A fan-favorite character is saying goodbye in Chicago Fire Season 13.
This latest season of the hit NBC procedural has seen its fair share of departures.
Whether it was this newest exit or Dermot Mulroney's Chief Dom Pascal earlier in the year, fans have been on their toes as some of the show's biggest names have taken a bow and left the series.
What Happened to Carver on Chicago Fire?
Fans have been itching to know what happened to Jake Lockett's Carver on Chicago Fire as the series says goodbye to a fan-favorite character.
Lockett's recurring firefighter character has been a part of the series since Season 11, popping up over time as a rival to Miranda Rae Mayo's Firefighter Stella Kidd (who has also experienced an exit scare in 2024), joining the team at Station 51, and becoming a part of the show's central team.
Fans have seen Carver backslide into a pattern of destructive behavior. This dates back to Season 12, as the character slipped into a debilitating drug habit and pursued a stint in rehab at the start of Season 13.
However, the show's most recent episode brought him back into the fold, as he was revealed to have returned from treatment ready to keep the people of Chicago safe again (read more about Carver's return here).
Season 13, Episode 18 ("Post-Mortem") saw several firefighters injured during a call gone wrong, with Carver being one of the candidates to have bitten the dust.
The episode spends much of its runtime dealing with the fallout of this mystery firefighter's identity, leading many to believe Carver had died and was not coming back.
Does Carver Die on Chicago Fire?
After dancing around the identity of the injured firefighter from Season 13, Episode 18, it is eventually revealed that Carver was not the one.
It turns out that Lieutenant Kelly Severide (played by Taylor Kinney) mistook Carver for her own brother Damon, and he was the one who tragically perished in the ill-fated structure fire.
While fighting the blaze, Damon got separated from Clarence and headed for the attic. The ceiling came tumbling down, crushing him in the process.
In the hospital, Damon made it through surgery fine. However, after significant internal bleeding and extreme smoke exposure, he is suffering from lung breakdown, meaning he may no longer be able to go on as a firefighter.
Where did Carver go during the disaster that sent Damon to the hospital? Miranda Rae Mayo's Stella Kidd told him to retreat, getting out of the blaze before things could take the dangerous turn they did.
Is Carver Leaving Chicago Fire 2025?
However, just because Carver did not die in Season 13, Episode 18 of Chicago Fire does not mean his days on the series are numbered.
It has been confirmed that Jake Lockett's character could be on the chopping block after Season 13 ends.
According to Deadline, if Chicago Fire is greenlit for a fourteenth season, it (along with several other NBC shows) is set to be the victim of sizeable budget cuts.
This means that actor contracts will need to be significantly reworked (especially because it has been noted that some of the biggest actors' deals are now coming up), which could result in an exodus of characters on the fringes of the firefighting franchise.
This could include Jake Lockett's Carver, as he has already come and gone several times during his run on the series.
While by no means a confirmation of Carver leaving the series after Season 13, this financial tightening of the belt could result in characters like Carver being given the boot in hopes of keeping more prominent names on the call sheet with reworked deals.
Chicago Fire is streaming on Peacock.
