Chicago Fire Fans Have Concerns About Carver (& Hope He Stays Away From Stella)

The concept of family can manifest in many different forms. There is the family that one is born into, the family that one chooses, and the family that may form in a place of work, though that last one takes a special kind of profession to create. "Chicago Fire" is a great example of this since these firefighters are often close friends and sometimes lovers. They are willing to go above and beyond to help out their fellow co-workers to say the least. The most recent episode of "Chicago Fire" puts an even greater focus on this concept, for better or worse.

Titled "The Man of the Moment," this episode focuses on Christopher Hermann (David Eigenberg) running a school fundraiser. It also focuses on the interesting and fluctuating dynamic between Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Sam Carver (Jake Lockett). Carver reveals to Stella his troubled family life, which becomes an issue when his brother, Nathan (Tyler Jacob Moore), shows up and asks for money while at the same time berating Carver for becoming a firefighter. This causes Stella to become even more concerned for Carver, and audiences share Stella's worries.

As "The Man of the Moment" progresses, the firefighters of "Chicago Fire" rally around Hermann as he struggles to fulfill his wife's school duties as she fights cancer. This means Hermann initially denies the aid of his friends, but they help him anyways, much to his relief.  

In light of this, both Stella and Carver have some issues throughout the episode, including a moment involving an award and Carver's brother, a rescue that requires Carver and Stella to be on top of each other, and a freak-out from Carver saying that he doesn't want to be a part of the "Chicago Fire" family as it's just a job. 

The simmering romantic tension and Carver's outbursts roused fans of the show, and there seems to be two things on everybody's mind. The first is that "Chicago Fire" audiences hope Carver is okay and can regain his professional composure. They also hope Carver stays away from a romantic entanglement with Stella, who is married to Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney). 

"I get weird vibes from Carver, [and] the more I see of him, the more I think [Stella's] first gut instinct about him was 100% on the mark," u/ArmChairDetective84 wrote on Reddit. "I just don't like this guy, and [to be honest] I'm not even buying this abusive family BS he's giving her either ... I think he's after Kelly's wife and trying to suck her into his drama using sympathy. She seems to be falling for it too."

This statement caused u/AleneT315 to reply that they liked it better when Carver and Stella were in conflict with each other, and the look Carver gives Stella in "The Man of the Moment" creeps them out. u/Doolfan also felt the same way, and they said they think Carver is planning on getting closer with Stella. Many "Chicago Fire" fans on Twitter also echoed these thoughts.

"I swear, if they are hinting at/pushing a cheating storyline between Stella and Carver, I'm gonna take a [slamigan] to the writers room door and tell them every single reason why that's a bad idea to ruin #Stellaride," @mrandamiller517 posted.

Several other Twitter users expressed similar opinions. @Allyiscute1993 asked for Carver to stop giving unsettling glances at Stella, @rosegold8449 said Carver needs therapy, and @beckystellaride stated they used to like Carver as a character, but that's changed. 

It seems that many "Chicago Fire" fans aren't keen with the show's current direction in regards to Stella and Carver. Many hope that Carver doesn't act on his not-so-subtle affections toward his commanding officer. Others do not trust Carver because his angry comments toward Stella at the end of the episode negatively affects their work relationship going forward. What Carver's future in "Chicago Fire" looks like will be of great interest to longtime fans, assuming he cuts down on the "creepy" looks.