Chicago Med season 4 midseason report: Sharon Goodwin

How has Chicago Med season 4 gone for Sharon Goodwin? Before Chicago Med returns, we’re reviewing the season for S. Epatha Merkerson’s character.

Before Chicago Med comes back in the new year, we’re taking a moment to pause and look at the current season for each character. What are the important events that fans need to remember?

What plot developments have been good for them, and which ones need to be improved? And of course, where could they go next when new episodes start on Jan. 9?

Click through the below slideshow as we look at Chicago Med season 4 as it relates to Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson), starting with:

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What’s happened so far

Sharon Goodwin had a storyline to start off the season, and then has gone largely quiet since.

Goodwin opened Chicago Med season 3 locked in battle with new hospital exec Gwen Garrett (Heather Headley), fighting over the hybrid OR proposal. Gwen fired ED chief Stanley Stohl (Eddie Jemison) solely to get back at Goodwin, wrongly believing that it was her who pushed the hybrid OR project through.

But since then, nothing has happened for Sharon specifically. She’s been around to keep the wheels turning, such as working with personnel during the hospital’s chemical scare and scolding doctors when necessary, but she hasn’t gotten anything that’s specifically about her.

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What it means

Goodwin being the hospital administrator limits her plotlines to an extent. Like the boss in a cop show, she’s the one who sits behind the desk and tells other people what to do or not to do. The best shows find a way to circumvent that archetype; Chicago Med could do better in that respect.

It’s been well-established that Goodwin was a nurse, and we’ve seen a time or two where she’s lent a hand when the ED runs out of staff. It would be great to see more of that; obviously that couldn’t be an every episode thing, since she also needs time to do the administrative work, but it feels like she’s mostly stuck in her own world (or office).

Of course, the question is if that’s what the show wants, and if S. Epatha Merkerson is fine with that. A good example is Steven Hill, who played the first District Attorney on Law & Order; he was fine with being the supporting player. As the story goes, he actually asked for fewer lines because he wanted the focus to be on the other actors. It could be that everybody’s cool with Goodwin the way she is.

But as fans, considering how talented Merkerson is, it’s hard not to want more of her.

What’s next

Considering how little of Goodwin fans saw in the first half of the season, almost anything would be an improvement during the second half.

The hospital’s financial problems have not been resolved so that will have to still be on her plate when Chicago Med returns. How many more scenes can be done with her crunching numbers and talking about money, though? The fans want to hear that just as little as the doctors do.

There was an eyebrow-arching wrinkle when Goodwin decided to open up the hybrid OR; it felt like a Gwen move. But according to the show’s producers, Goodwin was actually trying to protect the program by showing the board it had more value to the hospital.

It’s up to you whether or not you agree with that point of view, but the idea of Goodwin—who normally is always on her team’s side against outside forces—flipping sides is intriguing. Could she become more of an antagonist? That would be a true surprise to see.

For the latest Chicago Med season 4 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.