Chicago Med had a few pressing matters to get to in its season 10 winter premiere. It had to assure fans that Dr. Sharon Goodwin (S Epatha Merkerson) was alive and (mostly) well, and it it had to assure them that Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber) was not going to be leaving.
These were cliffhangers that were teased in the season 10 fall finale. We expected to get resolution on these. What we didn't expect, however, was to get a resolution to a story arc that was abandoned back in season 4! Chicago Med's decision to bring back Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo) closed the book on a storyline we thought had been long abandoned.
Sarah Reese confronted Daniel Charles
For those who don't recall, Reese abruptly left Gaffney Medical Center in season 4. She had been dealing with a seasons-long conflict regarding her father, who was a career criminal. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) went as far as to suspect that Reese's father was a local serial killer, and confronted him about the idea. Unfortunately, the elder Reese collapsed when confronted.
Reese's father subsequently died of a heart attack. She was understandably devastated by what happened, and felt like Dr. Charles was partially responsible. She decided she could no longer be around Dr. Charles, and decided to leave Gaffney Medical Center as a result.
The character's season 10 return was an unexpected development, but one that seemed to bring with it the promise of closure. A pretty big rift had been opened up between Reese and Charles, and so it would make sense that they were eventually confront the elephant in the room. Well, we finally got our confrontation in "No Love Lost."
The characters aired out their grievances
Reese told Dr. Charles that she actually resented working for him because he constantly tore her down. Reese claimed that the veteran physician did not afford her the respect she had earned as a professional.
It was a shocking revelation, but one that makes more sense in the context of her season 4 departure. The death of her father was one thing, but pairing them with a constant struggle to acrue respect was what ultimately sealed her fate at Gaffney Medical Center. Dr. Charles is taken aback by this revelation but looking back, it's easy to see Reese's point.
The best part of all this is that the two characters seem to have arrived at closure. Reese even felt comfortable enough to rib Dr. Charles when he asked if she wanted to work for him again. "Not a chance in hell," she said with a smile. It's a wholesome moment, and a capper to a conflict that we initially encountered a decade ago. Time flies when you're watching Med.