SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 6.
Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 6 begins and ends with the Goodwin family talking about their “highs and lows of the day.” That’s also an apt descriptor of “The Story of Us.” It’s driven primarily by personal drama, and there are some elements of it that are very good. Then there are elements that make it feel more like a soap opera instead of a medical drama.
In fairness to the NBC show, many long-running medical dramas have leaned into the love lives of their doctors—just some more prominently than others. The network promo for this episode being entirely about who Dr. John Frost was going to ask out made it clear that “The Story of Us” was going to be more personal than medical. That plot falls largely flat, while the story of the Goodwin family works much better, resulting in an episode that has its own highs and lows.
The reveal that David Goodwin is not Bert Goodwin’s biological son feels like it was created purely to shock viewers. However, it opens up a well-acted story about the definition of family and coming to terms with the loss of a family member. It’s an absolute pleasure to see Gbenga Akinnagbe—a remarkably talented actor currently appearing in Netflix’s A House of Dynamite, but whose lengthy credits include The Wire, 24: Live Another Day and the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird—playing David. He’s able to sell this plot twist by convincingly taking David through a roller coaster of emotions, from surprise to anger to self-doubt and acceptance. The episode opening with some old home video is a charming touch, and S. Epatha Merkerson is always a star. Chicago Med has stretched the Bert storyline out for awhile now, so if this truly is goodbye to the character, it’s a beautiful way to conclude the subplot.
Other storylines don’t work so well. The Frost plotline is kind of a non-starter, despite the charms of Darren Barnet and the show continuing to write for the Frost and Dr. Mitch Ripley friendship. There hasn’t been enough shared screen time between Frost and Dr. Naomi Howard for the audience to root for them as a couple, and the guest appearance by Chicago Fire‘s Lizzie Novak comes across like she’s just being used as a third wheel—especially since anyone also watching Fire knows that series is setting up a pairing between Novak and Sal Vasquez. And once again, the point of Dr. Caitlin Lenox’s story is that she’s taking more risks these days.
Ripley’s plotline is the most buzzworthy, in both good and bad ways. His girlfriend Sadie meets his ex-girlfriend Dr. Hannah Asher, and it’s refreshing to see the two women so readily embrace each other, with Hannah even offering Sadie emotional support later in the episode. It would be too easy for Chicago Med to lean into awkwardness between the two, or even create unnecessary tension between them. Unfortunately, it looks like that great dynamic won’t be explored further, because the creative team breaks up Ripley and Sadie in a way that viewers are likely to argue about.
Sadie having health and financial problems is a storyline worth exploring, as is Ripley’s compulsive need to save everyone. But rather than do either, “The Story of Us” quickly ramps up to a breakup scene, with both Ripley and Sadie going zero to 60. Ripley impulsively suggests they move in together so that she can use his insurance, which is a leap but not entirely unreasonable (there are plenty of real-life stories of people cohabitating or even marrying to help each other out). But instead of telling him to cool his jets, Sadie ends things on the spot, even admitting “It didn’t even cross my mind until this moment.” That sentiment doesn’t jibe with her saying as she leaves that she loves Ripley; if that’s true, why not make an attempt to work it out?
Perhaps these issues would eventually drive them apart, yet just throwing it out there is like throwing Ripley under the bus. He gets dumped a second time, plus the audience has finally started to care about Sadie and Ripley as a couple. The big moment just in last week’s episode of Sadie starting to trust Ripley with Emilia is even rendered meaningless because Emilia is now calling Ripley “daddy” out of nowhere and Sadie is citing protecting Emilia as another reason for the breakup. There’s so much potential for Ripley, Sadie and even Hannah that gets left on the table in favor of short-term drama.
Chicago Med has good intentions, as evidenced by the Goodwin storyline, and the patients in Frost’s subplot are adorable and relatable (as is the rabbit!). And one thing that “The Story of Us” does reinforce is how much the show’s cast has to offer. The whole Goodwin family is on their “A” game, Barnet takes his extra screen time and runs with it, and Luke Mitchell’s performance in the breakup scene is the one good thing about that moment. But this episode makes choices that are the most exciting or shocking in the immediate now, instead of investing in what would be even more rewarding. This show can do some amazing things if it trusts itself and its cast a bit more.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.
