Chicago Med might not have had quite as a tumultuous summer as Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, but fans of NBC’s One Chicago medical drama might be about to see a beloved character sidelined for several episodes at the beginning of Chicago Med season 12.
Ahead of the season 11 finale, Sarah Ramos took to Instagram to announce that she and her husband, Matt Spicer, were expecting their first child. The news was widely celebrated by One Chicago fans and Ramos’ One Chicago co-stars, who shared their love for the couple as they prepare to become first-time parents.
At the time of the announcement, it was unclear whether Ramos’ pregnancy might impact her role on Chicago Med, but it now seems safe to reason that fans may not be seeing Dr. Caitlin Lenox as the new season begins. Filming on season 12 has recently begun, and there has been no indication that Ramos is on set alongside her returning co-stars, which suggests that her maternity leave from the show will run through at least the first several weeks of production and result in Lenox being sidelined to accommodate Ramos’ leave.
It’s hard to know just how many episodes Ramos might miss, but Chicago Med fans may be able to look to FBI for a clue.
A few years back, Missy Peregrym announced her pregnancy in early April, nearly a month earlier than Ramos, and Peregrym’s leave would ultimately result in her not returning to film until September of that year. She would then make her on-screen return in November in the seventh episode of the season.
If Ramos follows a similar approach with her leave for Chicago Med, adjusting to account for the fact that her pregnancy announcement came a month later than Peregrym’s, there is a chance that Ramos might not return to begin filming Chicago Med season 12 until late September or early to mid-October. This means we could potentially be without Lenox for the first several episodes of the season, potentially missing up to the first six to eight episodes of the show.
What will be interesting is to see how the show might write Lenox out during that time given that we could very well be without the character for a sizable amount of time to open the season. There was really no storyline introduced in the season 11 finale that could help explain her potential departure from Gaffney during that time.
One possible idea is that her exit will be connected to her diagnosis of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease. Perhaps she’ll enter an experimental trial for early treatment that will take her out of town for a stretch of time or even dedicate her time to participating in research for the disease that will take her out of town.
Hopefully, with the season quickly approaching, we’ll begin getting more official updates from NBC with plot information and via new interviews. We imagine that once showrunner Allen MacDonald begins hitting the interview circuit to speak about the upcoming season, we’ll learn more about the plans for Lenox and Ramos’ potential leave at the top of the season.
Chicago Med showrunner hints we've seen the last of one of the show's most disliked characters
The final episodes of Chicago Med season 11 took an unexpectedly darker turn for Dr. John Frost as the season revisited his traumatic experiences growing up as a child actor and his rocky relationship with his parents, who failed to protect him. It all began when Frost’s parents, James and Celeste, showed up in town hoping to reconnect with their understandably estranged son.
Frost would eventually agree to meet with his parents, and he came to learn that his father’s health was in decline due to his MS diagnosis. As the season progressed, Frost would come to learn that his father was not suffering from MS, but rather he had a tumor on his spine which was causing MS-like symptoms. He’d also come to learn that his dad knew about the tumor but didn’t explore treatment out of fear.
By the time Frost found out the truth, his father was no longer eligible for a medical trial which could provide treatment designed to shrink the tumor. Despite their fractured relationship, Frost didn’t want to give up on his dad and agreed to sign on for a Nick of Time reboot series in order to make the money needed to pay for his father’s expensive treatment.
It was clear from the start that Frost did not want to return to acting, but it was a means to an end to make the money needed for his father’s treatment. He was all set to proceed with the project until the reboot’s producer surprised him at lunch with the news that Ainsley, the woman who played his mom on the show and took advantage of Frost as a teen, had been added to the cast.
Upon learning the news, Frost chose to walk away from the reboot which was when he’d come to find out that his father knew about his relationship with Ainsley and never stepped in to protect him. Instead, he turned a blind eye. This led to another fallout between Frost and his father, one that was short-lived as Frost would learn in the penultimate episode of the season that his dad’s treatments were not working and he’d been moved to hospice care.
The season finale saw Frost make peace with his father as he stayed with him through his final hours and remained at his side until his father passed as the finale came to a close.
Jessalyn Gilsig not expected to return for Chicago Med season 12
Needless to say, the back half of the season was particularly trying for Frost in many ways, but it was one that allowed the show to close the book on the past as the show focuses on how Frost will move forward. With the closing of this book, Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald seemed to indicate that we’ve seen the last of a character that quickly became one of the show’s most disliked characters: Ainsley.
While you can truly never say never in the world of television, MacDonald appears to have all but confirmed we’ve seen the last of Ainsley on Chicago Med. In speaking with Parade following the finale, MacDonald noted that while they’ll always make reference to Frost’s past and to Nick of Time and Ainsley, specifically, they’ve closed the book on that—seeming to hint that while Ainsley might come up in conversation, she won’t be popping back up on the show directly.
“There’s a weight lifted off his shoulders. I think the past has always been something he’s run away from, that he thought he didn’t need to deal with it but it was actually weighing him down more because he wasn’t. We’ve spent the last two seasons with him slowly confronting the past and growing from the processing of it, and now I believe next season he’s going to move on,” MacDonald revealed. “There will be other challenges next season for Dr. John Frost, but as far as the past and Nick of Time and Ainsley, those are things we’ll always make reference to, but I feel like we’re closing the book on that, on the past, and now he’s going to move forward.”
As much as we love Jessalyn Gilsig, who was phenomenal in the role of Ainsley, it does make sense for her appearance in season 11, episode 19, “Exit Strategies," to serve as her final episode on the show.
Frost will surely continue to unpack the events of his past in the new season as he works on his relationship with his mom following his father’s death, but we don’t need to see Ainsley back again as it’s time the show began to allow Frost to reclaim his future and move forward. Thankfully, that seems to be the plan, and we’re certainly eager to see what season 12 will bring for Frost as he begins this new chapter in his story!
Be the first to comment on this article!