In the Chicago Med season 10 fall finale, the threat against Goodwin came to a head when she was taken hostage in her office and held at knife-point by the wife of a former patient. As we learned, the person who had been sending threats to Goodwin was a woman named Cassidy, whose wife died in the season 10 premiere when Goodwin chose to allocate the hospital’s remaining blood supply to the boat driver responsible for causing the accident that sent her wife to the ER.
It was an impossible decision for Goodwin, but she had to make the call based on the information provided to her and going off of protocol which resulted in the death of the woman’s wife. After sending threats to Goodwin, she finally came to confront Goodwin and ended up stabbing Goodwin.
As the fall finale came to a close, Goodwin began declining and it looked like all hope was lost until the elevator in her office went off with Archer coming to drop off his letter of resignation. Hearing the elevator, Goodwin grabbed a bottle and smashed it over her attacker’s head using the opportunity to run for the elevator. Just as she reached the elevator, the doors were closing as her attacker came running out after her leaving Goodwin’s fate up in the air during the show’s winter break.
In the winter premiere, “No Love Lost,” we pick up literally right where the finale left off with Goodwin fighting for her life. Just when it looks like Cassidy was about to stab Goodwin again, Archer arrives in time to distract her giving Goodwin the chance to turn the knife on Cassidy. Archer quickly scooped Goodwin up and ran her down to the ED for treatment and the team at Med raced into action.
Goodwin is rushed into surgery and the doctors are able to stabilize her, but the stab wounds cause some serious issues creating a waiting game. As Goodwin fights for her life, Cassidy is taken down to the ED for treatment and it becomes clear that Goodwin purposefully avoided major organs when defending herself. Frost tends to her wounds as PD waits outside her room ready to take her into custody.
Archer meets with Goodwin’s daughter, Tara, and Dennis to talk through the procedure options. Archer suggests a Whipple procedure which would give Goodwin the best chase at living a normal life, but her daughter is afraid of the possible complications and opts for a different course of treatment which Archer is not thrilled about.
He takes Goodwin into surgery and he comes to the realization that things are more complicated and sees the Whipple procedure as the best and only option. While Maggie tells him they’ll need to get consent from Tara before changing course, Archer disregards the warning and pushes ahead, refusing to jeopardize Goodwin’s quality of life by not doing what he knows is the best course of action.
The Whipple was completed successfully, but then she began to crash on the table forcing Archer to rush into action. Fortunately, she pulls through and Archer lets Tara and Dennis know she’s being moved to the ICU to recover.
As the episode ends, Goodwin is recovering nicely in the ICU and Archer comes to see her. She asks Archer to be honest about how close she came to passing and he admits things were looking rough. Goodwin thanks him for not only saving her life but also for making sure she’s able to live life the way she wants. She says she deserves to tear up his letter of resignation and asks him to promise her to stay at Med, making it clear to him that the hospital needs him and so does she.
Elsewhere in the winter premiere…
Dr. Reese submits a misconduct claim against Dr. Charles
Dr. Charles works to treat the young woman who Dr. Reese brought into Med and he reveals to the patient that she’s been on a placebo rather than actual medication for her depression. The patient is understandably shaken having thought she was getting better, but their conversation is cut short when Peter, the head of Med’s legal department, arrives to inform Dr. Charles that Dr. Reese filed a misconduct claim against him which could result in the loss of his license.
Reese and Charles sit down with Peter who walks them through the process for things now that a claim has been filed. Peter gives Reese the option of talking through the claim together, but she is adamant on proceeding which means they’ll need to wait for the facilitator to arrive.
The facilitator finally arrives and meets with the group as well as Dr. Cuevas, who was brought in to meet with the patient and provide further insights. While discussing her conversation with the patient, she revealed that she asked about her medication and was angry about not being given it which is when Dr. Charles questions why she would be enraged when he told her it was a placebo.
It’s then that he and Dr. Reese realize, there is something bigger going on with their patient. They suspect she’s suffering from EML, episodic memory loss, which is why she didn’t remember the conversation with Dr. Charles or taking 12 pills. The pair put their differences aside and realize they need to act urgently to protect the patient.
While working through possibilities, things come to a head as the pair work through the demons of their past. Reese confesses to him that she was anxious and excited to come back to Gaffney as she missed working with Dr. Charles, but then he began questioning her again and it made her feel insecure once again. He explains that he thought about firing her before he ultimately did but never did because she was right so much in a “Why didn’t I think of this” kind of way.
He begins listing off examples of past cases they worked on in which Reese showed her brilliance and they recall a patient who suffered from Addisons and wonder if their current patient could be suffering from the same.
After helping their patient, Charles goes to see Goodwin and surprises her with a visit from Reese. The pair later speak and Charles apologizes if he ever made her question her abilities. He invites her to come work at Med and she kindly declines as they hug it out and she heads out.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and is streaming on Peacock.