The Chicago Med Season 11 premiere isn’t too far off from the Chicago Med Season 10 premiere. Both feature the hospital dealing with a major disaster—this time it’s a building collapse—while the staff have various personal revelations. Audiences sort of know what to expect from this story. Thus, while there’s a lot going on in “We All Fall Down,” some parts are more impactful than others.
Of course, the primary plotline concerns Dr. Hannah Asher’s unexpected pregnancy. The premiere follows her as she tells Dr. Dean Archer that he’s the father of the baby, then has her ex-boyfriend, Dr. Mitch Ripley, find out in the most TV way possible—through one of the nurses assuming that it’s Ripley’s child. Despite that literally cringe-worthy moment, the scenes between Jessy Schram, Luke Mitchell, and Steven Weber are well-done all around. There’s a genuine feeling to every exchange; nothing feels amped up for the sake of drama.
Hannah’s talk with Ripley is infused with a clear mutual respect between the actors, if not the characters. It could have been turned into an argument for entertainment’s sake, but it’s a reasonable conversation where Ripley shows his vulnerable side yet again. This feeling is not ameliorated by the fact that he’s revealed to be dating Sadie at the end of the premiere. Audiences have been through this spontaneous romance concept before with the Ripley and Lynne not-love triangle from Season 10; since they haven’t seen enough of Ripley and Sadie as a couple yet, it’s hard not to feel like this is similarly impermanent.
Elsewhere, Brennan Brown returns as Dr. Sam Abrams, and Dr. Caitlin Lenox works on a case with him, with Lenox being even more blunt after her Prion disease diagnosis. Abrams repeatedly confronts Lenox about her behavior to no avail. (The last scene, watching Lenox hook up with a random stranger in a bar, drives that point home in the most awkward way possible.) Abrams and Lenox are an interesting combination because—as is noted in this episode—if Abrams is concerned about someone being too honest, that’s saying something. His bluntness is one of his defining characteristics. This is a pairing Chicago Med ought to lean more into.
Lenox’s protege, Naomi Howard, returns as a surgical resident, which undercuts her farewell at the end of Chicago Med Season 10 and makes one wonder what the show has planned for her. Dr. Daniel Charles is spot on as always, counseling a young man who has survivor’s guilt from the building collapse. The other major case of the week involves Dr. John Frost and Archer treating a family badly injured in a house fire, only to learn that the woman who dies is not the mother—she’s the ex-babysitter that the father is having an affair with. Both Charles’s speech on trying to ascribe logic to tragedy and Frost’s reaction as the real mother has to tell her son about his dad’s death are painfully beautiful scenes. The latter is a reminder that Darren Barnet can do so much more in Season 11.
Lastly, but certainly not least, Chicago Med noticeably suffers from the absence of Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood, which is completely expected. News of Barrett’s temporary exit broke between seasons, so fans were prepared not to see Maggie, but this is still a “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” feeling. Doris is the new charge nurse and fills the role admirably, yet Maggie has a gravity that Doris cannot replicate. Hopefully, Barrett will make her return later in Season 11. For now, Chicago Med has plenty of cards laid out on the table to play with, even if several of them are familiar.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
Making Dean the father was the right call. It’s a more dramatic story this way. And Jessy and Steven as actors having incredible chemistry.
You just pointed out exactly why I’m not sold on the idea. I do agree that Jessy and Steven are great to watch, though. I’m so glad Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider thought to bring back Hannah after her initial arc had ended (and really interested to see what it’s like when Hannah and Will see each other again).
I think ultimately to sell a lasting and memorable ship story your characters have to have strong chemistry and that’s where Hannah and Ripley always fell short for me. Were they beautiful to look at? Yes! But beyond that it felt forced. There’s something about Hannah and Archer that just feels effortless to me. It’s unconventional, yes. But unconventional often makes for compelling entertainment.
Diana and Andy made two great decisions: 1) bringing Hannah back and redeeming her 2) turning Archer’s initial guest arc role into a series regular.
When Will finds out about Hannah and Archer…that will be something.
I give them a lot of credit for both those things. Hannah’s original arc, while compelling, seemed like she was going to be written-off and/or turned into a villain (like what happened with Sarah Rafferty’s character, which was an unfortunate waste of her talent). Hannah has become one of the most interesting characters in the show IMO.
Also, as a Steven Weber fan going back to Wings, I’m really glad to see him not only stick around but get the storylines that he has. The line where Archer points out to Hannah that he’s in his 60s draws attention to the fact that on another show, he’d just be the elder statesman-type character. He’s getting a full life… although I do still disagree with how quickly they wrote Sean off. That father-son relationship was so nuanced.
I’m curious what they do with Ripley. Luke Mitchell is a fantastic actor (if you didn’t see him in Blindspot, please do!) but the material for him could be stronger. And I’m not sure Sadie is the answer.