Dr. Reese in Chicago Med was played by actor Rachel DiPillo but the actor left the show in season 4. Dr. Sarah Reese made her first appearance in Chicago Med season 1, episode 1 “Derailed” and she was seen as a very clinical doctor, which sometimes caused trouble with her patients. This led to her abandoning her career as a doctor and attempting to be a psychiatrist under Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt). However, this relationship led to the reason why Dr. Reese left Chicago Med.
Reese’s mentorship under Charles was a central focus of Chicago Med season 3. Despite her insecurities about the job, Reese performed well and seemed to have found her calling — until Reese’s manipulative father Robert Haywood (Michel Gil) returned to her life as a patient. In Chicago Med season 4, episode 1 “Be My Better Half,” Rachel DiPillo’s Dr. Reese decided to leave Gaffney Chicago Medical Center for good to begin a new life in Texas. With previous appearances in Chicago PD and Chicago Fire, this was Rachel DiPillo’s last appearance in the One Chicago TV franchise.
Why Rachel DiPillo’s Sarah Reese Left Chicago Med
Charles Hid The Truth About Sarah’s Father
Sarah Reese left Chicago Med because when Charles figured out that Reese’s father, Robert, was a psychopathic serial killer, Charles withheld this information from Reese in an attempt to protect her. However, as with most secrets in the Chicago franchise, it wasn’t long until the truth came out. After Charles confronted Robert with the evidence and caused Robert to have a heart attack, he didn’t make any effort to resuscitate him, which Reese witnessed when she walked into the room.
While this certainly didn’t help Charles’ case, Reese ultimately left because she could no longer trust the one other doctor who helped her the most, both in her personal and professional life. Charles not only advanced Reese’s understanding of psychiatry, but he also helped Reese process the insecurities and paranoia that were holding her back.
Though it was comparatively short-lived, Charles and Reese’s mentor-mentee relationship was one of the show’s most insightful story arcs. Though Reese was an astute psychiatrist, she wasn’t equipped with the tools to recognize her father Robert’s emotional manipulation, which deeply frustrated Charles. This is why Charles confronted Robert first before ever coming to Reese with his suspicions about Robert being a serial killer. Charles cared so much about Reese that he ended up hurting her just to protect her, which Reese wasn’t able to understand at the time.
However, while Charles might have been right about the truth being too much for Reese to bear, Reese might have stayed at Gaffney if only Charles told her about Robert. In any case, there was essentially nowhere else for Reese to go after this. Rachel DiPillo’s final appearance was in Chicago Med season 4, episode 1 “Be My Better Half,” giving way to new Chicago Med characters like Dominic Rains’ Dr. Crockett Marcel, Steven Weber’s Dr. Dean Archer, and Guy Lockard’s Dr. Dylan Scott.
