Chicago Med season 5 character preview: Daniel Charles

What will happen

Please let us be wrong, but One Chicago precedent suggests that Charles could end up being left a widower at some point in Chicago Med‘s new season. All of the shows, not just this one, have that tendency to get rid of characters’ loved ones for dramatic effect. Last season, the franchise killed two characters’ fathers when neither of them really needed to go anywhere.

Caroline is already fighting a life-threatening disease that has worsened, so the groundwork is there for her to pass away. The other consideration is that Paula Newsome is a recurring player on the show, so if she books another role and becomes unavailable, the writers would have limited options for her character. (See: what happened to Dr. Isidore Latham after Ato Essandoh became understandably very in-demand.)

Within the hospital walls, the easiest route is for him to start mentoring a new med student. The series put him together with Elsa Curry during one episode last season, and we already know that Molly Bernard is returning next season, so it’d be no surprise if they started collaborating more. It might actually be good, since Charles’ perpetual chill could balance out Elsa’s total lack of bedside manner.

And with a greater focus on the Emergency Department now, it’s clear that Charles will continue to be a floater. He’s now the sole doctor who works anywhere other than the ED, and he doesn’t have a student to work with (yet) so the only way he continues to fit in will be in other people’s cases. The question is, will his screen time diminish as a result or will this be an opportunity for the writers to mix up his storylines?

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