If there's one thing Chicago Med does better than almost any other show on television, it's get fans worried that something horrible might happen to their favorite characters. Whether that's putting their lives in danger or putting them in a position that has their job at Gaffney on the line, the medical drama forces us to fear that we could lose any of the main characters at any moment.
Well, in the Chicago Med season 11 finale, it was Goodwin's turn to be the one fans worry about. While it wasn't her health or mortality at risk this time around, her career as the administrator at Gaffney was once again on the chopping block. Could this really be the end of the road for Goodwin at Gaffney? Not so fast! She doesn't go down without a fight.
Goodwin will be back in Chicago Med season 12 despite Gaffney ousting
Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald confirmed that fans "shouldn't be worried at all" about S. Epatha Merkerson leaving the show given the state of Goodwin's storyline at the end of season 11. MacDonald quelled any concerns that Merkerson would be exiting the show and further explained his thought process about Goodwin's ongoing battle against Miranda.
"[Merkerson/Goodwin] will be back in the fall, and she has, yes, the battle of her life. Exactly. That’s exactly right. And we also liked the dynamic between Miranda and Goodwin, and we didn’t want that to end yet. We thought that there was more juice to squeeze there, basically. So that’s why we’re doing that," he told TV Insider about the season finale cliffhanger involving Goodwin's job.
However, if there were any Chicago Med fans keeping a close watch on headlines about the show before the season 11 finale even aired, then you picked up on the confirmation that Goodwin and Merkerson weren't going anywhere. Ahead of the episode's airing on NBC, news broke that Merkerson and Oliver Platt had signed new deals for season 12.
It's going to be quite the uphill battle for Goodwin to keep her job, as Miranda's already made it clear that she's going to push her out. No matter how hard Goodwin fights back, it's clear that she might not have a choice but concede to Miranda's threats until she can find a way to get her job back. Again, that will be a difficult task given that fact that Miranda knows Goodwin leaked Theo's medical records.
Truthfully? Yeah, that's pretty bad! But no one cares more about Gaffney than Goodwin and no one has more support from her staff than Goodwin. Where there's a will, there's definitely a way for Goodwin to outsmart Miranda and work her way through this mess. And according to MacDonald, she will make it through the other side of her job being threatened... eventually.
Who would have thought that by the end of Chicago Med season 11, we would be worried about a completely different character? Throughout season 11, Charles' fate had been heavily teased to be going in a negative direction, whether it was retiring or dying after having a life-threatening brain surgery. But that was all by design, and thankfully, we won't be losing either him or Goodwin.
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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