Unrecognizable Chicago Fire Fan-Favorite Shockingly Returns For New Chaos In Season 14, Episode 11 Trailer

The new trailer for Chicago Fire season 14, episode 11 reveals the return of a fan-favorite character to create more chaos for Firehouse 51. While the whole One Chicago franchise is used to rotating ensembles, Firehouse 51 has been the center of a lot of departures in the last several years. Chicago Fire has lost several long-time members of the team, including Chief Boden and Matt Casey.

Ahead of Chicago Fire season 14, however, Firehouse 51 was once again confirmed to lose two established firefighters, despite the season 13 finale not setting up any exits. Ultimately, Daniel Kyri came back to wrap up his stint as Darren Ritter while keeping the door open for his comeback. Jake Lockett, on the other hand, didn’t get the same courtesy, as his departure was confirmed via exposition.

Now, however, the Chicago Fire season 14, episode 11 trailer (via TVPromos/YouTube) reveals Sam Carver’s return. It’s unclear what prompts his homecoming, but as seen in the clip, Violet is thrilled to see him. Unfortunately, their reunion becomes tense as Vasquez’s new role in her life effectively creates a love triangle. Watch the video below:

For context, Chicago Fire season 13 ended with a love confession between Sam and Violet. After a turbulent period of will-they/won’t-they set-up, the pair finally decided to be honest and confess their true feelings. Unfortunately, their romance was cut short by the confirmation that Lockett was being written out of the One Chicago franchise, leaving questions about their future. When the procedural returned, it was revealed that Sam moved forward with his move to Denver.

Truthfully, breaking up Sam and Violet remains to be one of the more divisive plots in recent Chicago Fire memory. It’s unclear why Lockett was written out of the show, when it spent a lot of time building the character up. Unlike other players in the show, he also had a lot of story potential left in him, including this romance. Now, Chicago Fire is pairing up Violet with another newcomer in Vasquez, which feels somewhat repetitive. In any case, Sam’s return will likely properly close out his narrative in the series.

At the very least, Chicago Fire is giving Sam an exit story, which is still better than being written out off-screen. That said, it can worsen the backlash about how the character has been handled if NBC paints him as a villain in his return. Hopefully, the first-responder procedural can find a way to wrap up his narrative without demonizing him.