Chicago Fire is riding high off the monentum of its past few episodes. The first half of season 13 was solid, but it really feels like the show has hit a stride on the back end. "Bar Time" keeps the streak alive with an entertaining blend of personal and professional drama.
The notion of blending the personal and the professional is especially poignant in this episode. 51 is tasked with working with a paramedic who is planning to travel overseas for the army. The Chicago FD believes riding along with Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) and Lyla Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) will do a lot to boost their skillset.
Sounds good, right? Well, it immediately gets complicated. The medic in question is Scott Osbourne. A man we have never met before, but Novak has. Osbourne and Novak used to be a couple, and were even engaged at one point, as the latter tells Violet. All signs point to things having ended badly.
Carver's attempted sobriety sparks conflict
Violet does the very important job of filling the rest of 51 in on the Novak situation, but she stumbles upon some drama of her own. She discovers that Sam Carver (Jake Lockett) has been working shifts at another firehouse, and is shocked by the reason why when she finally confronts him about it.
Carver then recounts the incident that happened a week prior, where a supposed friend of his broke into Violet's home and attempted to hurt her on Carver's "behalf." The firefighter admits being scared by what happened, and felt like he should distance himself from Violet and everybody else he cares about. He's also stopped attending AA meetings because he feels like it hasn't helped.
The romantic strife is serious this episode. Novak and Osbourne, meanwhile, dig into their past. We learn that the former broke things off without even telling Osbourne, which understandably led to a lot of frustration on his part. Novak apparently ghosted her ex-fiancee and left his ring behind. Ouch. As the episode wears on, though, Novak and Osbourne come to grips with their mistakes, and they end on much better terms that they started. A Novak apology helped.
Lyla Novak makes peace with her ex-fiance
Just when we thought Novak would steal the show, though, the finale realigns the entire episode around Carver. Violet confronts the firefighter after claiming that she smells alcohol on him. Carver assures her that he's sober on the job, and that he had a drink spilled on him during an emergency call to help a drunk drinker. Violet doesn't buy it, and things get nasty. They fight, and Carver walks.
The character ultimately decides to step away from Firehouse 51. He alludes to only being able to stay sober when he's on the job, which is why he's been taking extra shifts. He is going to have to tackle his drinking problem head on. Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) tells Carver that she's proud of his tough decision.
The emotional cherry on top is the letter he leaves Violet following his decision. "You’ve always mattered," the letter read. "See you on the other side." It's a pretty devastating moment for both Violet and the fans, and it suggests we still have a long way to go with regard to Violet and Carver reestablishing their connection. We don't know how long Carver will be gone, but we hope he does what he needs to in order to find peace.