Why Carver will be an important character on Chicago Fire season 12

Chicago Fire is going to be look pretty different in 2024. Sure, fans will be getting back Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney) back, but they will also be losing familiar faces like Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer), Blake Gallo (Alberto Rosende), and for the second time, Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer).

That’s a lot of turnover. The show has never made this many drastic changes in such a small amount of time, and it will definitely take a little bit for the writers and the viewers to get their footing with this updated version of the 51. The character we think will be crucial to establishing all of this is Sam Carver (Jake Lockett).

Carver will get more Chicago Fire storylines than ever before

Carver was a bit of a loose cannon when he was first introduced in season 11, especially when it came to his dealings with his superior, Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo). The bond they developed over the course of the season led to some great dramatic moments, though, culminating with the facing a suspension for defending Kidd against a stalker.

Carver has mellowed somewhat, but he’s still much closer to a younger version of Severide than Casey. He has the same self-destructive tendencies and the same inner-demons, which makes his bond with Kidd all the more fascinating (though, perhaps not for healthy reasons). Carver definitely served as a surrogate for Kidd when her husband was on leave, and the realization of this will be interesting to explore further in season 12.

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It’s unclear how big a role Severide will play in season 12, but since Casey and Gallo are leaving, a lot of the romantic subplots and action set pieces will be left to Carver. He will have to fill the void left by Casey in the hierarchy of the firehouse, and the void left by Gallo in the younger division of employees.

The season 11 finale has already started to lay the groundwork for the latter. There was some real chemistry between Carver and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) during the episode, so there’s a distinct possibility the two could become romantically involved after Gallo leaves. There’s also the possibility they could hook up before Gallo leaves, which would add yet another complicated piece to the character’s relationship with Violet.

The exciting part about Carver is the same thing that makes predicting his season 12 arc difficult: we don’t know that much about him. He opened up to Kidd about his traumatic childhood, and the reason behind his sporadic outbursts, but he will be given a lot more screen time and with it, a lot more character development.

We didn’t anticipate Carver being one of the most important characters in the show when he was first introduced, but such is the nature of television. We’re sad to see the veterans leave, but we’re also excited to see what the future of Chicago Fire holds.

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