Week after week, viewers tune into NBC on Wednesday nights, ready to see what medical condition has the doctors of Chicago Med stumped, what catastrophic event has the crew of Chicago Fire’s Firehouse 51 flying to the scene, and what case-of-the-week needs to be resolved with the help of Chicago P.D.’s Voight (Jason Beghe) and the Intelligence Unit. There’s no doubt that the gripping weekly stories play a part in the success of the One Chicago franchise, but if we’re being honest, it’s the relationships between the characters that keep fans engaged.
Over the course of its run, One Chicago has seen a number of healthy relationships that fans have been on-board with from the beginning: long-time husband-and-wife team Mouch (Christian Stolte) and Trudy (Amy Morton), the growth of “Brettsey” couple Sylvie Brett (Kara Killmer) and Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer), and the ups and downs of Chicago P.D.’s Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) come to mind. (Unfortunately, the Burzek wedding was completely mishandled in Chicago P.D.’s Season 12 finale). There have been a number of unhealthy ones, too, and Chicago Med arguably tips the scale in that regard compared to its kin. For a team of health providers, the number of unhealthy relationships is staggering, and it’s a problem that needs to be fixed.
Season 10 of ‘Chicago Med’ Sets a High Benchmark for Unhealthy Relationships
The halls of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center have been privy to some real relationship debacles over its 10 seasons, including Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) and Nina Shore (Patti Murin), Will and Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto), Will and Elsa Curry (Molly Bernard), and, um, Will and Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram).
Season 10, though, hits a high-point of problematic relationships that accentuate just how mired Chicago Med is in it. Friendships become strained, with long-time colleagues Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) and Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) coming out on opposite sides of the hospital’s debate with the nurse’s union, leading to a tense confrontation where Maggie calls out Goodwin for betraying the people who keep the hospital running. Family relationships, too, faced hardships: Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) is forced to confront his damaged connection with his daughter and Dr. Asher’s relationship with her sister, Lizzy (Erin Anderson), is shattered by the revelation of Hannah’s pregnancy. Plus, Dr. Lenox (Sarah Ramos) is headed for an uncomfortable conversation with her brother after lying to him about her GSS diagnosis.
Speaking of Dr. Lenox, the newcomer’s first attempt at a relationship crashed and burned after discovering that her beau, Dr. Hayes (Brendan Hines), has been sexually assaulting female residents. Fellow newcomer Dr. Frost (Darren Barnet) didn’t fare any better, after Ainsley Towne (Jessalyn Gilsig), an actress who played his mother on a television show, reappeared in his life, looking to reignite the inappropriate romance they shared when he was younger. Long-timers weren’t spared either, with Goodwin opting to end the one relationship in Chicago Med of late that actually hewed closest to being healthy, after Dr. Washington (John Earl Jenks), already treading a thin line after keeping his romance with her quiet from his daughter, explosively hands in his resignation after Goodwin informs him he will have to take a demotion to avoid being cut.
Season 11 of ‘Chicago Med’ Has a Chance To Break the Cycle
But Season 11 of Chicago Med has a chance to break the cycle, and that redemption revolves around two characters that had a go of it before their relationship ended: Dr. Asher and Dr. Ripley (Luke Mitchell). Asher is arguably the most snake-bitten of the lot, with a backlog of troubled romances that kicked off with Will Halstead, which was an affair that ended with her relapse. Her romance with Ripley was never really embraced, with Ripley’s behavior (which eventually had him suspended without pay) too much for Asher, who ended it after his efforts to reconcile were too little and too late.
It’s actually the possibility of Asher and Archer (Steven Weber) together that is most intriguing, and, depending on whom the baby daddy is, that coupling stands a chance of coming to fruition. It offers the stability that Asher needs, and Archer may be a little crusty, but he’s a man of honor, and the two do have a chemistry between them that works in their favor. Even if Archer isn’t the father, the fact that Asher would approach him with the news regardless signals a respect and friendship that is – gasp! – actually healthy.
Yet it’s the other budding romance teased at the end of Season 10 that could come to fruition that stands a better chance of bucking Chicago Med’s unfortunate run of unfortunate relationships. When Ripley opened the door to reveal Sadie (Holly Curran) on the other side, it rekindled the hope of a romance we didn’t even know we wanted. Sadie, of course, is the woman that Ripley saved in “Down in a Hole,” literally going down in a hole to get her free at the cost of her leg. Their banter was charming, natural, and the chemistry between the two pushed showrunner Allen MacDonald to bring Sadie back, saying:
“I wasn’t expecting to bring Sadie back…There was this bond, even though they were in this life-and-death situation, and that’s one of the things about Sadie’s character is that her sense of humor is one of her secret weapons to give herself strength… I think that she thought about him and that she decided to reach out to him, and that’s what we see at the end of the finale.”
That chemistry is clearly still there, which is promising, and it has an innocence about it that is even rarer in the world of Chicago Med, let alone the One Chicago franchise as a whole. The temptation to blow it up is undoubtedly there, but it really is time for the series to try its hand at exploring a healthy, blossoming relationship that goes the distance. “Ripdie” has a ring to it, don’t you think?
