Heading into Chicago Med season 11, episode 16, “The Book of Charles,” we knew the episode would feature the return of Hannah Alligood as Anna Charles. What we did not expect was that Anna would not be the only character to make a return in the episode, which ended with the return of a character we never expected to see again on the show.
Warning: The following post contains spoilers from Chicago Med season 11, episode 16, “The Book of Charles.”
From the opening moments, it was clear that the events of the episode would push Dr. Charles to his limits and have potential repercussions on his health. What we did not expect was that the episode would end with Charles's life hanging in the balance after he collapsed on the floor of his office. And yet somehow that wasn’t even the most shocking part of the episode’s closing moments!
After discovering that his patient had downed drain cleaner following his earlier conversation with her, we see Charles stumbling through the halls of the hospital as he makes his way to his office. It looks like Charles is having another panic attack, but that does not appear to be the case.
As the episode ends, Charles opens his office door and walks through it only to be transported into his childhood home. Charles takes in the room around him before spotting his estranged mother, Margaret, sitting in the chair. He comments about how he must be dreaming as she asks if he’s sure it’s not a nightmare. He awakens, and we find him lying on the floor, calling out for help, as we come to learn in the promo for the episode, he’s having a stroke.
The moment was particularly surprising in nature as Deanna Dunagan was written out of the show in season 10 when her character was killed off in an emotional and shocking twist. Following Margaret’s death, we didn’t expect to see Dunagan back on the show, as Chicago Med has never been one to bring back characters who had previously been killed off the show. Yes, it has a tendency to reference characters who have passed, but we don’t tend to see them make return appearances, which is what made Dunagan’s return so unexpected.
Fans will recall Charles’s mother tragically passed away in season 10, episode 20, before he could make headway in mending the fences of their frayed relationship. We thought we’d never get to see Charles fully address his complicated past with his mom, but it seems season 11 will bring us that moment.
Following her return in episode 16, Dunagan is set to reprise the role of Charles’s mother in episode 17, where we’ll likely get to see Charles confronting his past in a dream-like sequence as the Gaffney staff rush to save his life. It’ll be exciting to see what the episode brings, and it just goes to show that Chicago Med never fails to find ways to surprise us!