Chicago Med has a long history of being one of the most hard-hitting medical dramas on the air with weekly stories that pack a punch and main characters whose lives we couldn't be more emotionally invested in. On both sides, the procedural makes sure the audience feels something.
But is it just me or was season 11 one of the most captivating, impactful, and downright emotional seasons of the show yet? Between multiple cases-of-the-week that later returned for a second part and character deaths (and close calls!) that had us crying, we were on the hook!
While all of us Chicago Med fans could go on and on about all of the season 11 moments that hit us right in the feelings all day, I'm highlighting five of the most memorable, which also happen to also be the most painful, emotional moments that left fans absolutely shattered.
Charles' downward spiral and brush with death
From the beginning of the season, it was clear that Chicago Med season 11 had big plans for Charles' character arc that would have a big payoff. As it turns out, all of the stress about Asher's pregnancy was a red herring when we should have been stress about Charles' health.
Most of the time we were worried that he would be retiring and leaving the show, but Charles' mental health went on a steady decline until he had a severe stroke. We weren't sure whether Charles would live or die as he underwent an incredibly risky surgery, but he survived to tell the tale.
Getting that close to losing Charles, and seeing the memories from his past as he was suffering from his stroke, provided powerful insight into a character who has been on the show since the very first season. If anything, the whole situation revealed how deeply we don't want to see Charles go.
Goodwin's family mourning Bert's death
Chicago Med season 11 featured its fair share of death for the main characters as Frost also faced the tragic passing of his father in the season finale. Goodwin's children also navigated the devastation of losing their father and the shocking revelations that came out because of it.
Bert passed away as his condition continued to decline, and all of Goodwin's children came together at his bedside before the tragic event took place. Before long, the truth that David wasn't Bert's biological son comes out and threatens to tear the family apart in the face of grief.
Fortunately, they are able to sort through all the complicated feelings that the secret drudged up and the even more complicated feelings the screte creates due to Bert's death. But nothing hit quite as hard as seeing the flashbacks to Goodwin's family amid their grief.
Lenox facing off against Devon Carter
I said it once and I'll say it again: Lenox was the unsung hero of Chicago Med season 11. She's one of the best new characters the show has had in years as a dynamic, complicated character that just so fun to watch grow and develop overtime, which her kidnapping event helped with very quickly.
After a patient named Faye declines Lenox's help to get away from her abusive husband Devon, Lenox comes face to face with Devon again later on in the season. She realizes that Devon hasn't changed his ways and Faye could be in even more danger. Sadly, she was right.
While taking matters into her own hands, Lenox ends up held hostage with Faye in the Carters' basement. Ripley joins the situation, which ends with Faye killing Devon before he can kill any of them. It was a tense, brutal, and heart-pounding moment that we could never soon forget.
Ripley honoring his late friend Sully one year later
From top to bottom, Ripley had quite the tough season. Sure, he didn't almost die while trapped in a well in season 11, but he was faced with a number of difficult moments of growth. Between thinking he was becoming a father to falling in love again, Ripley had a big year.
Perhaps the most emotional moment of his Chicago Med season 11 arc was reuniting with Lynne to spread Sully's ashes at Wrigley Field one year after his death. It was a much-needed reminder of Ripley's past and what he has been through in his life, and a relatable one, too.
Considering what Ripley had gone through and continuing to mourn his friend's loss, the complete bright side of his season 11 storyline was falling in love with Lenox. Honoring Sully with Lynne gave him the push he needed to pursue this new relationship. There's the silver lining!
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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