Med fan favorite Dr. Charles is feeling the heat as a Gaffney newcomer makes a play for his longtime post.
Key Takeaways
- Chicago Med’s Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) discovers Dr. Theo Rabari (Manash Dayal) is campaigning to take over his position and uncovers concerning gaps in Theo’s background.
- By reviewing Theo’s past research and a childhood misdiagnosis, Dr. Charles concludes Theo exhibits signs of antisocial personality disorder.
- The confrontation reveals Theo’s data‑driven approach stems from distrust in human‑based psychiatric methods, reinforcing Dr. Charles’ belief that Theo lacks empathy.
Mere weeks after battling for his life after having a stroke on Chicago Med, Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) found himself fighting to protect his longtime job at Gaffney, and it was a nail-biting hurdle.
Aware that someone will need to assume his post someday, Dr. Charles grew concerned with the arrival of Gaffney’s newest psychiatrist, Dr. Theo Rabari (Manash Dayal). Theo’s data-driven affinity for automated diagnostic practices has long clashed with Dr. Charles’ preference for human connection and deductive reasoning, leading to several arguments between Dr. Charles and his hopeful successor. Theo was happy to take over for Dr. Charles during his recovery, but ever since Dr. Charles returned, it’s clear that Theo would rather assume the position permanently, raising formal complaints against his superior.
As Theo launched an official play for Dr. Charles’ job, the Gaffney fan favorite was ready to do anything to ensure that didn’t happen, bringing some shocking truths to light.
Dr. Charles isn’t going down without a fight
During Season 11’s “Hell Breaks Loose,” Dr. Charles was shocked to discover that Theo had launched a campaign highlighting his leadership at Gaffney in an attempt to oust Dr. Charles at a high-stakes board meeting. After learning about the betrayal from Gaffney director Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), Dr. Charles realized he had only hours to prevent Theo’s plan of taking his job from coming to fruition.
Dr. Charles took a gander at Theo’s pamphlet, which included his many accolades and achievements. The spreadsheet inspired Dr. Charles to reach out to one of Theo’s advisors during a former residency. After catching wind of Dr. Charles’ successful networking attempts, Theo started to squirm, visiting the Psych Chief with a bone to pick.
Dr. Daniel Charles just diagnosed Dr. Theo Rabari as a sociopath
After catching his boss alone, Theo was eager to confront Dr. Charles over speaking to his former advisor. Dr. Charles assured Theo he was only trying to save his job and department from the direction Theo wanted to take it in, and had connected some dots in the process. The packet Theo had sent out included his many qualifications, experience, and impressive research papers, but Dr. Charles noticed there was nothing from his time in med school.
After touching base with his former advisor, Dr. Charles got his hands on Theo’s missing medical studies and learned they all centered around the same topic: antisocial personality disorder. A memory struck Dr. Charles from a conversation with his mentee earlier this season, when Theo revealed that he advocates for data-driven diagnostics in part due to struggling through his own childhood misdiagnosis.
A famously difficult diagnosis to successfully nail down? Antisocial personality disorder.
Chicago Med Season 11
One Chicago Wednesdays are here!
Fresh off an extended fall hiatus, new Chicago Med episodes begin airing January 7, 2026 every Wednesday at 8/7c. New episodes are available to stream on Peacock Thursdays at 6 a.m. ET.
Keep up with your favorite doctors Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt), Dean Archer (Steven Weber), Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram), Mitch Ripley (Luke Mitchell), Caitlin Lenox (Sara Ramos), and John Frost (Darren Barnett) as they navigate the highs and lows of Gaffney Chicago Medical Center.
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“Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental health condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others,” defines The Mayo Clinic. “People with antisocial personality disorder tend to purposely make others angry or upset and manipulate or treat others harshly or with cruel indifference. They lack remorse or do not regret their behavior.”
As Theo began pushing back, Dr. Charles commented on how misunderstood Theo must have felt growing up while being misdiagnosed and wrongfully medicated.
Theo argued there wasn’t any proof, but Dr. Charles explained he was doing his job, using his human intuition to come to the logical conclusion. Theo embraces data-driven treatment because of the many psychiatrists who let him down as a kid. Theo had devoted his entire career to “eradicating the human element” of mental healthcare.
“Because in your mind, those elements — intuition, instinct, conversation — are deeply fallible,” Dr. Charles explained with some bite. “I mean, they certainly let you down, buddy.”
Dr. Charles gravely concluded, “Also, it makes perfect sense to me why you have no compunction taking advantage of my misfortune and going after my job because you were not born with the ability to empathize. Because you were born with antisocial personality disorder. You were born a sociopath.”
Watch Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.