The tumble from hospital administrator to charge nurse has been quite the switch-up for Sharon Goodwin, but it’s kept her vital and ensured she still has a toe in the hospital’s business.
As she bonds with patients and deals with her staff on a one-on-one basis, audiences are getting to see a side of Sharon that they haven’t paid witness to in decades—and that’s something that showrunner Allen MacDonald has been hoping that the twist in her tale would provide the series with a tour-de-force performance from the actress who brings Sharon to life every week, S. Epatha Merkerson.
“She is a TV legend, and this hour illustrates yet again why: beautifully peels back deeper layers to Goodwin this season that we’ve never seen before. Epatha always shows new colors every season and it’s a marvel to watch. Can you tell that I think she’s awesome?” said MacDonald to TV Insider.
Sharon is no sucker, as the title of the episode hints. “They call me Ms. Goodwin,” a reference to the immortal movie title “They Call Me Mr. Tibbs.” MacDonald hoped to echo Sharon’s strength and integrity by echoing the title in the episode. This was an intentional move from the writer’s room, per MacDonald, who admits the title is a direct reference.
“They call me Ms. Goodwin” sees Sharon cope with the dual forces of an outmatched and overwhelmed Miranda and a tart-tongued Dr. Wu, who has no respect for her elders or former authority figures. She deals with a mother accused of abuse, with the questions of Charles—whose reputation she protected during the hearing regarding their actions on a case, resulting in her demotion and her becoming a charge nurse once more.
Goodwin helps a woman who needs a lung transplant due to her work in a mine. She passed out behind the wheel and crashed her car, accidentally killing a man—who soon becomes her emergency organ donor. The twisted tale ends with a tragedy when the woman rejects the lungs due to her guilt over the accident and her hope to make his widow’s pain easier.
Ultimately, Sharon finds herself in a confrontation with Wu, who continues to buck authority in her presence and fails to respect Sharon’s experience. Wu accuses the team of treating Sharon with delicacy due to her previous position of authority, something that Sharon quickly realizes is a truism thanks to her experience in the department that day. She vows to her colleagues that they can be honest with her like Wu is—and that they don’t have to make things awkward just because she’s one of them. But will Sharon finally find balance? Fans will have to keep watching Chicago Med to find out.
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