After taking a brief break, Chicago Med season 10 resumed with the show’s sixteenth episode on March 26 bringing about a return to normalcy following the previous episode which found most of the action set outside Gaffney Chicago Medical Center following Ripley as he helped save the lives of a mother and daughter trapped in a well.
As the episode begins, we see a mother bringing in her comatose daughter and we quickly learn that this patient has a surprise connection with Goodwin’s past when the mother recognizes Goodwin as “Nurse Goodwin.” During the patient’s intake, Lenox notices the patient moving her arm suggesting perhaps she could be waking from her coma.
The mystery behind how Goodwin knows the patient and her mother, Angela, quickly comes to light and it's a tragic backstory. We learn that the young woman, Josephine, was involved in a car accident that claimed the life of her father and caused her brain to hemorrhage. There was a difference of opinion between the doctors regarding the best course of treatment with some feeling surgery was needed and others believing they needed to wait for her brain swelling to go down. Goodwin advocated for surgery and they fixed the bleed, but Josephine never regained consciousness.
We later learn that Josephine has a brain tumor that has been growing and needs to be resected. The only problem is that the tumor is in a challenging place, making surgery difficult. The problem is that without surgery, she won’t survive.
Angela agrees to the surgery, and Goodwin tries to reach out with an olive branch by coming to see her and assure her that Dr. Abrams is the best around. Angela understandably lashes out before apologizing to Goodwin, noting she’s been on such a rollercoaster ride learning that Josephine seems to be coming out of her coma only to possibly lose her to the tumor.
After speaking with Angela, Goodwin catches up with Lenox, and the conversation inspires an idea to try a procedure to wake Josephine before the surgery. Sadly, it doesn’t work and they have to take her to surgery before she regains consciousness.
Goodwin comes to visit Angela while her daughter is in surgery. She recalls the conversation they had 22 years ago when they sat in a room similar to the one they were sitting in now, and Goodwin offered up her opinion on what she would have done in the situation. Goodwin apologizes and says it wasn’t her place to weigh in on a session that was hers alone to make. Their conversation is cut short as Lenox arrives to tell Angela the surgery went well and Josephine is in recovery.
As visiting hours come to an end, Goodwin offers to sit with Josephine through the night. Before Angela heads out, she confides to Goodwin that there was a time when she did blame Goodwin, but she also blamed the rain, her dad, and so many other things that factored into things. She tells Goodwin she’s grateful for the moments she’s had with her daughter, and she has Goodwin to thank for that as she heads out.
Just as she’s about to leave, Josephine begins to awaken before finally coming out of her coma.
A dark secret from Frost’s past is confirmed
Goodwin wasn’t the only one forced to work through a demon from her past as Frost has to work through an even darker secret from his personal past. The episode opens as Ainsley, the actress from Frost’s past who played his mom on his hit show, comes to Med to shadow Maggie for the day. The pair share an awkward moment and it’s again made clear something happened between them.
Shifting his attention to his work, Frost begins treating a young boy who has come in due to blood in his vomit. He eventually tags in Charles when lab works show a medication in his system used to induce vomiting, suggesting that something is up. Charles sits down to talk with the boy, who at first suggests he has a weak stomach. As the conversation continues it becomes clear the boy was inducing vomit to try to “fix himself.” This is when Frost pieces together that the boy is referring to trying to fix his emerging feelings for other boys.
Between the conversation, Ainsley finds Frost in a supply closet as she’s looking for gauze. She comments about it being interesting to see him in doctor mode as she points out how it couldn’t have been easy knowing his parents were likely of no help. After she tells him how proud she is of him, Frost points out that she was the only person in his life who encouraged him to quit acting to pursue his real dreams and that she was the only one who he felt saw him. Ainsley then pulls him in for a kiss which leads to some awkwardness as he pulls back – an ordeal Maggie witnesses directly.
Returning to the case at hand, Frost and Charles try to sit down with the boy’s parents to buy time so they can come up with a plan to treat him without outing the boy to his parents. With his head not fully in the game, Frost flubs his words and the chat ends with the parents pushing to leave as soon as their son can be discharged.
Charles later gets the chance to speak with the boy’s dad alone and subtly hints that his son is struggling with his identity. Just as it seems the dad is about to break through, the boy’s mom arrives and the conversation ends abruptly. As they’re signing the boy out to leave, the mom makes a comment about being proud of her son for knowing something was wrong and trying to fix it. The dad steps in, sending the mother away, and assuring his son that he loves him no matter what and that will never change.
Later, Maggie finds Frost outside and goes to speak with him about Ainsley. She asks about their past as she saw his face when they left the supply room. Frost tells her they were involved a long time ago. Maggie quickly asks how long ago it was. We learn that Frost was not yet even 17 when the show ended and they got together. He assures Maggie he was not a typical teen as he was working a full-time job and Maggie says that it was not okay.
He assures Maggie he knew what he was doing and he moved on, but she points out that is not what she saw and she tells him he’s not being honest. Frost directly says he’s not a victim and his defenses rise as he pushes her away and tells her to drop it.
As the night ends, Frost tells Ainsley he’s not going to make it to dinner and that the past should stay in the past. While he might have pushed Maggie away, her comments clearly stuck with him.
Chicago Med season 10 episode 16 updates us on Ripley’s recovery and suspension
In the midst of the episode’s main storylines, we get a quick update on Ripley, who is recovering nicely at Med following his near-death experience.
Aside from his leg, Ripley is feeling better than he has in a long time, as he tells Charles. We learn that the mom and daughter he helped save are going to be discharged soon and both are also doing nicely.
Ripley is still waiting on the board's decision about his suspension and Charles indicates to him that his heroics could help. Ripley assures him if he’s given a second chance, he won’t waste it. He says he wasn’t sure if he’d make it out until he heard Charles's voice and says he hasn’t made it easy to care and thanks Charles for caring.
As the episode comes to a close, Goodwin comes to visit him and lets him know the board’s decision has come through: he’s been reinstated. Ripley says that while talk is cheap, he’s going to prove to her that he’s changed and she assures him that she’s seen patience can be rewarded.
As for his relationship with Asher? During a quick chat with Frost, we learn that he and Asher have decided to hold off on having their big relationship talk until after he recovers.