violet told her friends. “Most people never get that chance.”
Firehouse 51 is experiencing some serious shake-ups on Season 14 of Chicago Fire, and it’s safe to say that paramedic Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) is feeling the absence of firefighter Sam Carver (Jake Lockett).
The will-they-won’t-they between Violet and Carver had fans glued to their screens for several seasons as the pair navigated both personal and professional setbacks to their happily-ever-after. Carver and Violet nearly dated before Violet’s hesitations propelled Carver to take a leave of absence, later returning to Chicago with mixed feelings and a troubling alcohol problem. As Carver worked to gain sobriety, his turbulent relationship with Violet complicated that progress, even as Violet and Carver began actualizing their feelings for each other.
Why Carver left Chicago Fire
Right after Violet came clean about her feelings for Carver, he explained that he’d decided to accept a firefighting position in Denver in hopes of charting a new course. Before leaving Chicago, Carver visited Violet to tell her he loved her, and the couple shared a long kiss as they bid farewell.
Violet and Carver’s cliffhanger ending left many wondering if they’d get ever back together, and fans got to learn more about the status of Carver and Violet’s relationship in Chicago Fire’s Season 14 premiere (“Kicking Down Doors”). Read more, below:
Carver and Violet are giving each other space to “move on”
Viewers were treated to a much-needed relationship status update after Darren Ritter (Daniel Kyri) gave his best friends Violet and Lizzie Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) the lowdown on 51’s cocky newcomer, Sal Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente). Vasquez replaced Carver as the driver of the rig, so he has some big shoes to fill.
“Carver came in with that attitude, too,” Ritter shrugged.
“I remember,” Violet smiled. “Kidd whipped him into shape pretty fast.”
Upon mention of 51’s former firefighter and Violet’s ex-lover, Ritter and Novak nervously turned to Violet for an update on how she and Carver were doing.
“There’s still no contact,” Violet informed them. “We’re standing on our agreement to give each other space to move on.”
Ritter and Novak were a tad deflated by this answer, looking at Violet with some pity. But Violet was keen to set the record straight.
“I’m not letting it be all sad, OK?” Violet told her friends. “We got to tell each other how we really felt. Most people never get that chance.”
At that, Ritter and Novak dropped it, agreeing that Violet and Carver ended their relationship as amicably as they could have.
Chicago Fire’s showrunner weighs in on Carver’s potential return
Chicago Fire’s showrunner Andrea Newman opened up about Carver’s journey outside of Firehouse 51 in a post-Season 13 interview with NBC Insider, explaining that the writers didn’t want to romanticize his battle with alcoholism.
“Carver is really on a journey of his own that he’s been on for a while, and we wanted to portray that in a realistic way,” Newman told NBC Insider. “Not kind of make it too sweet and easy, what he’s going through. So what he’s going through is a lot.”
When asked if Lockett’s character may return to the Windy City anytime soon, Newman revealed that it was unclear what awaited on the horizon.
“We may not have Carver full-time next season, but we may have him for a bunch of it too, and I think there’s a lot left to figure out between [Violet and Carver],” Newman told NBC Insider. “The main thing I’d say is that the fact that [Violet] was able to articulate [her love for him] is such a journey for her, that she actually got to that place.”
“After everything she went through with Hawkins, and everything the first go-around with Carver, that she got to a place where she could say that was a major evolution for her, too,” Newman explained, echoing Violet’s sentiment in the Season 14 premiere.
Find out what happens to Violet next by watching Season 14 of Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC, or stream episodes the next day on Peacock.
