After only four episodes of Chicago Med season 12, it's already been a big season of change in the emergency department. When you zoom out and look at ED staff, there have been a number of comings, goings, and job swaps since the season 11 finale. The latest episode featured yet another shuffle as Archer's replacement as interim ED chief was announced.
In last week's episode, Miranda stood up to Archer getting involved in the Goodwin situation by having him removed from running the emergency department while Lenox is away. Naturally, that meant a replacement would need to be named, and before the end of episode 4, Sloan made the announcement to the ED team that Ripley will take over as interim ED chief.
We weren't expecting Sloan to name Ripley as Archer's replacement, but it's not as if she had a ton of options to choose from. That's not to say Ripley isn't deserving or was given the position out of consolation. But Ripley taking over for Archer is particularly ironic given their history of jealousy in season 11 after Ripley's relationship with Asher ended and she began one with Archer.
Thankfully, their past doesn't appear to have a place in this story, but being replaced with someone younger will likely be a hit to Archer's ego on some level. Still, this is an incredible opportunity for character development for Ripley. He's been coming into his own over the past few seasons, and it's high time that he took on more responsibility and leadership at the hospital.
Ripley is taking over Lenox's ED chief job from Archer
There's two more instances of irony surrounding Ripley earning this new position, and one revolves around Ripley actually spending most of season 12 episode 4 pushing Frost to take on more responsibility. Frost expressed interest in an attending position, and Ripley suggested putting his name in for chief resident. Look at these ambitious best friends moving up!
Of course, there's the other irony for Ripley that he's not only taking over for Archer, but he's stepping into his girlfriend's job. We know that Lenox takes her job as ED chief seriously, so how will she feel about Ripley taking over? He might find his own groove once he settles in, and he might discover he has a different leadership strategy that creates changes in the ED. Lenox might not like that.
Not to mention, Ripley might come to find that he enjoys having more responsibility in the ED, which could also cause problems in their relationship upon Lenox's return. If he wants to keep the position as ED chief, and Lenox expects to step right back into her role, what would that mean for their relationship? That's an intriguing storyline we could be exploring later this season.
Hopefully, Chicago Med doesn't go down the route of Sloan using Ripley as a pawn in this power struggle that's going down in the ED. Ripley's team, which includes Archer, would not want to see him fail. But Sloan and Miranda might have other ideas. Maybe they think he's not fit for the task and are hoping he will fail, which could possibly be used in Miranda's favor to become Gaffney's new CEO.
See? There's a lot going on at Gaffney. Chicago Med season 12 has had tons of shuffles with Lenox out, Goodwin back on the floor as a nurse, Asher returning from maternity leave, Wu joining the team, and Sloan taking over Goodwin's role as executive administrator. As the saying goes, it's going to get worse before it gets better, so let's buckle up for more twists and turns until things settle down.
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