The character doesn’t have much longer on the firefighting drama.
Sam Carver (Jake Lockett), we hardly knew ye. It has been confirmed that the character will not be returning to Chicago Fire if the series gets picked up for an additional season. We know you’re upset, and so are we. Carver brought an intensity and energy to Chicago Fire in his three seasons, and while he’d been suffering from personal issues in recent episodes, it seemed likely that he would bounce back and become a Firehouse 51 veteran.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case. Carver has a handful of episodes left, and as such, we are going to roll out a few different theories on how the Chicago Fire writing team could get rid of the character. We favor some of these theories over others, but we cannot rule any of them out since there’s no time to set up a long term exit storyline.
Carver relapses and checks back into rehab
The firefighter, who debuted in season 11, has struggled with alcohol addiction for the bulk of the year. It became such an issue in his personal life, in fact, that he briefly resorted to taking extra night shifts because he found he could stay sober when he was working.
Carver’s realization that he wasn’t going to be able to sustain this workload forever, coupled with the argument he had with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), led to him requesting a leave of absence to go to rehab. An easy way to write the character off the show would be to have this addiction problem resurface, and have him leave in an effort to squash it for good.
Carver’s temper resurfaces and he gets transferred
Sam Carver (Jake Lockett), we hardly knew ye. It has been confirmed that the character will not be returning to Chicago Fire if the series gets picked up for an additional season. We know you’re upset, and so are we. Carver brought an intensity and energy to Chicago Fire in his three seasons, and while he’d been suffering from personal issues in recent episodes, it seemed likely that he would bounce back and become a Firehouse 51 veteran.
Unfortunately, this will not be the case. Carver has a handful of episodes left, and as such, we are going to roll out a few different theories on how the Chicago Fire writing team could get rid of the character. We favor some of these theories over others, but we cannot rule any of them out since there’s no time to set up a long term exit storyline.
Carver relapses and checks back into rehab
The firefighter, who debuted in season 11, has struggled with alcohol addiction for the bulk of the year. It became such an issue in his personal life, in fact, that he briefly resorted to taking extra night shifts because he found he could stay sober when he was working.
Carver’s realization that he wasn’t going to be able to sustain this workload forever, coupled with the argument he had with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith), led to him requesting a leave of absence to go to rehab. An easy way to write the character off the show would be to have this addiction problem resurface, and have him leave in an effort to squash it for good.
Carver’s temper resurfaces and he gets transferred
Carver has been known to fly off the handle, whether it be toward civilians or his superiors. He has been dealt suspensions because of this behavior, and he nearly lost his job when he defended Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) against a stalker in season 11.
Assuming the firefighter has kicked his drinking habits for good, we could be looking an instance in which he’s more on edge, and prone to getting frustrated on the job. We wouldn’t want to see this one go down, as it suggests a sort of regression for the character, but it would be in line with who we’ve come to know over the years.
Carver decides to get a fresh start away from Violet
Lots of Chicago Fire characters have packed up their things and left Firehouse 51 behind in an effort to get a fresh start. We saw it with Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende) most recently. Carver still has feelings for Violet, as evidenced by the episode in which he talked about her to his (sketchy) AA buddy.
Carver’s ongoing issues may prove to be too much, however, and the firefighter may feel like taking himself out of the picture, and not working alongside Violet on a daily basis, will be healthier for both of them in the long run. It’d be sad, but it would at least acknowledge the strength of the bond they have made.
Carver tragically dies in the line of duty
The worst option. Sam Carver is not a character we want to see die, and the fact that Chicago Fire used him as a decoy in the episode “Post Mortem” before revealing that Damon (Michael Bradway) was the one who got injured in a house fire, makes the idea of a work-related death redundant.
Carver dying in a fire would also be devastating for Violet, who is still dealing with the trauma of the death of Evan Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas) under similar circumstances. We don’t think Fire would go this route, but sadly, we can’t rule it out entirely. Let’s hope Carver leaves 51 on his own accord.
