Sumith Prasad
Paramedic Violet Mikami and Paramedic Chief Evan Hawkins form one of the most endearing couples in NBC’s action series ‘Chicago Fire.’ When Violet’s career gets threatened by Emma, Hawkins jeopardizes his own career to save his partner. Although Violet breaks up with him unexpectedly, it doesn’t take long for her to realize that she wants to share her life with Hawkins. However, their togetherness is cut short by Hawkins’ untimely and tragic death. As Violet deals with his absence, the viewers may want to know how the paramedic chief died, paving the way for Jimmy Nicholas’ exit from the show. Well, here’s everything you need to know about the same!
Evan Hawkins’ Tragic End
In the third episode of the eleventh season, Firehouse 51 is called to a structure fire at a movie theater. Hawkins arrives at the scene to direct triage. Kelly Severide and his crew try their best to save the people trapped in the theater within a short time. As the firefighters of 51 save the victims of the fire, Hawkins notices a man coming out of the burning establishment. Since the man is severely unwell, Hawkins goes to him to help him, only for a part of the establishment to collapse over the two men.
Although Violet notices the same and alerts Chief Wallace Boden, they fail to save him as they find Hawkins dead by the time they remove the debris. Hawkins’ sacrifice, however, saves the man’s life. Violet meets him and lets him know how her partner saved his life. Violet is yet to completely move on from Hawkins’ death but she receives care and support from her colleagues, especially Severide. Now, let us find out the reason behind Jimmy Nicholas’ exit from the action drama.
Jimmy Nicholas’ Exit From Chicago Fire
Jimmy Nicholas left ‘Chicago Fire’ because his character Evan Hawkins’s story arc concluded with the latter’s death. Considering that Nicholas’ character was originally conceived for a three-episode arc, the actor had extended his stay to feature in nineteen episodes. “I was just a three episode arc, I might have only been there for a week or two, yet everyone made me feel like I was one of them and that I was already a part of that family, regardless of how long I was there to stay. I will miss that family, dearly,” Nicholas shared after he departed from the series.
Nicholas’ exit is seemingly the result of a narrative development that is essential for Violet’s storyline to move forward. Since Violet’s eleventh-season storyline is revolving around her grief of dealing with her partner’s death and how her colleagues manage to uplift her, Hawkins’ death became a necessity. Since Hawkins is sent off with a message that read, “OUR HEARTS ARE CRUSHED TO SEE YOU GO!” it is evident that the actor left the show without any friction with the creative heads of the series. Nicholas had also expressed how much the show had meant to him after his exit.
“To the cast, crew, and creative team: thanks for sharing your wonderful home with me for a year, I’ll miss you all, dearly. You’re all rockstars in my book and no matter where you go, or what you do, I’ll be cheering you on as hard as I can. We’re family,” Nicholas added. Since Violet hasn’t moved on from Hawkins’ death, we can hope that Hawkins may return to ‘Chicago Fire’ through her thoughts.
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