There has been a lot of change going on at Firehouse 51 this season on Chicago Fire but one former member of the 51 family might soon be making their way back to the firehouse in a more regular capacity.
As revealed in the synopsis for Chicago Fire season 13, episode 16, “In the Rubble,” Damon will be looking to make his way back to 51 following his exit from the firehouse earlier this season. The synopsis teases that Damon heads back to the floater pool with his hope being to secure a permanent spot at 51 and honestly the timing makes perfect sense.
Early in the season, we saw Damon getting put back into the floater pool after tensions rose at 51 with Damon stepping out of line by trying to make a name for himself. Damon eventually landed at another firehouse and things seemed to be going well, but this storyline resulted in him missing several episodes this season before returning to the mix in the show’s more recent episodes.
In catching up with Damon upon his return, we come to see that he’s really come into his own as a firefighter and is a much different person than he was when he last left 51. All seemed to be going well for Damon at his new firehouse until a call ended in a near-disaster when a veteran member of the firehouse turned tail and left Damon on his own in a fire. At first, Damon made it clear he had no intention of causing issues for his colleague but when his lieutenant pressed him for the truth about what happened on the call, Damon’s colleagues at Firehouse 20 quickly turned on him dubbing him a rat.
With tensions rising at Firehouse 20, Severide opened up to Kidd about not knowing what to do and she made the suggestion that they could try to find Damon a more permanent place at 51 in recognizing his growth since leaving the firehouse. Coupling that foreshadowing moment with the confirmation that Damon is now going to be setting his sights on a return to 51, it seems like we could very well see Damon becoming a mainstay on the show once again if all goes well.
Damon’s return to Chicago Fire could spell trouble for Carver
Now, it needs to be pointed out that Damon’s return to Firehouse 51 could very well spell trouble for Carver, as it’s his absence at the firehouse that opens the door for Damon to return to Truck via the floater pool and potentially in a more permanent position. Should Damon land a permanent place on Truck once again working as part of Kidd’s team, we have to question what that could mean for Carver’s future.
At the moment, we know that Carver has had to take a step back from his responsibilities at 51 in order to take care of his health by entering rehab and battling his alcohol addiction. When he stepped away, it was not made clear exactly how long he might be away or whether he would be coming back, though the latter has definitely been the assumption among fans as there has been no statement from NBC about Jake Lockett leaving the show.
One would assume that Carver’s position would remain available for him, but if Damon comes back to 51 as a part of Truck, we have to wonder if that could mean Carver’s place might be put in jeopardy. After all, it was Ritter who ended up filling Damon’s former place on the team and so Damon’s return to 51 would have to come via the vacancy left by Carver.
Should Damon achieve his goal of coming back to 51, it’ll be really interesting to see what it might mean for Carver but we truly hope that Damon’s return won’t result in Carver’s time away from 51 becoming a permanent exit. All we know is that we're hoping for a best of both worlds outcome which could see Damon returning to 51 and Carver remaining a part of Truck's team as well upon his return.