From the moment Chicago Med introduced Dr. Caitlin Lenox made her way to Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, she’s been at odds with Dr. Dean Archer. Tasked with co-running the E.D. together, the pair have struggled to see eye-to-eye on… well, literally everything.
There isn’t really anything the two doctors agree on which has created a lot of tension between the two, which isn’t exactly beneficial when they’re supposed to run the E.D. together and often are forced to make life-or-death decisions in the moment in order to help treat the patients that come through the hospital’s emergency department.
We’ve known from the start that Goodwin would eventually have to decide between the two as there was no way they could successfully run the E.D. together, and it looked like it was Archer who would end up back in charge, helming the ship. Much to our surprise, in episode 7, we learned that Goodwin decided to turn the E.D. over to Lenox making her the sole head of the E.D. with Archer being demoted back to an attending.
Needless to say, we expected this decision would ruffle up some feathers and shake Archer to his core, but when the promo suggested he might walk away from Med entirely with the mention of a resignation letter, our heart rates soared.
As the fall finale began, we expected that Archer would put up a fight; however, he had quite the opposite reaction. He entered the E.D. calm and level-headed, telling Lenox that he would not make anything awkward and that he felt a weight had been lifted off of him. Not only did Archer promise not to create problems, but he also assured Lenox that he’d help the others realize she’s the boss as well.
This was a sentiment he later echoed when catching up with Goodwin between seeing patients as he told her that he felt it liberating to just be a doctor again.
After a busy day in the E.D., Asher finds Archer sitting in the locker room and admits she didn’t expect him to take the change as well as he had which is when he reveals to her that he’s planning on slipping a resignation letter under Goodwin’s door. As he tells Asher, while he tried to put on a positive face he’s come to the realization that he needs to walk away.
“With Shawn leaving Chicago and Margot and I ending things, why stay?” As Asher questions how he could say that to her, Archer tells her that of course she's a reason for him to stay, but that "Goodwin’s right. Lenox is the future of the E.D., it’s time for me to move on. I won’t let anything get in the way of that.”
Not willing to just let her friend leave town that easily, Asher makes a deal with Archer. They’ll break the wishbone from the Thanksgiving celebration: if he wins, he can slide the letter of resignation under the door but if she wins he has to take 24 hours to cooldown and reconsider his decision.
Asher ends up winning, seeming to buy some time but it’s clear Archer is struggling with this new change. So much so that as the episode ends, Archer goes up to Goodwin's office and ends up sliding the letter of resignation under the door hinting that his time on Med could be coming to an end. However, we have a feeling his thoughts might change. You see, as he was getting in the elevator, a bloody Goodwin came running out to get help.
Archer is set to play a key role in saving Goodwin and after the events that are surely coming in the winter premiere, we imagine Archer won't be walking away from Med.
Goodwin's true stalker is revealed as Goodwin's life is left hanging in the balance
While our focus was on Archer heading into the fall finale, it seems we should have had our eyes on Goodwin as well as it turns out the police got the wrong guy a few episodes back and did not arrest her actual stalker.
When going up to her office, Goodwin is confronted by a mystery woman who we discover is Cassidy, the wife of the woman who died in the premiere after the blood needed for her treatment was allocated to another patient by Goodwin.
During a heated confrontation, Cassidy stabs Goodwin in the stomach and collapses to the floor. She attempts to get to her phone to send a message for help, but Cassidy discovers her phone when it begins buzzing.
As the episode ends, it looks like Goodwin is barely hanging on but Archer’s arrival to slide his resignation letter under her door gives her the distraction needed to break away from her attacker and run for help.
Unfortunately, Goodwin gets the door just as the elevator doors begin to close on Archer and Cassidy comes racing out behind her in a cliffhanger that is going to leave us talking until the show returns in January!