The Chicago Fire season 14 finale featured some fun callbacks to characters who have since left the show, but fans might be surprised to know that a former star of the NBC drama actually did return for the finale… just not in front of the camera.
Before the finale left fans speechless with its shocking cliffhanger, it gave viewers a celebration of Cindy and Herrmann with the pair renewing their vows. For the theme of gratitude, Violet and Novak came up with the idea to create a wall of gratitude in which guests could bring photos of family and friends they’re thankful for.
This wall of gratitude gave us brief tributes to characters from the show’s past, including Chief Boden and paramedic chief Evan Hawkins. It was a fun way to honor a few special characters who made an impact on the lives of the characters, and the nod to Hawkins was a touching moment for Violet, who has been a bit unlucky in love since Hawkins’ death.
After the death of Hawkins, Violet was slow to open her heart back up, but she’d eventually begin dating again before falling for Carver. Time was never on their side, though, and Carver ended up leaving town to get a fresh start. Shortly after, Violet began to develop feelings for Vasquez, but things got complicated when she ended up in a love triangle with her best friend and fellow paramedic, Novak.
Fans got to see the return from Carver in season 14 when Jake Lockett reprised his role in episode 11, “Frostbite Blue,” with Carver passing through town with his unit. His visit certainly made it clear he wasn’t over Violet, and his exit left fans with more unanswered questions rather than providing them with closure. We’d hoped that Carver would return later in the season, but that sadly never happened. Though Lockett did return for the finale, just not in front of the camera.
One Chicago Podcast host and Chicago Fire director of photography Anthony Lullo revealed via behind-the-scenes footage that Lockett was on set for the finale, soaking up knowledge about the production side of the show. In one video shared by Lullo, we see Lockett working the camera and being guided by one of the show’s camera operators on how to maneuver the camera.
This also explains why Lockett was on set when the season 15 renewal was announced. He was not there filming new scenes but rather working behind the scenes, shadowing Lullo and the crew during the production of the season 14 finale.
While Lockett was not credited in the episode, we would not be surprised if he was shadowing the production team in the finale with the intention of perhaps directing an episode of Chicago Fire in the future. We’ve seen many stars of the franchise go on to direct episodes, and it would make sense for Lockett to shadow the creative team before jumping into the deep end to potentially direct an episode in season 15.
Of course, as fans we always like when an actor is back on set to reprise their character, but it’s certainly nice to see the One Chicago shows allow their cast to learn more about the production side of the show. And who knows, perhaps Lockett returning to direct an episode in the future could lead to his return on-camera as Carver as well. After all, we did see this with Jesse Lee Soffer, who returned to direct before returning as Jay Halstead following his exit from the show.
Add us as a preferred source on Google