In the season premiere of Chicago Fire, Hold on Tight, we were introduced to a brand new hero, Sam Carver, played by Jake Lockett, who might be new to us, but Carver isn’t new to Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo.)
Kidd and Carver went to the academy together and not only was she familiar with him, she wasn’t exactly a fan of his and told Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) flat out, “With all due respect, he’s not 51 material.” Boden sees it a different way and gives an order that Kidd be the one to lead him.
“Stella and Carver were rivals in school,” says co-showrunner Andrea Newman. “There’s friction from the moment he arrives, and Boden has a reason for bringing him in over Kidd’s objections. We love this actor, Jake. He brings a lot to the character of Carver, who’s a mystery. We keep calling him a man of mystery with a lot of layers to peel back.”
Kidd attempts to clear the air with Carver and he minimizes their past by saying that they were both just competitive, but Kidd believes the arrogant behavior she remembered will be a problem.
When Kidd attempts to check his attitude by informing him that she is a Lieutenant, he makes a condescending comment that leads her to believe he was implying she only got the promotion because she is a woman of color, which increases her disdain for him.
When Kidd tells Severide (Taylor Kinney) about the interaction, he tries to reassure her, but she’s left feeling dismissed and feels that Carver hasn’t changed much since they last saw each other.
Kidd sidelines Carver on his first job out by giving him a less-intense responsibility, much to the dismay of Boden, but Kidd stands behind her decision and tells Boden that he has to prove himself to her first.
CHICAGO FIRE — “Completely Shattered” Episode 1103 — Pictured: (l-r) David Eigenberg as Christopher Herrmann, Christian Stolte as Randy “Mouch” McHolland, Alberto Rosende as Blake Gallo, Jake Lockett as Sam Carver, Daniel Kyri as Darren Ritter, Miranda Rae Mayo as Stella Kidd — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
CHICAGO FIRE — “Every Scar Tells a Story” Episode 1102 — Pictured: Jake Lockett as Carver — (Photo by: Adrian S Burrows Sr/NBC)
During the episode, the camera pans to a scar on Carver’s arm, which pulls viewers into the character, leading us to wonder what happened? Chicago Fire co-showrunner Andrea Newman tells NBC Insider, “We know what it is. We’re ‘gonna get into that.”
In the second episode of the season, titled Every Scar Tells a Story, Capp (Randy Flagler) questions Carver about his old scar saying every scar has a story. Carver explains that he got the scar in a house fire when he had a tear in his coat that he was unaware of. Kidd gives him a skeptical look and later confronts him about his story.
Before Kidd has a chance to ask him what’s the real story behind the scar, she witnesses him throwing a tantrum in front of Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) after they tell him that Andre, one of the construction workers, whom Carver is friends with, will have to have his leg amputated due to the extent of his injury.
Kidd catches up with Carver and attempts to extend an olive branch by asking if she can tag along with him when he visits Andre at Med. The two go together and visit him but he is still unconscious after the surgery. Carver tells the Andre’s wife that he used to work with him and she is appreciative of their heroism, but tells Carver and Kidd that the construction company is blaming Andre for the accident. Carver is flabbergasted when he hears that insurance might not cover Andre’s claim if he is found negligent as his wife continues on, saying that they are accusing him of digging in an area where he wasn’t supposed to be digging. Carver refuses to believe his old friend was negligent and he tells Kidd that there is something fishy going on.
Kidd gets a copy of the accident report filed by the construction company. Unfortunately for Andre, the report claims that he didn’t pay attention to the areas marked by the city and the foreman and the entire crew signed the report, alleging that Andre is guilty of operator error.
Carver still believes that his friend is innocent and almost begs Kidd to allow him to return to the scene to determine if the report is true or false. Kidd agrees and the two head to the site to investigate for themselves. The flags are in fact there, however Carver discovers one flag is in the middle of the tire tracks of their own fire truck, which would mean that the flags were put there AFTER the accident.
The foreman approaches Kidd and Carver asking them what they are doing and Carver asks him who moved the flags. The man claims they were always there but Carver insists that the fire truck was parked in that very same location. The foreman tells them that they need to leave and walks away from them. Kidd believes Carver is correct and says, “that man is lying” to Carver as he walks away.
Kidd finds Carver and he explains how the construction company is known for cutting corners and she surmised that the foreman was trying to move the flags back to where they belonged when they arrived at the scene in hopes of covering up his own negligence. She questions why the entire crew is backing the lying and negligent foreman and he explains that they don’t want to rock the boat and lose their ability to work in the industry.
The two now start working as a team to prove Andre’s innocence and Carver asks why Kidd is helping him, knowing that she doesn’t like him. She explains that Boden sees something special in him and she wanted to see it for herself. They visit Andre again in the hospital and this time he’s awake. They show him the report and he is infuriated and insulted.
Carver manipulates one of the crew to come to Andre’s hospital room, since all of the workers were instructed to avoid seeing or speaking to Andre. While there, they confront him about lying on the report and tell him that they know he knows the truth. The worker is appalled when he realizes that Andre has lost his leg and that his lie is preventing him from insurance coverage. We are left to assume he agrees to tell the truth.
While our heroes enjoy some drinks at Molly’s, Kidd takes the opportunity to corner Carver to reveal the real story about the scar on his arm. He again refuses to disclose the story behind it.
In the third episode, Completely Shattered, Boden approaches Carver for a quick check-in, to make sure he has acclimating to the team well. Carver tells him that he’s happy and everything is going great. Knowing that Kidd was against Carver joining 51, Boden specifically asks about her and Carver tells Boden that she’s “an outstanding Lieutenant” and that they are getting along great. He does concede that their personalities are a bit different, but claims that’s what makes the job more thrilling. Boden flashes a smile at Carver.
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Jake Lockett’s face and piercing blue eyes might seem familiar and that’s because he has appeared on several notable TV shows including Masters of Sex, NCIS: Los Angeles, Community, Scorpion, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Hawaii Five-0. He’s had more recent roles in Maggie, The Big Leap, Fam, and most notably Capital One Venture X commercials.
According to co-showrunners Derek Haas and Andrea Newman, we will be seeing a lot more of Carver this season.
“He’s a great firefighter, which is valuable to any rig in our group,” Haas told NBC Insider. “But it’s all the stuff that goes beyond that. How you behave out of the firehouse, off-shift. Who you hang out with. Some of the darker places you end up in. All of this will be affecting Stella.”
Chicago Fire executive producers include Dick Wolf, Derek Haas, Todd Arnow, Andrea Newman, Michael Gilvary, Michael Brandt, Reza Tabrizi, Arthur W. Forney, Peter Jankowski.
Chicago Fire is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment. Filmed at Cinespace Chicago Film Studio.
