The Wire star Gbenga Akinnagbe flocked to Gaffney amid troubling news about Bert Goodwin.
After Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) was tasked with navigating end-of-life care for her ex-husband on Chicago Med, viewers have been led on a heartwrenching emotional rollercoaster that all came to a head in Season 11, Episode 6 (“The Story of Us”).
Med’s November 5 episode was a heartbreaker after Goodwin’s ex-husband, Bert (Gregory Alan Williams), took a tragic tumble in last week’s episode, leading him to Gaffney for premium care. The incident brought Goodwin and Bert’s three adult children — the eldest, David, their daughter, Tara, and the youngest son, Michael — back into the fold as they weighed in on next steps for their father, who has been losing a battle against Alzheimer’s dementia for over a year.
The actor that plays Goodwin’s son David
The siblings excitedly greeted a slightly estranged David, played by The Wire star Gbenga Akinnagbe in the first-ever on-screen appearance of Goodwin’s eldest child. Fans may also recognize Akinnagbe from The Deuce, The Old Man, and most recently, A House of Dynamite.
It was soon revealed that David hadn’t seen Bert since his father’s health took a turn, but he flocked to the hospital as soon as he heard about Bert’s devastating fall.
During David’s time away, Bert’s Alzheimer’s had worsened considerably, but after Bert called David “son” during a brief moment of lucidity, David grew hopeful about a recovery.
Sharon Goodwin and her children argued about Bert’s wishes
Goodwin and the family were sick with worry while waiting for Bert’s CT results, which revealed the worst: Bert has a subdural hematoma, with a bleed that would worsen without surgery. But Bert had an advanced directive that prevented the surgery any surgery that would save him, forcing Goodwin to respect her ex-husband’s wishes.
David, a lawyer, pushed back on this, adamant that the family proceed with the surgery to give their father a fighting chance, requesting a second medical opinion. Goodwin and David’s siblings tried to help David understand that Bert hadn’t been the same for months — he’d been dying for over a year and wouldn’t have wanted his DNR request to be disregarded.
As tensions escalated, David revealed the situation was “different” for him. But David’s siblings zeroed in on his history of being melancholy and self-centered, with Tara (Nicolette Robinson) claiming their dad had always “indulged” David’s moods. Goodwin grew panicked as he looked to his mom for back-up.
“Now is not the time,” Goodwin cautioned David.
“The time for what, Ma?” Michael (Hampton Fluker) asked.
“Dad is not my biological father,” David revealed to his confused siblings. “Dad couldn’t help but love both of you. You are his flesh and blood, but he chose to love me. He chose to love me when he had every reason not to.”
David revealed a shocking truth about his mom, Sharon Goodwin
Naturally, David’s siblings had many questions for their mother after their brother’s shocking confession. Goodwin sat them down and recounted the story: She was pregnant with David when she first met Bert during her first year of nursing school. David’s biological father had no interest in Goodwin after learning she planned on keeping the baby.
When Bert finally asked Goodwin on a movie date, Goodwin confessed she was expecting a child, giving him an easy out. But Bert didn’t care, leading to their whirlwind love story.
Goodwin and Bert told David about his unique origins when he was a teenager, letting him decide when and how to tell his siblings if he wanted. But David never shared his story, instead taking on the emotional burden alone. Tara explained that it made sense David was taking things so rough; their mother had saddled David with a secret that made him feel like an outsider within the family.
Goodwin visited David to level with him: Bert was tired and wouldn’t have wanted to live like this. David had missed out on the worst of Bert’s decline, and Goodwin didn’t want him to lie to himself about his father’s current condition. David admitted he had created distance because he wanted to remember Bert the way he was growing up, but now he didn’t know what to do.
“You can say goodbye, baby,” Goodwin told David tearfully.
Goodwin and her three children surrounded Bert’s bedside as they shared some of their reflections from the day. David admitted he had kept secrets because he was afraid of not being seen as Michael or Tara’s real brother, but they shrugged this off. Goodwin grew teary-eyed as she and the kids surrounded Bert, and he expressed another brief moment of lucidity while surrounded by his loved ones.
Watch Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
