It's been another busy and dramatic week in Chicago, specifically in the halls of Gaffney on Chicago Med. Following an episode that revealed Lenox's fate after her harrowing battle, the medical drama keeps things tense with a tease of the potential departure of a long-running character. The development comes after weeks of hinting about the retirement of Dr. Charles.
In last week's episode, Charles' recent string of off days came to a head when he had his first panic attack since attending medical school. During an especially challenging case that involved a rather brutal blow-up with a fellow doctor, Charles found himself alone in an elevator having heart palpitations and a nosebleed. These were signs that something wasn't right with him.
He spoke with his therapist last week, which allowed him to admit as much. But Charles once again realized that he had hit a rough patch in Chicago Med season 11 episode 9 when his latest case hit particularly close to home. By the end of the episode, Charles comes to Goodwin with the resolve that he needs to take time off. How worried should we about Charles' future at Gaffney?
There haven't been an officially announcements or concrete teases about Charles retiring by the end of season 11 or Oliver Platt leaving the show. He's been a main character since the first season, so whenever the actor decides to depart, whether that's this season, next season, or many more seasons into the future, fans should expect a big send-off for him and Dr. Charles.
Currently, it's unclear if fans should be battening down the hatches for Charles to depart before the season comes to an end. He's asked for time off, which could be exactly what he needs to sort out his personal matters and get back on track. Perhaps that's all this storyline was adding up to. Push Charles up against the wall and force him to make a decision... but not the decision just yet.
One would expect that a retirement announcement for Dr. Charles would be near given how much Chicago Med has been setting up that particular path for him in season 11. After all, he had friends busting his chops about retirement not too long ago, and with his current mental health state interfering with his ability to do his job, he might be seriously considering calling it quits for good.
Taking a step back from his job and temporarily leaving the hospital doesn't necessarily mean that he will be leaving the show. Chicago Med frequently has weeks where characters are absent, which has more to do with budget reasons and story needs than anything else. After her big two-episode arc, Lenox was away from Gaffney this week to heal, which means we didn't see Sarah Ramos.
Charles' time away won't be like Maggie's; he'll be back. But as it stands right now, we don't know what to expect from the rest of his storyline this season. Either he will return to work with a clear mind, ready to get back to it, or he will realize that retirement could be in the cards for him this year. We'll have to wait and see what happens, but for now, don't worry too much about saying goodbye.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC, also streaming on Peacock.