Chicago Med season 4 character preview: Ava Bekker

What should happen

Ava Bekker wouldn’t mince words, so we won’t either: she’s the most one-dimensional character on Chicago Med. She was obviously brought in to be Connor’s new love interest (even the actors saw it coming) and it’s as if that’s the only lens the writers saw her through. She felt like a love interest first, and a new character second.

That needs to be rectified, and rectified immediately. If the show truly wants us to root for Ava and Connor as a couple, we have to care about Ava and understand why Connor would want to be with her. There wasn’t even a real setup for the big moment when they finally kissed! Everything about her storyline has felt rushed, and more to serve a ship than a character.

But Ava can still be a great character. When she’s been given the material, Norma Kuhling has done so well with it; she’s an excellent actress. Ava’s professional disagreements with Connor have been a thousand times more interesting than their personal fling. Chicago Med needs to show us more of Ava the doctor (and not just her trying to get ahead or being snarky in the OR), and allow her to fail instead of having Connor there to save her.

Why did she become a doctor? What does she do when she’s not working? Are there experiences she’s had that influence the way she approaches her work? There are so many questions, and the new season needs to answer them first, before it worries about getting Connor and Ava back as a couple.