Get ready Chicago Med fans, because it looks like two familiar faces are heading back to Gaffney this November!
New cast listings for Chicago Med season 12, episode 6 confirm that French Stewart and Justin Prentice will return in their respective roles as Frederick Lambert and Ian Wolcott. It seems their returns will play pivotal roles in the episode, as the synopsis teases that Charles makes a decision while contending with painful family memories and that a familiar face returns, teases that directly tie into the returns of Stewart and Prentice.
The return of Stewart as Frederick Lambert is certainly unexpected, as he’s a character we never expected to see back on the show. We met Frederick back in season 10, episode 20, when he came to Gaffney due to some numbness in his leg. We’d come to discover that he was the fiancé of Charles’s estranged mother, Margaret, which created some tension between Frederick and Charles.
After injecting himself into the case in an effort to learn more about the man in his mother’s life, Charles would end up cracking the case by discovering that Frederick’s chemical peel had left him susceptible to a variety of rare microscopic bugs, which led to the numbness. By the time Charles realized the error in his ways and went to apologize to his mother, it was too late as she passed away unexpectedly.
Stewart would return as Frederick in the following episode for Margaret’s funeral to pay his respects and mourn her loss. That was the last time we’d see Frederick, which made sense given the circumstances of how his character was introduced, but it seems the writers have found a new way to bring him back, and his return is going to, understandably, stir up some painful memories for Charles.
As for Prentice, we first met his character Ian in season 11 when he came to town to ask Frost to consider signing on for a Nick of Time reboot. We’d come to learn in his appearance that he was struggling to make a living acting after Frost walked away from Nick of Time and wasn’t in the best of places. After some consideration, Frost would eventually decide to join the Nick of Time reboot as a favor to his friend, though his decision would eventually change in episode 19.
In the episode, Frost and Ian met with the studio about the planned reboot to start ironing out the final details. Their lunch took an unexpected turn when Ainsley surprised Frost at lunch and was announced as a new addition to the reboot. After learning this news, Frost backed out of the reboot and finally told Ian about what had happened to him while he was on the show, including how Ainsley had taken advantage of him.
It’ll be interesting to see what brings Ian back to Chicago and whether it’ll be connected to the Nick of Time reboot or to another storyline. Given Frost is currently working to make a name for himself at the hospital by going out for the chief resident position, the return of his friend and former co-star could definitely make things interesting for Frost.
We certainly didn’t expect to see Frederick or Ian back for the episode, but we love that Chicago Med has been finding ways to bring back key guest stars and recurring characters. There have already been so many fun returns this season and we’re excited to see who else might pop up as season 12 continues!
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC!
Add us as a preferred source on Google