Chicago Fire Fans Are Split On Carver's New Romance With Seager

The lad has finally done it — not long after his recruitment onto the Firehouse 51 team, Jake Lockett's Sam Carver has engaged in a tried-and-true "Chicago Fire" tradition by sparking his first work romance. It's quite a juicy one too, as the fresh-faced firefighter is involved with none other than Andy Allo's Lieutenant Wendy Seager, who has just made her first reappearance on the show in quite some time. Series co-showrunner Andrea Newman previously teased to TV Line that Carver would have a romance with a returning character, but few could have expected this unlikely pair.

Season 11, Episode 15, titled "Damage Control," marks the start of Carver and Seager's intimate new dynamic, and fans are pretty split on what they've seen of the couple so far. Some viewers are coming out rather positive on the new couple, such as @bonobochick, who wrote: "Seager & Carver is a nice surprise [with respect to] their unexpected charm + pairing." Some are even warmer, with @drvnkonIove theorizing that "they could be a match made in heaven." However, many other fans have a far more negative opinion on the unorthodox couple.

After "Chicago Fire's" "Damage Control" episode aired, some fans took to social media to express frustration over the new romance between Carver and Seager. "To be honest, it felt a little forced. I like Seager and I hope we see more of her but not to be used as a romantic/hook up storyline," u/_wonder_girl_ commented. Other fans felt like the romance was a waste of narrative space. "I couldn't care less," u/SigSauerPower320 wrote. "Two secondary characters getting together. Just another relationship during the show's run."

Other fans fell into a more ambivalent camp, appreciating Carver and Seager's new fling for little else than keeping the characters from having any sort of additional romantic drama with Stella Kidd (Miranda Rae Mayo) and Kelly Serveride (Taylor Kinney) respectively. "Whatever keeps Seager away from Severide," u/Yourappwontletme commented.

Regardless of where viewers rank Carver and Seager among the many "Chicago Fire" couples, it's unclear if the bond the pair has forged will last. Things still seem to be in the fairly casual stages, and even Jake Lockett himself is in the dark about whether his character is set to have a steady love interest in Seager or someone else. "I don't know currently," the actor told NBC Insider. "It makes sense that there would be, and I hope there is. I think that's always a fun piece to have with a character and explore. So, I hope so."