‘Chicago Fire’s Jake Lockett on His Return: Carver & Violet Still Don’t Have Any Closure

Lockett exited between seasons, with Carver moving to Denver. He and Violet (Hanako Greensmith) just have never seemed to be able to make it work … and that remains the case. Violet admits her concerns to Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) ahead of his visit. Then, while he’s there, Carver sees firsthand what’s been going on between her and Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente), and he’s clearly not a fan. “Violet has been through hell in the past, and she deserves the best, not some hard-partying tough guy with a chip on his shoulder,” Carver tells Vasquez.

In the end, Carver and Violet’s goodbye has her noting how well things are going for him and saying everything worked out for the best and him agreeing. And with a hug and a “talk soon,” he leaves. Violet tells Kidd and Novak that she is glad she saw him but says he was “cool and unemotional about everything.” Kidd points out they don’t know what’s going on in his head. And while Vasquez offers Violet a ride home and she initially turns him down because she’s not in the right headspace, he assures her he’s nothing like Carver — and she kisses him.

Below, Jake Lockett unpacks his return, Carver and Violet, and more. Plus, he shares what he’d like to explore with Carver if he returned again.

Being back just made Carver realize how much he missed his 51 family, right?

Jake Lockett: Yes, for sure. That’s what it’s about, right? You have these connections with these people on and off screen, which just fires up the onscreen stuff. It is one of those things where absence makes the heart grow fonder, but when you go back and rekindle all that stuff, it just makes the absence even harder.

So how was it stepping back into Carver’s shoes? Because it hasn’t been that long, but Carver’s also a bit different now that he’s spent time away from Chicago, right?

Yeah. Well, I think that’s great about him, especially given that he’s on a growth journey right now, is being able to step away from the firehouse allowed him to continue to work on himself and also show what he does. He’s a smoke-eater, so he goes and he takes care of business, and that’s being noticed at the new firehouse. So you get to see him growing as a human and as a firefighter, even though we don’t see it on screen.

Carver and Violet left things still up in the air. How does he feel about how their goodbye went and what went down between them in this episode?

I think part of that growth of becoming the next version of you is where he’s at. I think he’s definitely still in love with her. I don’t know what’s going to happen with it, but as he goes back to Denver, he’s at the place where he has to recognize, is he where he needs to be to be able to meet her if that relationship becomes a thing. So I think it is about him continuing to push into the discomfort and continue to grow to be the person he needs to be.

How does he feel about what he saw with Violet and how their goodbye went in general?

I don’t think there was really any closure once again. I think due to his inability to actually bring it up and her not bringing it up as well, I think there’s a lot of unfinished business there, to be honest, when it comes to them actually saying what they mean, because that’s been kind of their problem, is when one person’s ready to say what they mean, the other person doesn’t want to hear it and vice versa. So it really leaves him in this place where he’s stuck again when it comes to them.

Yeah, they were really like the couple that’s, like, the definition of bad timing.

Yeah. Yeah. It’s what it seems like.

What had he wanted out of this visit to Chicago when it came to Violet, when he first went there? Did he have any idea what he wanted, do you think?

To be honest, I think he just wanted to see her. Sometimes when someone has such an impact on your life, just being around them fuels you. And I think given the excuse that they were in town for conferences and for training, it just gave him an opportunity to feed that fix, which is a part of his personality, someone that needs that stuff, whether it’s good or bad. So I think the reality is he didn’t know exactly what the ends were, but he knew that the means to finding a little bit of peace would come with just seeing her.

Then there’s, of course, Vasquez to take into account. Let’s talk about Carver’s impression of him. Do you think there’s anything that Vasquez could have done to change that, given the Violet of it?

No. You know what I mean? You see someone having chemistry with this person that you’re in love with, that’s not something you’re ever going to be like, “Oh, shucks, this guy’s actually good.” Not at this point, maybe down the road if that’s what the world ends up being, but right now, I think given where they’re unfinished business, it was going to be tough for him to see past that with Vasquez.

Also because there’s still so much unknown about Vasquez in general, that even if he would’ve had to be the absolute perfect guy… We don’t know enough about him, so Carver doesn’t know enough about him.

Right.  Yeah, I mean, this is some guy that seems like a hot shot, seems like he doesn’t really care what other people think in a way that isn’t healthy for the group. And in a firehouse, you’ve got to trust everyone around you. You can’t be in a firehouse thinking that someone’s going to go off and do their own hero cowboy stuff when you’re trying to save lives or your life’s in danger. So I think for Carver, he is like, who’s this guy acting out of turn?

And it’s just someone else who’s at 51 when he’s not.

Yeah, I mean, he gets to be in the position that Carver wishes that he could do, even though he knows where he is at is what’s best probably when it comes to him as a person.

Especially because we saw how much growth there was in Carver and Kidd’s dynamic just in general too. And it’s like, now here’s someone else working under her.

Yeah, exactly. Now someone coming in, she’s a fan, everyone seems to be a fan of Vasquez, and no one likes to be replaced, not that Vasquez is replacing Carver. But when you’re the right-hand man, it feels like your feet are being taken out from under you a little bit.

Speaking of, I just love the development we saw in Carver and Kidd’s dynamic over the seasons.

Yeah, they became close. She’s the person that he could trust when things got hard and he could just be open and tell her where he is at. She was the first person that found out. So there’s a lot of trust between those two.

Carver was right to leave Chicago. He did what was best for himself, but does any part of him regret making that move after being back even briefly?

I mean, I think so. Even when you do the right thing, sometimes it’s hard, right? You don’t always get the immediate gratification of that was right, I did perfect, now I can go on my way. I think none of the feelings got finished. He didn’t get any closure there. So I think it is, again, leaning into the difficulty and he’s going to have to struggle through that.

Do you think Carver’s time back in Chicago has changed his perspective on his life in Denver or made him question anything there?

Maybe? I think so. I think there’s questions when it comes to his heart, but at the same time, he’s trying to be logical and do what’s best for him as a person. And I think at the end of the day, even though there’s a lot of unfinished business, I think he does trust that he’s made the right decision, even though, like I said, it’s really hard.

Talk about filming this episode and being back and stepping into Caver’s shoes again and working with the cast.

Oh man, it was awesome. He’s a character that I’ve had the pleasure to bring to life and to lean into. He’s taught me things. Something I’ve said a lot is that he’s really good at creating boundaries and making sure that people earn their way in, and Jake’s not always good at that stuff. So getting to lean back into him and his ability to be reserved and cautionary with people and not lead with a smile is something that I really appreciate about him. And it was great to do, great to live in that world again.

I mean, the family of the show is always a pleasure to be around from the directors, the producers, the writers, everybody, getting to play with everyone getting on set with the cam ops, getting on set with all the different teams, the PAs, the ADs, it was an absolute pleasure. I love those people. Those people have a special place in my heart, whether it’s props or set deck or whoever. Everyone is important on that show and in general in this business. So being able to get there with them and just lean into the love was awesome.

And talk about working with Hanako again and finding this new dynamic between Violet and Carver.

Yeah, it’s funny. You get a taste of it at the beginning where the hug and all the easy stuff, the fun stuff is there in that moment. And then as you start going through it, one, Hanako is a pleasure. She’s such a fun person. She’s never afraid to just lean into the scene and go for it, so that’s always a pleasure. But when it comes to the characters, it’s a difficult one. This is a couple of people that haven’t really said everything they want to say, and when they do say everything they want to say, the other person isn’t quite in the right place. So it’s been, like you said, a lot of tough timing.

And then getting to know Brandon and you got thrown right into this tense dynamic between your characters…

Yeah, you don’t want to walk in there and watch someone else stepping into your shoes in more than one way, so when it comes to the characters, that was definitely difficult. But Brandon is awesome. Brandon is great. He’s a standup dude. I hope we get to play a lot more in the future.

Speaking of, because the good news is Carver is still alive, so you can always come back, so, will we see you again?

I don’t know. I’m not inside those doors. I’m not in those offices. Who knows? I mean, I would love to come back and keep playing him. Like I said, it’s a pleasure. But as far as plans go, yeah, you’re talking to the wrong person.

What would you like to explore with Carver should you return?

Well, I mean, I’d like to get back in on the action for sure. When it comes to the actual action, being a firefighter, it’s one of my favorite things about the show is getting to learn what the real heroes do and trying to do my due diligence in bringing one of them to life. But I’d also like to just explore him as a leader. You know what I mean? He’s a leader in his action, but I think him being able to show that he can lead people is something that is next in his world, even if it’s off screen. I think that’s kind of his trajectory. Him being a lieutenant down the line one day is something I think he would want to do because I think he sees people. He doesn’t always know how to address it, but he sees people well.

And I just imagine a sweet conversation between him and Kidd if that day came.

Yeah. Yeah, it’d be cool. It’d be a cool journey, especially given that they came out of the academy at the same time. It’d be cool to see him show up in that way.

Chicago Fire, Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

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