Chicago Fire Preview Promises Tears And Loss In The Next Episode, But I'm Still Stuck On Carver's Big Decision About 51

Spoilers ahead for Episode 14 of Chicago Fire Season 13 on NBC, called "Bar Time" and streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.

One Chicago Wednesdays are the place to be in primetime for high-stakes action, and the three-part crossover proved that in pretty spectacular fashion as part of the 2025 TV schedule. The preview for Chicago Fire's next episode, airing on March 5, proves that the first responder drama isn't stepping away from life-or-death situations just because of Stella's close call in the crossover. In fact, the promo teases that somebody isn't going to "make it out alive" of whatever goes wrong, including a shot of Violet with tears streaming down her face and Pascal looking as scared as we've seen him.

And that's all very alarming as Chicago Fire advances in the second half of Season 13, but I'm not quite over Carver's decision at the end of "Bar Time" and the letter he left for Violet that's pretty swoonworthy. But first things first! Check out the promo for next week's episode, called "Too Close," below:

Honestly, based on Violet's tears, I'd be concerned about Carver after this promo if not for the decision he made at the end of Episode 14. I can't help but believe that the tease of Kidd possibly being hit by a car is a red herring, and I'm more worried about Pascal's wife than anybody else. She's the kind of character who could be killed off to pack an emotional punch but not really derail the entire show. And Dermot Mulroney's expression certainly looks like a man afraid of losing a loved one!

In fact, in light of all the heartbreak and devastation of the promo, the episode description (per NBC) is kind of hilarious in how well it avoids giving away any big details about the crisis:

So, fans will just have to wait for the next episode to find out who is going to be the cause of the tears and devastation. I'm still leaning towards Pascal's wife as the victim, but with an ensemble the size of Chicago Fire's, nobody is ever necessarily going to be safe... except maybe Carver this time, due to the timing of the next episode.

Because he went through the emotional wringer in "Bar Time," and I got my wish about Chicago Fire not dropping the storyline of his struggles with alcoholism. Violet caught him in a lie, and his attempts to keep working and working and working to drown out the desire to drink just weren't enough.

He tearfully told Stella that he needed to "really get myself sorted out" and "build some kind of foundation" for himself before he could rely on the AA meetings for help. Carver apologized to his lieutenant for letting her down, but she firmly told him that he did no such thing, and she's proud of him.

And that was Jake Lockett's last scene of the episode. Violet got the news from Stella that Carver would be "gone for a little while," and was upset that she didn't even get a text. Carver made up for that in absentia by the end of the episode, though, when Violet opened her locker and a letter fluttered out:

I'm just glad that Stella clarified that Carver's job would be waiting for him whenever he's ready to come back, because it would just be painful if we never got to see payoff for him leaving Violet that note! It remains to be seen just how long he'll be gone, but it's a safe bet that he'll miss whatever catastrophe is on the way in the new episode on March 5.

Keep tuning in to NBC on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of Chicago Fire, as always between Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. All three shows are available streaming via Peacock as well, whether you want to revisit episodes from days long gone by, rewatch the latest crossover, and just catch up on anything you might have missed.