Chicago Med’s has begun 2026 by bringing about a heartbreaking death of an original character.
We expected that a big death could arrive in the Chicago Med season 11 winter premiere, but we did not expect the second of the new year would come with a major character death as well!
Warning: Chicago Med season 11, episode 9 spoilers ahead.
Chicago Med season 11, episode 9 opens with Bert at home in hospice care as Goodwin sits by his bedside and calls their kids in before he takes his last breath. His death was quick and he had his family by his side in his final moments which came quite unexpectedly at the top of the episode.
Although the confirmation of Bert’s death was heartbreaking, it was not surprising, as episode 6 served as an on-screen send-off for actor Gregory Alan Williams. Following his fall, we learned that Bert’s CT scan had found a brain bleed which could not be treated due to the advance directive Bert has preventing surgery from being performed. As a result, there was nothing the doctors could do, and it became apparent that Bert’s time was limited.
The episode ended with Bert surrounded by his family, with Goodwin and their three children sitting around his bedside in an emotional moment that closed the episode out. Given the way in which the episode ended, many assumed that the episode was designed to be Bert’s final episode and that the writers would have his death occur off-screen. Instead, the show surprised us by bringing Bert back at the beginning of episode 9 to have his character die on-screen weeks after we had already grieved the loss of his character.
Episode 9 marked the final on-screen appearance of Williams and marks the end of an era for the show. While Bert has never been a series regular character, he’s been an important character on the show going all the way back to its very first season. His departure marks one of the most notable character deaths in the history of Chicago Med and brings about the end of an original character’s journey on the show.
While Bert has passed, we imagine his spirit will continue to live on in the season ahead, and his death will likely play an underlying part of Goodwin’s season 11 story arc. There are many ways the show can use the death of Bert to push Goodwin’s personal journey in the episodes to come, and we’re excited to see what the writers have planned as season 11 continues.
One hope we do have is that we’ll get to see more of Goodwin’s children as the season continues, as it’s always great getting to see those family dynamics explored. After the reveal that Goodwin and Bert’s oldest son, David, was not Bert’s biological child, we certainly would love to see Goodwin and David’s relationship further explored as there is certainly more to unpack after episode 6.
It’ll also be interesting to see how Bert’s death influences Goodwin’s storyline moving forward and how much she might end up reflecting on her future after his loss.
