Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 19, "Permanent Damage" is the first episode after news broke that Daniel Kyri, who plays Darren Ritter, and Jake Lockett, who plays Sam Carver, would be leaving at the end of the season. And yet the hour does absolutely nothing to set up their exits from Firehouse 51. Instead, the episode seems to do more to integrate them into the storylines of Firehouse 51, with Ritter letting Novak move into his spare bedroom and Carver teaming up with Violet to track down a rogue medic who left a patient to die
It seems like setup for Carver and Violet to get back together, something fans had been waiting for, and a setup for more of Ritter's entertaining dynamic with Novak and Violet. Which is why it's so jarring to learn that both characters would be leaving the show. There are only three more episodes after "Permanent Damage, and the trailer for the next one shows that it will be pretty focused on Stella and Kelly possibly adopting a baby, so it's unlikely that too much of it can be dedicated to setting up Ritter and Carver's exits.
That means the show will then have just two episodes to write them out. For two characters who have become so integral to the firehouse, that's hard to do. And it's probably a very bad omen. Because the only way to write out characters really fast that doesn't need a setup is a death. And Chicago Fire has pulled that card a few times before. It just really hasn't in a while, not in a way we truly care about. Monica Pascal doesn't really count.
But with so little time left and so much of "Permanent Damage" dedicated to their storylines moving forward, it does seem like the likely scenario is we might lose at least one of them, if not both. Both would be very cruel. But there's a scenario where we lose one in an emergency. And afterwards, whoever survives would leave after just not being able to stay in the Firehouse or even in the profession. It would be sad, but it would make sense, and it would hurt less than losing both of them in a fire.
Considering how this show hurt us with Leslie Shay (Lauren German) way back in Season 2, and then Otis (Yuri Sardarov) in Season 7, not to mention Evan Hawkins (Jimmy Nicholas) in Season 10, it's impossible to rule out this possibility. Particularly because both Carver and Ritter getting offers from other firehouses or having personal issues that take them away at the same time sounds unlikely, especially without setup.
The only thing that gives us pause is poor Violet (Hanako Greensmith). She already lost her boyfriend in a fire a few seasons ago, and her best friend Gallo left last season. Now she's going to lose her other best friend and her ex. How is she even supposed to go on? Would the show really do that to her? And then we remember all this show has put other characters through and think, yes, of course it would.
Chicago Fire is available to stream on Peacock.
