Heading into the sixth episode of Chicago Med season 11, we had a bad feeling that something was going to happen to Goodwin’s ex-husband Bert, even before episode 5 had aired. The synopsis for episode 6, “The Story of Us,” revealed that Goodwin’s family would be coming together for Bert and a pair of photos from the episode saw Goodwin and her family sitting by Bert’s bedside in a hospital. All signs seemed to point that perhaps Bert’s health was going to take a turn for the worse, and those fears manifested in the fifth episode of the season.
In episode 5, Goodwin went to visit Bert at the assisted living facility he’d moved into, and we learned that his Alzheimer's had worsened with further deterioration of his cognitive functions and increased aggression. Things then took an unexpected turn as the episode drew to a close as Goodwin received a call from the assisted living facility informing her that Bert had taken a fall. She quickly raced to be with him, arriving at the facility as EMTs tended to Bert, who had not regained consciousness since falling and was in bad shape.
Knowing Bert’s health has already been in decline, will the fall be too much for him to recover from? Or will Bert pull through? That’s the million-dollar question.
Episode 6 begins with a flashback to October 9, 1995 with a glimpse into the Goodwin house as Bert and Goodwin sit around the table for a family dinner with their three kids in a home video. We then return to the present day where Goodwin sits by Bert’s bedside as she waits for his CT results. She’s joined by their three kids Michael, Tara, and David, and it’s clear that things are not looking good for Bert. While he greets David, we learn he’s becoming more nonverbal and isn’t really speaking much following his fall.
Bert’s CT has found a bleed, and it’s expected to worsen. Goodwin reveals that Bert has an advanced directive not to do any surgery, so there's nothing more they can do at this time. David begins to lash out about giving up on their dad, to which his siblings push back about his lack of presence in his life.
David has asked for a second opinion from another physician. He says there is a clause that allows them to override the DNR if there is a solution. Goodwin tries to defuse the situation, but Tara isn’t having it as she puts her brother on blast for coming in and second guessing their decisions now when he’s not been there in the last year to help as Bert’s health took a turn for the worse.
Responding to Tara’s comments about how Bert always favored him growing up and yells at her mom for babying him, David says it’s different for him. Goodwin tells him not to tell his siblings something but he can’t hold it in. He tells his siblings that Bert is not his biological father, that’s why he treated him differently growing up.
Goodwin reveals that she was pregnant already when she first met Bert. She thought David’s biological dad was the love of her life until she told him about the baby, but then he turned on her so fast. When Bert asked her out, she told him about being pregnant, but Bert didn’t care. He said he already knew and they went out on their date, and the rest was history. They told David when he was 12, and they didn’t tell anyone else as it was David’s story to tell.
Later, David talks with Goodwin about how Bert was present when he called him son and is struggling with things. He says it happened so fast, which is when Goodwin points out that it hasn’t been fast; David just hasn’t been around. David’s feeling guilty and wants to do something for his dad. Goodwin embraces him and lets him know there is something he can do, he can say goodbye.
As the episode comes to an end, Goodwin and the kids gather around Bert’s bed to spend his final moments with him. While he does not pass on-screen in the episode, the episode seems to serve as a send-off to Bert, making his exit from the show.
Elsewhere in the episode...
Frost asks Naomi out to dinner, but she ends up rejecting the invitation out of fear of dating a colleague. She instantly regrets the decision and builds up the courage to ask him out after speaking with Hannah, but by the time she goes to see him after shift it appears she might be too late as Frost is seen chatting with Chicago Fire's Novak, who helped him with a patient and the pair bonded while tracking down a lost bunny for the young patient.
Lenox came to terms with the grief she's carried for her late mother while treating a patient who was working through his own grief.
Finally, it was bad news for Ripley and Sadie shippers as the episode ended with Sadie breaking up with Ripley in realizing there was no real future for them.