As the Chicago Med season 10 finale begins, we get a bit of a blast from the past as Goodwin goes to see the woman who attacked her earlier in the season. While the woman claims to have found God in prison and seeks Goodwin’s forgiveness, Goodwin makes it clear she won’t accept the apology and tells the woman to pray for herself instead.
Goodwin’s day seems to only get worse from there. When she arrives at the hospital, Goodwin is informed by the board that Hayes' exit will be a hit to their budget and she needs to make cuts. This includes making some tough decisions which will result in the firing of several doctors including Dr. Dennis Washington. When the board suggests Goodwin’s relationship could blur the lines, she assures them that she’s got this and can handle things but it’s clear something is up.
After speaking with the board, Goodwin goes to see Dennis and informs him he’s on the chopping block. She lets him know she can save his job, but it will mean taking a salary cut and changing his title. Needless to say, Dennis isn’t sold on the pitch as he lashes out about how his title is what he’s worked for in his career and is everything to him. Goodwin assures him she did everything she could to save his job, which is when he asks if she offered to walk or take a pay cut for him. He gets huffy and says she’ll have his letter of resignation by the end of the day, storming off angrily.
Later, Dennis goes to see Goodwin and hands her his resignation letter. He apologizes for how he spoke to her earlier, and Goodwin makes it clear she understands his anger, but she’s realized she has some anger of her own.
Dennis's choice not to tell his daughter about their relationship really hurt her. As she tells him, he asked her to let him into her life, and she did because she believed in them, but he didn’t give her the same respect. Goodwin tells him it’s time they go their separate ways. He tries to brush it off as her making a rash decision after what she went through, but Goodwin rightfully isn’t having it as she accepts his letter of resignation and brings an end to the conversation.
As the finale draws to a close, Goodwin is speaking to someone about how she’s finding forgiveness harder as she gets older. She says she feels hopeful and glad to be alive, as we see she’s speaking with Bert, who has sadly progressed further since we last saw him, and no longer remembers who Goodwin is. The finale concludes on a bittersweet ending as we realize how deeply Goodwin still cares for Bert, and we’re not prepared to see the toll his continued decline might take on her next season.
Who is the father of Hannah’s baby? That’s a mystery for season 11, it seems!
Early in the episode, Hannah tells her sister she’s pregnant and apologizes for not being able to be her surrogate. Rather than being understanding, Lizzie lashes out about it being typical and that she should have known better than to trust her. Hannah says she’s done everything she can to help her have a baby and make up for her past mistakes. She then asks Lizzie if there is any part of her that’s happy. Rather than answering, Lizzie storms out.
At the hospital, Hannah and Ripley talk about doing anything you can for your kids, and it seems the conversation is moving nicely. That’s when he makes a comment about whether it’s worth it to have kids, walking away, not realizing the weight his words carried.
As the episode draws to a close, we see Hannah knocking on someone’s door. Our initial thought was that it would be Ripley who opened the door, and we do see him getting a knock at his door. However, instead of it being Hannah at his doorstep, it’s Sadie, the woman he saved from the well earlier in the season, who has come to ask him out. It turns out Hannah went to see Archer, telling him they need to talk, thrusting us into the mystery of who the father of her baby might be.
Our assumption was that it would be Ripley, but we have to now wonder whether she and Archer hooked up, or if she’s just seeking out a friend to talk through the news with.
The Chicago Med season 10 finale brings about a shocking return
Following a fun cameo from Chicago Fire’s Violet and Novak, the fun ends as we discover the patient they’ve brought in is Dr. Charles’ daughter, Anna. Robin and Charles show up, and Ripley updates them on her status. When he mentions to the pair that Anna wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, Charles begins to grow concerned that this was no accident and that perhaps Anna attempted to take her own life by driving her car into the tree.
When Charles goes to see Anna, he asks her if she remembers what happened. Anna says she must have hit a patch of gravel and lost control. Charles says it’s unlike her not to buckle up and pressures her to open up when she lashes out about him being the last person she’d open up to about anything, telling him she doesn’t need him analyzing her. Robin walks in and pulls him aside, she too shares the concern about Anna attempting to take her life, as she noticed some troubling signs. Charles asks why she didn’t call him, and Robin says she didn’t think things were so bad. She also points out that there is a line between him being their dad and a shrink that he can’t seem to avoid crossing.
Following the conversation, Charles goes to speak with someone, and that someone ends up shockingly being Dr. Reese, who made yet another surprise appearance as the season came to an end. Charles opens up to Reese about what happened to Anna. He’s reeling, telling her how he thought he was a good dad, but that he let the shrink part get in the way. Reese says he doesn’t seem interested in being let off the hook, and he replies that it’s his fault, noting that his desperation to fix their pain drove his kids away. Reese reminds him that Anna needs him to put the shrink away, and what she needs is her dad.
Taking Reese’s advice to heart, Charles goes to see Anna and confesses that, as hard as he tries not to let his shrink side bleed into their relationship, he’s done so, and his reaction earlier wasn’t fair. He tells Anna about his dad being in a dark place and then writing him off as being blue. Charles says he was sure his dad was depressed, so he read any book he could get his hands on that could help his dad. Then, one morning, he came home from college and found his dad dead in the car.
Charles tells Anna about how he’s always regretted not being proactive and reaching out to ask his dad if he was okay, which is when Anna breaks down and apologizes. She tells Charles she thought she could hold on and it would go away, and when it didn’t, she was embarrassed and didn’t want to disappoint him, but at his mom’s funeral, she saw that she had disappointed him.. Charles quickly interjects that she is incapable of disappointing him, as he assured her he’s so proud of her for being brave and assures her he will always be there for her, promising to always listen.
Lenox’s life is turned upside down
Early in the episode, we see Lenox and her brother waiting for their results. Archer comes in and we learn that her brother’s results were negative and the weakness in his legs was caused from a herniated disc. Lenox informs her brother that her results were negative as well as the two siblings embrace.
Lenox's brother heads out, and she tells Archer she hopes the news will give him a kick to get his life on track. Archer says this changes things for her too, and her future is more certain; however, Lenox is not sold on the news changing anything. Archer suggests she take a leave to travel, but she makes it clear she’s happy where she is.
Sadly, it seems Lenox is justified in being uncertain. As the episode comes to an end, we see Lenox at home crying in her home. Turns out she lied to her brother about her results, as her test came back positive, meaning she has the markers for Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker.