Chicago Med season 11 is quickly racing towards the finishing line, and it’s becoming clear that the show seems to be building towards Lenox finally coming clean about her diagnosis. It’s a moment that we’ve essentially been building towards since the season 10 finale when Lenox found out she tested positive for Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) prion disease, a diagnosis that has shaped her arc throughout season 11.
Ripley greets Lenox in the breakroom and points out how it feels like they haven’t had a shift together in a while, to which she quips that he’s right as she makes the schedule, not so subtly hinting she's been making sure their schedules haven't crossed over. He suggests that they get dinner to talk about the conversation from the other night in which he confronted how she seems to be trying to outrun something.
Their conversation is interrupted as Doris reveals someone has parked in their ambulance bay. When Lenox and Ripley race out to confront the driver, she's surprised to see that her brother Kip is the man who has parked in the ambulance bay. He's brought in his colleague Troy, who he claims was injured on the job as Lenox and Ripley work to get him settled into the ED.
Troy's CT is clear, but Lenox wants an MRI to rule out any ligament injury. He asks if it qualifies for workers' comp, and she says to speak with a supervisor, who turns out to be Kip. After they leave the room, Kip realizes who Ripley is as he mentions having heard so much about him and Lenox shuts the conversation down quickly.
Kip asks Lenox what's the deal between her and Ripley, picking up on tension between the pair. She admits that she should have never said anything, as it was hardly a thing and might not be anymore. He points out they’re perfect for each other, but the conversation is interrupted as Lenox is paged to Troy's room. Upon entering the room, she learns that Troy is complaining of a tingling and burning sensation, and Ripley worries they’re looking at a spinal injury.
Neuro comes down for a consult and reveals that the damage is connected to the fall Troy took, and it seems that Kip bringing him in is the cause for the state he’s in. They take Troy up for surgery as Lenox and Ripley head to see Kip, who asks for an update. Lenox informs Troy there was a complication, and he’s being sent up to surgery. He questions whether he messed up and Lenox assures him he did the right thing getting him here, rather than pointing out how he may be to blame for not calling 911.
As Kip heads to the waiting area, Lenox turns to Ripley and immediately jumps in to justify not telling Kip the truth, noting that he’s sensitive and needs protected from the truth. To her surprise, Ripley says he was just going to say he thinks she’s being a good sister.
Ripley brings Kip a coffee and assures him his sister is a rockstar who has got this. Kip notes that his sister is good at helping people, but not so good at love. Kip admits his sister would probably kill him for saying this as he tells Ripley not to give up on her. He can tell that Lenox cares for him but that she was forced to raise him when their parents died and she had to put up walls. He mentions that she’s likely just dealing with the fact that there isn’t a noose around her neck now and spills the beans on their mom.
Kip mentions their mom died from GSS and assures him that they both tested negative, but we can see the gears turning in Ripley’s head. Lenox comes in and informs him that Troy will make a full recovery, and he’s overwhelmed with joy.
Ripley heads to Lenox’s after she texts him to invite him over for a night in. Ripley admits it was nice meeting her brother and that it was good to get to know him. He mentions Kip telling him about their mom and her disease as she questions what else he told him. Ripley admits he’s been trying to figure out what could have happened to cause such a huge change in her behavior. He sees through that, though, in realizing she tested positive and lied to him to protect him from the truth. Lenox admits she had lied, but rather than letting Ripley in, she kicks him out of her apartment. After he leaves, she’s overwhelmed with emotion.
Elsewhere in the episode...
Hannah confronts her past while helping a pregnant patient
Early in the episode, Dean comes to see Hannah and apologizes for missing her call from the night before as he was out with Jennifer. She’d like to cancel the baby shower but is worried that she’ll disappoint everyone, as he admits the only disappointment she should worry about is her own as she notes she’ll try not to call him late again.
Hannah quickly races into action, greeting a pregnant woman whose water has broken early; she’s worried that if she goes into labor now, her baby will die. The mom informs Hannah they were informed that the baby would need to have an EXIT (Ex Utero Intrapartum Treatment) procedure for the labor to help ensure the baby is delivered safely, as Hannah assures her she’ll look into whether they can. She has Goodwin reach out to Gaffney’s specialist, but they’re out so Goodwin arranges for the woman’s surgeon to be flown in to perform the procedure.
Dr. Schumacher arrives, and Hannah brings her up to speed on her status and concerns with the rate of change she’s observed. As they prepare to scrub in, Dr. Schumacher seems to insinuate that Hannah wasn’t being fair to her patient, as Hannah points out her objective is to make sure their patient survives, as she will not let the mother die on the table. Dr. Schumacher points out she’s done 27 of these surgeries and never lost a patient, a record she has no intention of breaking.
Complications arise during the surgery, and Hannah cuts the cord early so that she can save the mother. Luckily, both baby and mom seem to be okay.
Hannah sees Charles in the chapel and admits it’s been a tough day. She confesses her fear almost cost a couple their newborn as she was working so hard to make sure the woman did not die on the table. She reflects on an old memory of losing her tooth as a kid and seeing her dad holding a photo of her mom just sobbing, a moment that has haunted her in seeing him broken and feeling that she never was able to fill the hole she left. She admits that she feels her dad loves her as much as he can but has never forgiven her for the death of her mom.
She calls her dad to the hospital to confront him and asks why he’s always withdrawn and always seems to run away. He admits it’s hard to look at her, but not because he blames her, as she was just a baby coming into the world; it’s hard to look at her because she reminds him so much of her mom. Same kind eyes, same patient smile, same tilt of her head when she asks a question, even the way she twists her hair when she’s thinking. Her dad admits that he loved Hannah’s mom so much, and looking at her just makes her miss her at times, but he’s never once blamed her for what happened to her mom as he apologizes for ever making her feel loved less. He admits her mom would be so proud of her as the pair hug it out.
Frost learns the truth
As the episode opens, we see Frost with his father, who reveals that his spinal mass is not shrinking. Frost assures his dad the trials take time as his dad thanks him and notes it means the world to have him back in their lives.
Before Frost heads out to speak with Ian and a producer from the Nick of Time reboot, Naomi catches him in the locker room. He admits he’s not excited but is feeling obligated, as it’s only something he’s doing to make the money needed for his dad’s treatment. Naomi is also struggling with a dilemma of her own, as it seems the board member she helped to save earlier in the season has sent her an expensive gift, and she doesn’t feel right accepting it.
Nick and Ian meet with the producer about the reboot as she walks them through the plan to bring in a new generation of actresses, and they want Frost to be the fun uncle character. She notes they’ll be flexible around his schedule as she reveals they’ve also landed another original star for the reboot. That’s when Ainsley arrives, much to the surprise and displeasure of Frost.
Angelica notes they want to explore the mother-son relationship and hope that he can make more appearances in the season, as Ainsley points out their characters have a lot to work out after all these years, and Frost excuses himself.
Ian comes to see Frost after, and Frost tells him he’s going to walk from the reboot. He opens up to his friend about his history with Ainsley and apologizes to Ian, as he knows what this means for him as he confesses that seeing her brought him back to where he was when he was a kid, and he can’t do that to himself again. Ian is more than understanding as he embraces his friend.
After the meeting, Frost goes to see his parents, and his mom questions his decision to exit the reboot as he assures them he’ll find another way to pay for the treatment. His dad sends Frost’s mom away and asks what happened. His father asks if this has to do with his girlfriend, as women don’t like when their boyfriend starts spending time with their ex, revealing he knew about Ainsley.
Frost confronts him about knowing and not protecting him. He mentions that he was a kid who was forced to be a parent to two blood-sucking vampires as his dad turns things around, saying Frost always plays the victim card. Frost points out it’s not supposed to be his job to take care of him; it was his father’s job to protect him from an adult who was taking advantage of him. That’s when his mom walks in the room and asks what they were talking about, hinting she was not aware of the truth like Frost’s father was.
Back at Med, Naomi sees Goodwin and notes she’s not sure what to do with the gift as she was just doing her job. She doesn’t want to seem rude or ungrateful, but she doesn’t want to hurt her feelings. Goodwin got one as well and tells Naomi she’ll take care of things.
Goodwin returns the gifts to Miranda and thanks her for the thought behind them as she asks how she can show her gratitude. Goodwin notes a simple thank you is fine and points out she’s not indebted to them; they saved her life, as that’s what they’re trained to do. Miranda worries Goodwin was going to hold this over her head and admits she was going to fire her that day, as Goodwin notes she’s never leveraged her life for personal gain, as that’s not who she is.
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