For most of Chicago Med season 11, Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) has been going through a tough time in both his personal and professional lives, and that's not going to stop anytime soon. Between almost losing his daughter and going through another loss as his mental health began to suffer, Charles raced toward a full mental breakdown, which is coming up in a two-part reckoning.
Beginning with Chicago Med season 11 episode 16, titled "The Book of Charles," Charles faces the realities of his declining mental health after stepping in to assist with the suicide prevention hotline. The episode also brings his daughter back into the fold as part of Charles' support system. But the newly released synopsis from the second part, and comments from Oliver Platt, have us worried.
According to TV Line, season 11 episode 17, which is titled "Altered States" and airs on April 8, the Gaffney ED team will have to join forces as they help "save one of their own in critical danger." Given what we know about Charles' state of mind and the crisis he will be heading into with these two episodes, it's confirmed that the psychiatrist will be the one in critical danger.
Platt spoke with TV Line and previewed what's to come for Charles' journey in the gripping two-part arc: "I think it's safe that what [showrunner] Allen [MacDonald] wrote was basically, certainly one of the worst days in [Charles'] adult life, where a lot of stuff that I think they'd be laying in earlier in the season really just comes to a head."
The stuff that's been building up all season long? Of course, that would be Charles' anxiety about the continued pressure about retirement, a topic that his been present in the doctor's storyline for most of season 11. Platt calls what Charles goes through in these episodes an "existential crisis" that's been slowly mounting on the back of the troubles he faced with his medications.
"Just when he thinks that it's safe to go back in the water, I think that stuff kind of bites him," Platt previewed. "I think it's kind of a perfect storm. But for an actor, it's just a complete dream to play, to have struggle and challenges and have the day get worse and worse and worse until something really bad happens."
Well, something bad happening to Charles doesn't sound especially promising with where his storyline has been building this season. Not to mention, MacDonald called these two episodes "one of the dramatic high points of the season," in comparison to Archer and Asher's baby drama and Lenox's battle against Carter, which further gives us concerns about what's in store for Charles.
It's never easy going into a new Chicago Med episode, or any One Chicago episode, when one of your favorite characters is said to be in "critical danger." Realistically, we shouldn't be too worried that something serious and irreversible will happen to him. But Charles has needed to face these challenges head on in order to get himself back on track.
Don't miss the two-part Chicago Med season 11 episodes centers on Dr. Charles, airing on Wednesday April 1 and April 8 at 8/7c on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock.