Are Chicago Fire’s Violet and Novak ready for romance after their shared love interest Vasquez saved their lives?
Warning: Spoilers below from season 14, episode 18 of Chicago Fire.
During the Wednesday, April 22, episode of the NBC series, paramedics Violet Mikami (Hanako Greensmith) and Lyla Novak (Jocelyn Hudon) found themselves trapped in a basement bunker after a man claimed his pregnant wife was in labor.
As their captor — who was holding his pregnant tenant hostage — began to unravel, firefighter Sal Vasquez (Brandon Larracuente), joined forces with the police in an effort to track down Violet and Novak.
While Vasquez’s knowledge of the women helped him find them before anyone died in the bunker, Greensmith, 29, and Hudon, 31, exclusively told Us Weekly that doesn’t mean either paramedic is ready to make him their new man.
“I think [the episode] was further cementing friendships, especially between Violet and Novak,” Hudon revealed, noting that the paramedics are choosing to focus on their working relationship — and not worrying about Vasquez.
The actress noted that coming out alive after leaning on each other signified Novak and Violet “realigning our priorities and being able to say things and accept things and just flush out the unsettled thoughts and have them accepted.”
Prior to the kidnapping, Novak told Violet that she was hurt that she kept her Vasquez hookup a secret for so long. (Violet and Vasquez had a one night stand earlier this season, but Violet stopped it from happening again after she realized that Novak might like him more than she was letting on.)
Once they were safe, Novak and Violet had a heart-to-heart in the back of an ambulance and agreed to be honest with each other, always.
“[They were like], ‘All right, we trust each other, both professionally and personally. Let’s move forward,’” Hudson said of the scene.
Greensmith agreed with Hudon’s assessment, telling Us that Violet and Novak’s partnership is “what’s most important” for each of them.
She teased that “as far as Vasquez goes,” fans will “spend a lot of the rest of the season” learning more about his character and “trying to understand what goes through his head.”
“He’s a really private kind of character, and there’s so little that we have really gotten to see into as far as what his thought process looks like,” Greensmith shared. “So you may or may not see more.”
While Hudon told Us that there is also a lot more to learn about Novak’s past — and possible romantic future — this season, she played coy about whether or not a potential romance would involve Vasquez. (Novak shut down Vasquez’s advances this season, telling him that sleeping with Violet was a non-starter.)
Greensmith, however, revealed that Violet is more of an open book — but she’s struggling to figure out what she wants after her fling with Vasquez and brief romance with Sam Carver (Jake Lockett), who is now working in Denver.
“She’s kind of dancing with what she feels ready for. She’s very been in and out of actually committing to anything,” the actress told Us. “I think the only thing that she’s really felt committed to and comfortable with committing to is like a friendship with Novak, and I think that’s really what she has needed this whole time.”
Greensmith added that during the remaining episodes this season, Violet will be “trying to decipher what it is that she needs right now and what’s true for her.”
“What matters is that she wants to be a good friend to Novak, and I think [this episode] really shows where she can be better in that way,” she added. “I hope that those are the things that she’s prioritizing.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
