Chicago Med season 11 episode 12, "Spill Your Guts," was an action-packed and emotional hour of television. The episode, which will be the last before the crossover event premieres on March 4, took us from a medical emergency in the sky all the way to some truly devastating cases back at Gaffney. Goodwin helped save the life of a board member who doesn't exactly like her, while Frost confronted his family for the first time and Charles mentored a trio of medical students.
While Naomi had been absent for quite a few episodes, she returned this week and assisted Goodwin remotely with the heart procedure she conducted on Miranda on the plane, but two other doctors took the week off. As Chicago Med fans likely noticed, Ripley and Archer both didn't appear in season 11 episode 12. The series will often subtly mention a reason for character absences to fill in the gaps for the audience, but that wasn't the case this time around.
Archer and Ripley not appearing in season 11 episode 12 wasn't explained or even mentioned by any of the characters. It makes sense why it wasn't mentioned, since it was a busier than normal day in the emergency department. But for these two characters in particular, being away for one episode isn't out of the ordinary, and based on where we left off with them in episode 11, it's understandable why the show decided to take a beat and wait a week to bring them back.
In season 11 episode 11, Ripley reunited with Lynne to honor the one-year anniversary of Sully's death. The old friends took Sully's ashes to Wrigley Field, his favorite place, where they snuck into the stadium in order to spread his ashes down on the field. Even though they were caught and were nearly reprimanded by security, they ended up being let go. The episode didn't end with Ripley going anywhere (except to another hookup with Lenox), but he likely just had the day off of work.
As for Archer, he found himself in the middle of a new love triangle formation as he started officially dating Dr. Kingston. Obviously, he's connected to Asher in a big way right now as they are expecting a child together. Asher and Archer aren't romantically involved, though Archer just might have some lingering feelings there, and after seeing Archer and Kingston together (and settling her differences with Kingston), she also appears to have some jealous, longing pangs, too.
You would think that Charles would be the one to take the week off after the devastating loss of his friend Suzie in season 11 episode 11, but he was back to work this week and helping guide three medical students through his field. Chicago Med could have sidelined Charles, but in retrospect, it was smart to bench Archer and Ripley and allow their personal storylines simmer. That extends the lifespan of each romantic arc rather than either speeding through or dragging them along.
It's not unheard of for Chicago Med characters to miss an episode without explanation. For starters, season 11 episode 11 didn't feature appearances from Goodwin or Frost, and the reasoning behind both of them being missing wasn't explored. Because the medical drama has such a rich ensemble and guest cast, the audience doesn't feel cheated when a character takes a week off. Hopefully, all of our favorite characters will be in attendance for the crossover event on March 4 at 8/7c on NBC!