Looking back on Chicago Med season 11, there were some truly amazing guest performances across the season who popped up in varying capacities through the season. We had some amazing single-episode guest stars who dropped in to play patients or loved ones, and we also had some really incredible guest players who appeared in multiple episodes over the course of the season as part of ongoing storylines that we’d drop in on every few episodes.
Among the highlights of the season was the guest appearance from XO, Kitty star Anthony Keyvan.
Keyvan was among a trio of guest stars who appeared in the twelfth episode of the season, “Spill Your Guts,” as one of three medical students who shadowed Dr. Charles for the day as a favor to his longtime pal, Howie. Unlike his fellow med students who seemed excited about the prospect of working in an emergency department, Keyvan’s character Quentin Khani made it known early in the episode that ED psych was not something he was interested in.
As the day went on, though, and Quentin got the chance to work alongside Dr. Charles on a case, his view on emergency medicine seemed to change. Stepping outside the classroom and working alongside Dr. Charles inspired Quentin, and he quickly connected with their patient, leading to a breakthrough for the young doctor.
By the episode’s end, Quentin and his classmates were heading out, and it was clear that Dr. Charles had made quite the impact on him.
While Howie would mention the mentoring session later in conversation with Charles, we did not get to see Quentin or his fellow med students back before the season came to a close. However, his guest appearance really left us wanting more.
It’s been a while now that Dr. Charles has had a proper mentee working alongside him, and we’d love to see Quentin land at Gaffney for his residency to work alongside Dr. Charles. This was something that we really enjoyed about the early seasons of the show when Dr. Charles worked alongside Dr. Reese. The pair had a dynamic unlike any other on the show, and it was fun to see how the two learned from one another through working together.
Of course, there were some shortcomings on Charles’ end at the time, but he’s come quite a long way since, and it would be fun to see how his mentorship skills have evolved. We hoped that Theo might become Charles’ new mentee, but that dynamic quickly soured in the latest episodes of the season, which has left the show with an opportunity to bring in a new character to fill that void.
Rather than bringing in someone entirely new, it would be fun to see Quentin return as Charles’ newest mentee. Plus, we would honestly love to see Keyvan back on our screens in a more regular capacity. He’s a phenomenal actor, and we’re dying to see him in a show that produces more than 10 episodes a season, as has been the case with XO, Kitty.
It would be fun to see him follow in the footsteps of Darren Barnet in making the jump from playing a teen heartthrob on a Netflix original comedy to joining the One Chicago ensemble, and we’d never turn down the opportunity for Gaffney to welcome another hot doctor.
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!
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