Spoilers ahead for Episode 13 of Chicago Fire Season 11, called “The Man of the Moment.”
Chicago Fire had seemingly settled the crew at Firehouse 51 after some early conflict between Stella and Carver, and both survived the explosive cliffhanger to return to work on Truck. Now, fans who keep up with Fire news know that a break is on the way for Kelly Severide as Taylor Kinney takes a leave of absence from the show. While it’s still a mystery as to how the show will write Severide out for however long he’s gone, another firefighter is seemingly being set up for a farewell. Can Carver really stick around after “The Man of the Moment” and his tense exchange with his lieutenant?
In fairness to Carver, he had a very stressful episode not too long after he confided in Stella that he’d gotten his ugly scar at the age of just six, when his 15-year-old brother Nathan had shoved him into a fire. His brother showed back up in his life in “The Man of the Moment,” asking for a lot of money. After a bit of gentle prodding from the lieutenant, Carver opened up about it, and she was nothing but supportive and sympathetic.
Still, he decided to give his brother the money… and she decided to crash the exchange between the brothers to make the point that Carver is a hero as a firefighter. Right in front of Nathan, she dropped the news that both she and Carver were receiving the Firefighter Award of Valor for saving Detective Pryma, and that it was something to be very proud of.
Later, back at Firehouse 51, Carver learned that she had her own experience with toxic families, and she said that it’s “one of the many reasons to appreciate having this 51 family.” It seemed like they had made a breakthrough with each other, but that went sideways by the end when he crossed a major line and snapped at his lieutenant. He said:
I don’t wanna do this happy 51 family act, okay? This isn’t my family. This is a workplace. And it’s getting pretty damn suffocating, to be honest.
Stella walked away, but didn’t let it go and told the story to Severide, who told her that it was “unacceptable.” She told her husband that after what happened, part of her wondered if Carver would ever really fit in at 51. Severide pointed out that Boden has seen her hard work with Carver, and that Boden would respect her decision to transfer him out if she doesn’t think he’s the right fit for the long term.
While the episode ended without any kind of commitment that Stella was going to pursue transferring Carver out of 51, the promo shows that another confrontation is on the way. Take a look:
On top of Stella telling Carver that she can’t work with him if she can’t trust him, Violet will apparently plant a big kiss on Gallo in front of their coworkers at Molly’s! It seems unlikely that they’ve been secretly dating all this time, and I’d say that what little we can see of his face looks surprised. It hasn’t been that long since she was still mourning Hawkins, after all!
As for when Severide’s final episode before Taylor Kinney goes on leave will air… well, that hasn’t been announced yet. As of the end of “The Man of the Moment,” I’m hoping more than ever that Fire explains his absence by sending him to Oregon to visit Casey, and that Kinney gets all the time he needs.
Find out if Carver still has a future at Firehouse 51 with new episodes of Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC in the winter TV premiere schedule. You can also revisit past episodes of One Chicago streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription while waiting for official news about whether the three shows will be renewed for the 2023-2024 TV season.
