The 2025 One Chicago crossover felt like a breath of fresh air after years without a franchise-wide team-up, but the three-hour event offered a sigh of relief for one member of the Chicago Med team as well. Like other One Chicago crossover events, the plot was rife with tragedy and disaster. Entitled “In the Trenches,” the 2025 One Chicago crossover’s story focuses on a gas explosion at the Employee Benefits Department, which causes numerous casualties both above and below ground. As Firehouse 51 tries to mitigate damage and CPD looks for the perpetrators, Gaffney works to save who they can.
With numerous victims requiring emergency field treatment while others are hastily rushed to the hospital, Chicago Med’s cast find themselves particularly spread out. Even those trapped underground require urgent care, which has to be provided by Kidd and Ruzek via instructions given over the phone (and at one point through Morse code). But the two most important patients in the crossover are both treated at Gaffney, one a perpetrator of the attack and the other a fellow first responder. It’s in treating the latter that one character’s able to work through lingering grief from recent events on Chicago Med.
Mitch Ripley Is Still Grieving From The Unexpected Death Of Sully
Ripley Comes Straight To Work From Sully’s Funeral
Season 10, episode 10 of Chicago Med begins with Ripley learning that Sully’s almost fully healed and ready for release back to prison. At no point does the episode even hint that Sully’s at risk of dying, making his death that much more of a shock. It goes without saying that Ripley would grieve the loss of his best friend, but the real torture is that Ripley had just bought Sully more time away from prison before receiving the news. It’s a devastating twist, but story turns like this are how Chicago Med became the top-rated One Chicago series.
Since the 2025 One Chicago crossover happened only one week after Sully’s death on Chicago Med, Ripley’s pain is still fresh. To make matters worse, Asher and Ripley get called straight from Sully’s funeral to help with the emergency. Hannah says Mitch was grateful for an excuse to leave, but that only emphasizes just how deeply he’s feeling the gravity of Sully’s loss. Since Asher also reveals that Ripley gave Sully’s eulogy, it’s safe to say that his eagerness to leave wasn’t because he finds funeral services boring. Luckily, the attack gives him an excuse to redirect his focus.
The 2025 One Chicago Crossover Tragedy Offers Mitch A Distraction
Ripley Needed To Laser-Focus On Something Other Than His Grief
Since Chicago Fire’s role in the 2025 Chicago One crossover was significantly larger than Chicago Med’s, Gaffney Medical (and by extension Ripley) doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time. Nonetheless, Trudy’s medical treatment after getting shot in the back plays an extremely important role in the story. If Lenox and Ripley fail to save Trudy, they’re not only letting down the CPD but also Mouch and everyone at 51 who cares about him. This makes it absolutely vital for Ripley not to lose concentration by getting wrapped up in his own grief.
Aside from giving Ripley an emotional reprieve, distracting Ripley with Trudy’s care ultimately benefits future Chicago Med episodes. Sully’s death will likely affect Ripley for multiple episodes, and it wouldn’t be fulfilling to watch him begin that journey amid the chaos of a three-way crossover with numerous plot threads. That story belongs in a separate Chicago Med episode, when Ripley and Hannah have time to discuss it. Weekly Med viewers can already feel Ripley’s sorrow lingering in the background, and that’s enough for the crossover’s purposes. In fact, keeping Ripley’s focus on Trudy might even help with his emotional recovery.
How Trudy’s Near-Death Experience Can Help Mitch Moving Forward
Mitch Prevents Mouch From Experiencing The Same Loss That Lynne Did
One of the harshest moments in Sully’s death reveal is Lynne beating herself up for not being there when he passed. Similarly, Mouch spends most of the crossover torn between staying with Trudy or helping his team. This complements the general feel of 2025’s One Chicago crossover as a whole. The first act is rife with spectacle, but the true emotional drive of the story comes from watching characters fear for their loved ones with little ability to help them. Since Mouch is the only character to actually see his partner in critical condition, his concerns feel more tangibly urgent.
When Mouch fearfully confronts Ripley for using an experimental treatment on Trudy, his demeanor likely strikes a familiar note. Seeing Lynne’s distress reflected on Mouch’s face should make saving Trudy feel even more rewarding. Ripley may not spend much of the 2025 One Chicago crossover processing his grief in the traditional way, but he at least gets to save someone from reliving the pain he watched Lynne go through. Now that the dust has settled and Mitch has time to be alone with his thoughts, he’ll hopefully be able to find meaning in that experience.
