If there is one thing that Chicago Med is doing better than any other show in the One Chicago franchise at the moment, it’s finding ways to bring back former cast members.
Since Allen MacDonald took over as showrunner in season 10, MacDonald has been big on honoring the show’s rich legacy by having former characters pop up from time to time for one-off cameos. Recent years have brought back many amazing characters, and this is a trend we’re seeing continue in season 12. It’s already been confirmed that Colin O’Donnell will be making his return to the franchise for the first time since his departure in 2019, and it seems O’Donnell will not be the only familiar face checking back into Gaffney this season on Chicago Med!
The fourth episode of season 12, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” will bring back a character last seen in the show’s season 10 finale with the return of John Earl Jelks as Dr. Dennis Washington.
Jelks first joined the Chicago Med cast early in season 9, and we’d come to learn that the Chief of Hematology and Oncology was in a secret relationship with Gaffney admin Sharon Goodwin. After recurring across the show’s ninth and tenth seasons, Jelks exited the show in the season 10 finale via a storyline that not only ended his time at Gaffney but also his relationship with Goodwin.
In the episode, Dennis learned from Goodwin that he was among several doctors in danger of being let go from the hospital. While Goodwin was able to save his job, doing so would come with a reduction in his salary and a change in his title, which did not sit well with Dennis, leading him to lash out at her and make the decision to hand in his letter of resignation.
As the finale ended, Dennis followed through with his promise and handed in his resignation. After doing so, Goodwin decided to break up with Dennis, not because of how he reacted to the news of his job being on the line but for how he had hidden their relationship from his daughter and failed to give her the same respect she had given him.
After their breakup and Dennis’s resignation, we thought we’d seen the last of the character; however, after two years away from the show, Jelks is set to return in the show’s fourth episode, marking his first appearance since May 21, 2025. The exact circumstances around his return are unclear, and the synopsis for the episode fails to give much away, simply teasing that "someone from Goodwin’s past reappears.”
It will certainly be interesting to see what brings Dennis back to Gaffney and how his reunion with Goodwin goes. The pair certainly didn’t end things on the best of terms, so there could definitely be some unresolved tension between them. We imagine he’ll also be quite surprised to see Goodwin no longer in charge and working as a charge nurse at Gaffney, and it’ll be interesting to see how he reacts to this change.
One thing we’re most interested in seeing is whether there are still any lingering feelings between the pair. While their relationship ended abruptly and not on the best of terms, it’ll be interesting to see how time has changed Dennis since his departure from Gaffney and whether he realizes the errors of his past. Rekindling their relationship might not be on the table, but perhaps Dennis will prove to be a friend Goodwin can turn to as she fights to get her job back and figure out what Miranda is up to.
We’ll see what the writers have in store for us when Jelks makes his return as Dennis in Chicago Med season 12, episode 4, airing on Wednesday, October 28, at 8/7c on NBC!
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