Luke Mitchell Is Chicago Med’s Worthy Successor to Colin Donnell—Finally

Chicago Med has never been the same since Colin Donnell left. The departure of Dr. Connor Rhodes not only left a massive hole in the NBC medical drama, but it served as a dividing line between the original era of the series and the show it’s evolved into today. It’s taken five seasons, but there’s finally an actor and character who can fill that massive void: Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley.

To understand what Mitchell’s accomplished, one has to look back at what Donnell did during his four seasons on Chicago Med—which was a lot. Connor was someone who always held the audience’s attention, primarily because he felt like a realistic doctor and not a heightened character. He was the voice of reason in several stories and someone whom viewers could respect. But by Season 4, everything around him was spinning out of control (his primary storyline was discovering that his colleague and ex-girlfriend was an unhinged murderer), so it wasn’t a surprise when Connor decided to bail out.

Off-screen, the departures of Donnell and co-star Norma Kuhling were a creative decision by producers that proved to be very unpopular. Fans have been wanting Connor back ever since, and while that’s not going to happen (the character has zero reason to return and Colin Donnell has a new gig on FBI: International), Ripley is following in his footsteps thanks to a strong effort by Blindspot alum Mitchell.

Since Connor’s departure, Chicago Med hasn’t had a character who can ground the show. Even the people who are supposed to be in charge are caught up in the drama. Viewers can make a case for most of the doctors to have been fired at least once, which has the side effect of making hospital administrator Sharon Goodwin seem like she’s trying to herd cats.

Enter Dr. Mitch Ripley, whose storyline does have some dramatic license to it—he’s a former patient of Dr. Daniel Charles who now works at the same hospital as his ex-doctor—but who has himself planted firmly on the ground. He feels like a real person, and the aforementioned backstory has a point beyond just connecting him to an existing character. It creates a compelling through-line of someone who’s worked to turn his life around, and in some ways, he’s still a work in progress.

Like Connor, he’s more than the next interchangeable part in Chicago Med‘s roster of doctors. Ripley’s history makes him feel like he has to be specifically in this place in order to move forward, just as Connor was coming back to Chicago when he arrived on the scene. And Mitchell gives his character the same sense of purpose that made Donnell’s performance such a joy to watch. Both actors make it feel like the show needs them, which isn’t that far from the truth.

Donnell was constantly pushing Connor forward, and he deserves a lot of credit for continuing to stay true to his character even when storylines pulled him in strange directions. His commitment to who Connor Rhodes was made those plots worth watching, because Chicago Med fans knew he’d find something, no matter what the circumstances. Mitchell has that same ability to take the basic or the surprising and bring it back to who Ripley is. A prime example is Season 9, Episode 6, “I Told Myself That I Was Done With You.” Everyone has seen the “someone from a character’s past is suddenly in their present” story; it’s a favorite trope of both medical and cop dramas.

The script wants to go down some predictable paths, such as when Charles suggests that Ripley’s desperation to save his patient’s life is only because he knows said patient. But Mitchell takes what could’ve been melodramatic and makes it work. His reaction intimates that while that may be part of the reason, it’s not all of the reason. When Ripley has his inevitable outburst, the audience can track how and why; it doesn’t feel like it’s there simply to provide drama. It feels like there’s a lot going on there, from self-loathing to a doctor who’s willing to literally fight to save someone’s life.

Luke Mitchell is building a character who’s constantly pushing forward, whose drive is internal rather than external, and who is simply on a more intense level than any of his colleagues. Anyone who watched CBS’ short-lived The Code (which, in a fun bit of connection, saw him working with Ato Essandoh—who played Connor’s boss Dr. Isidore Latham on Chicago Med) knows how he can screw with network “case of the week” archetypes. Mitchell’s character on The Code should have been insufferable, but as the series went on, he found ways to crack the stereotype and make it work.

He’s doing the same with Ripley, who could’ve been simply defined by his past relationship with Charles and will hopefully avoid getting entangled in any kind of personal subplot. Ripley is an interesting character because he’s not reacting to anyone or anything else; he’s battling with himself. His primary relationship is learning to love himself. He’s got a degree of separation from whatever other chaos happens at the hospital. Dude has enough of his own baggage to deal with.

And that’s what Chicago Med can benefit from. The mistake after Colin Donnell left (besides his leaving at all) was creating a character who the show thought would be Connor’s replacement. Dr. Crockett Marcel was a trauma surgeon, just like Connor had once been, and he even took over working out of the hybrid OR that Connor had created. He was also supposed to be a “wild card” with his rogueish personality. But all that wasn’t what made Connor Rhodes successful. Sticking someone in Connor’s old job and workspace just felt like trying to copy him, and he was a disruptor in the sense of pushing himself and everyone around him forward, not because he was a smart-alec or an “out of the box” guy. Luckily, actor Dominic Rains persisted long enough for Crockett to grow beyond being Connor-lite and Crockett now has his own identity, including being a member of the hospital board.

Mitch Ripley is not copying Connor Rhodes; instead, he’s upholding the same character aspects that made Connor so memorable. The two characters would probably get along, although Connor would have some advice for Ripley about dealing with his issues. And Luke Mitchell is the first new actor since Chicago Med Season 5 to hit the same high standard that Colin Donnell set. Connor Rhodes will always be one of Chicago Med‘s best characters, but Mitch Ripley is certainly making him proud.

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. on NBC. This article is exclusive to Fangirlish and if reproduced or excerpted anywhere else, has been stolen without the author’s permission.