Chicago Med returned for its 12th season with major changes on the horizon for all of the doctors at Gaffney.
And it wasted absolutely no time throwing us all back into the chaos of the E.D. with a mass shooting situation at a wedding that initially seemed random, before the bride revealed her jealous ex-boyfriend, Henry, was responsible.
The victims began overwhelming the E.D., which was already understaffed thanks to Sharon Goodwin’s (hopefully temporary) replacement, Ms. Sloane, who cut plenty of the staff due to budget constraints.
Since Goodwin was the heart and soul of Gaffney, it’s no surprise that not a single soul has taken kindly to Sloane’s arrival.
Audiences learn that Goodwin willingly stepped down after being accused of leaking Dr. Rabari’s medical records, though she’s not pleased about any of it, as a fight between her and Miranda heats up. Goodwin is encouraged to take a sizable payout with the promise that the hospital won’t press charges, but she assures them she’s not guilty, despite Miranda claiming to have evidence. We don’t know what that evidence is just yet, but she seems pretty confident that it’ll incriminate Goodwin, who also seems kind of nervous about everything. At first, I thought maybe that was an admission of guilt, but I think it’s just that everything she’s ever worked for is on the line, and she doesn’t have anyone from leadership in her corner.
The final few moments of the episode reveal Doris showing up at Sharon’s door and admitting that she was the one who leaked the records, which is a plot twist I didn’t see coming. Sweet Doris?! Of course, we know Sharon will always protect her own, so it’s possible she’ll take the plea deal to prevent this going to trial—or she’ll find another way out of it, since she, of all people, knows how to work the system in her favor. I know Sharon will not go down without a fight, and Miranda is absolutely naive to think otherwise.
And obviously, the hospital functions more smoothly when she’s in charge.
The mass shooting event ensured that it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, with Hannah even coming out of her maternity leave early to help the bride, who was 23 weeks pregnant and had a bullet lodged in her uterus. Thankfully, she was able to successfully remove it without having to deliver the baby early.
We also got to see Hannah and Archer’s baby girl, Mabel, as Doris asked the question we all wanted to know—are they “co-parents with benefits?” Obviously, new parents are extremely tired, but that is the elephant in the room after Archer declared his love for Hannah after Mabel was born. By the way they look at each other, there’s clearly something more there, even if she hasn’t admitted it yet.
The bride’s situation was taken straight out of a soap opera, as it was revealed that her fiancé, Dexter, didn’t know about the baby. And they couldn’t find him after the shooting, leaving her to believe the worst. On top of all of that, her ex was responsible for this disaster, and her soon-to-be mother-in-law was adamant that she was only marrying her son for money, which prompted Dexter to get cold feet and not even show up to the church where the tragedy occurred, ultimately saving his life but potentially putting his marriage in jeopardy.
When he finally got wind of what happened, he arrived at the hospital full of regret. Dr. Charles told him the best course of action was to apologize and come clean to Tamar. Dexter realized the root of all his problems was his mother, so he finally did the right thing and put his family—along with the unborn child he just found out about—ahead of whatever it is his mother was trying to do.
Their wedding day didn’t pan out as they expected it to, and came with plenty of hurt and loss, but the couple still managed to find a semblance of a happy ending.
The most heartbreaking plot, however, was with the flower girl, Dakota, who came to the hospital with a head wound after her mother pushed her under the pews when the shooting erupted. She couldn’t find her mom in the aftermath, but the wedding’s guitar player, Bruno, stayed by her side to make sure she was okay, and they formed a sweet little bond. The trauma of the day led to Dakota losing her eyesight temporarily, while everyone else searched for her mother, Edith.
Dr. Frost’s reaction to learning that both Edith and Bruno were dead mirrored mine because how could they put this little girl through so much pain? The nerve!
Not only do they have to tell her that her mom died, but Bruno, who survived a mass shooting event and walked away barely unscathed, was then killed while he was being discharged by the shooter as he drove his car through the reception area?
And this whole time, the shooter survived? Ripley was in sheer disbelief as Bruno’s body flew through the air on impact. And honestly, same.
CHICAGO MED — “Shots Fired” Episode 1201 — Pictured: (l-r) Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley, Michael Alix as Bruno — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
It’s a reminder that not only is life super fragile and unexpected, but it’s also completely unfair. Thankfully, Mitch Ripley later revealed that they got their wires crossed and Edith was actually alive, so at least the little girl didn’t have to grow up without a mother, and this tragic day didn’t put a permanent stain on her life. And she’ll always have Bruno as her guardian angel!
Ripley had a tough day, no doubt, as he also had to lay down the law with a new 4th-year resident, Anna Wu, who Archer described as “smart, cocky and a pain in the ass.” Sound familiar?
Why do I feel like those are the personality traits they give every single new character? There have been so many Wus throughout the years.
Ripley was pissed that she undermined his call with a patient, accusing her of deliberately making the shooter suffer, which she said wasn’t the case, as she did what she had to do to keep the patient alive. However, she then made another bold move and called Ripley out for projecting onto her, suggesting that maybe he enjoyed seeing him suffer after all the pain he’d caused.
Doctors take an oath, but they’re still human, and watching innocent people die all around you while the person responsible survives could take a toll on anyone, even if it’s only subconsciously.
Either way—it seems like Ripley and Wu are off to a rocky start, which may set a precedent for their working environment moving forward.
As for Caitlin Lennox’s absence, she’s on a “3-month sabbatical” for a drug trial for her prion disease, which will hopefully buy her some extra time, though, as Ripley noted, nothing is ever guaranteed, even with a clean bill of health.
What did you think of the premiere episode? Do you think Chicago Med has started veering too much into soap territory, or do you enjoy the overly dramatic storylines?