Jake Lockett won’t reveal whether Sam Carver and Violet Mikami are Chicago Fire’s ultimate targets, but he does know why Carver rejected her apology in the season 13 premiere.
Lockett, who plays firefighter Carver, told Us Weekly exclusively on Tuesday, October 1, that his character spent six weeks off-camera “trying to figure out how to move past this situation” with Violet (Hanako Greensmith).
While Carver was on leave from the fire department, he thought Violet would change — and come clean to him about her feelings for him — but instead, he got the same old story from her.
Lockett, 39, said of Violet’s actions in the premiere, which aired on September 25: “You’re sitting here trying to do that old thing where you’re just wading through it, not really [committing], like, half-heartedly talking about it.” Chicago’s Most Memorable Couples: Linstead, Dawsey, and More He noted that, in Carver’s view, he had learned that he “couldn’t do it anymore.” Carver “told you everything,” and when Violet “didn’t respond” and she “didn’t pursue me,” Carver refused to “sit here and play around with her indifference anymore.”
In the season 12 finale in May, Carver was shocked by a call involving an abusive father and his son, who had been burned in a kitchen accident. (Carver had been pushed into a campfire by his brother as a child, which was a trigger for him.) After that incident—and telling Violet he loved her and she just stood there—he took a six-week leave of absence. Season 13 aired after Carver returned from Texas. At the time, Violet told her Firehouse 51 friends that she had planned to tell him she had feelings for him and apologize for her inaction, but before she had the chance, he turned her down.
One of Chicago’s most heartbreaking departures: Monica Raymund, Jesse Lee Soffer, and more Carver was also surprised when he was picked up after a shift by a mystery woman he apparently started dating in Texas.
“I don’t want to give anything away,” Lockett teased when asked about the new woman, named Tori (Holly Hinchliffe). He explained that Carver’s connection to Tori was a coping mechanism after he broke up with Violet.
He told Us, “Sometimes it’s easier not to move on than it is, you know, dealing with someone you actually [have] to like.”
Lockett admitted that Carver felt “a little traumatized” after letting Violet into his world and she didn’t immediately reciprocate those feelings.
According to Lockett, the lingering feelings on both sides will be a big part of episode 2, which airs Wednesday, Oct. 2.
“Carver shut Violet down when she tried to talk to him [last week]. There’s going to be a little bit of him trying to avoid that situation at work, which is going to be… difficult,” the actor teased to Us. “I mean, we work hand in hand.”
A Chicago star has confirmed that they will—or won’t—be back together: Jon Seda, Monica Raymund, and more. He revealed that during a call involving an injured woman in a bathroom, Violet and Carver’s drama will “spill over” into their working relationship.
“Violet, like, those feelings don’t go away for her. “She’s going to have to figure out how to deal with that,” Lockett continued. “In those moments of weakness, does something slip out? How does that become an issue? There’s definitely going to be some drama.”
He hinted that there will be some “pretty compelling” episodes involving exes this season. “I’m looking forward to people watching him grow as a person,” Lockett added.
One Chicago Cast Dating History: Who the Stars Have Dated in Real Life When it comes to whether Carver and Violet could make up, Lockett was coy. “In a world where they end up together, which I don’t know what the situation is — we don’t have that in the script — I think he just needs someone who’s willing to meet him where he is,” he said. “I think she’s going to have to be more caring and be willing to be honest about where she is.”
Greensmith, for his part, told Us exclusively last month that Violet and Carver will be “doing a little dance” in season 13. They’re “finding their feet in new situations that both have each other and don’t have each other.”
Lockett agreed with his co-star’s metaphor of the dance between firefighters and paramedics. “Sometimes you’re walking in rhythm and sometimes you’re tripping over each other’s toes,” he joked. “So a dance is a great way to turn that into a metaphor for how we’re going to deal with each other.”
