When Hannah learned that she was pregnant in the final moments of the penultimate episode of Chicago Med, fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ripley was the father of the baby. It was an understandable leap to make as Ripley and Hannah had previously been together, so the assumption was that he was the father. Well, we should know better than to assume.
In the Chicago Med season 10 finale, Hannah and Ripley had a conversation about the weight that comes with being a parent and how you’d do anything you can for your kids. The conversation seemed to be moving along nicely, and then Ripley went and told Hannah that having a kid makes you wonder if it’s really worth it. The comment created some understandable concern for Hannah, which we could see clearly painted on her face.
As the episode ended, we saw Hannah knocking on a door, and we saw Ripley coming down the stairs to open the door. It seemed that Hannah had arrived to talk with Ripley about her pregnancy, but then came the season-ending twist! It wasn’t Ripley’s doorstep Hannah was at — it was Archer’s! “We need to talk,” she told him as he opened the door. This was a moment that hinted perhaps that something had happened between Hannah and Archer, and that he could be the father of her baby.
Needless to say, this was a twist that immediately sent shockwaves through the One Chicago fandom, giving Hannah and Ripley shippers cause for concern, while giving Hannah and Archer shippers a glimmer of hope that perhaps they could have a chance of becoming an official couple.
It was an absolutely brilliant plot twist and one that the writers fully recognize is going to divide the audience.
“I think when the final answer comes out, obviously, part of the audience will love it, and part of the audience will be disappointed,” Chicago Med showrunner Allen MacDonald told TVLine.
Honestly, this makes complete sense, and we’re not even mad. Good TV needs conflict, and there needs to be moments that get the audience talking. Nothing does that better than a good love triangle between three amazing characters, and that’s exactly what we have in Hannah, Ripley, and Archer.
There are legitimate reasons for both sides of the argument, and we can understand each side’s reasons for wanting to see Hannah with both Ripley and Archer. The show has perfectly written the storyline so that there have been moments that cater to both sides, and this pregnancy is sure to get fans talking on both sides.
We just immediately assumed the father would be Ripley, then the writers threw the curveball our way in having Hannah go to see Archer at the end of the episode, suggesting there’s something there we hadn’t gotten to see unfold on-screen. This opens the door for fans to spend the full summer speculating about who the father is or should be, and that’s what a good TV show should do!
Shows should spark conversation and get fans passionately debating storylines, as Chicago Med has done with this pregnancy storyline. Sure, when the truth comes out, there will be parts of the fandom disappointed, but as MacDonald best pointed out at the end of the day, the writers have to do what’s best for the character, even if that means not every fan will be happy.
“We, ultimately, don’t consider what the audience wants to happen because it’s too confusing. You’ll get pulled in too many different directions, and we just have to put that out of our minds and just ask ourselves what we think is the most natural, organic path for the character to take, and that was our north star when we were deciding to do the story of who the father of the baby was.”
Chicago Med returns for season 11 this fall on NBC.