And just like that, Charles changed his mind about whether Ripley should fight the lawsuit.
Chicago Med Season 9 Episode 11 featured Ripley getting triggered at his deposition while dealing with more of Scully’s nonsense.
Ripley didn’t mind Charles stepping in on his behalf, but I’m not nearly as calm about it as he is.
Ripley Should Have Made This Decision Himself.
Maybe it’s the Don Quixote in me wanting Ripley to keep tilting at this windmill, but I don’t think he should have backed down from the lawsuit.
Charles encouraged it in the first place because Pawel lies with impunity and uses his influence to intimidate people into not holding him accountable.
Those are damn good reasons to stand up to him.
Charles was worried about Ripley’s mental health, but does deciding for him that the lawsuit should end help things?
Part of my social work training involved the idea that people need to have control over their own decisions and that, as a clinician, you should NEVER override their free will to impose what you think is best for them.
If someone is actively suicidal or homicidal, that’s an exception. Ripley was upset, but he was neither of these things.
In the long run, removing Ripley’s ability to make this decision for himself will chip away at his sense of control over his own life and competency to handle stress.
Charles should have known better, and so should Sharon Goodwin.
She should not have pressured Ripley to settle because Charles said so, especially since she knew she wasn’t being told the whole story.
Of course, we don’t know what happened because it was off-screen. Ripley must not have fought her hard on settling because he didn’t tell Charles he insisted on continuing.
Still, it was more her decision than his, which wasn’t right. Plus, a promising storyline about power vs. justice was thrown in the garbage soon after it began.
This was a terrible plot twist. If Ripley had to drop the lawsuit, he should have decided on it himself after talking to Charles or discussing it with Hannah.
Also, why did Ripley go into this deposition without knowing what he would be asked? As house counsel, wasn’t it Peter’s job to prepare him?
I know TV likes to play around with legal principles for the sake of drama, but come on! Ripley’s past is the sort of thing that Peter should have known would come up and prep him for.
Of course, Ripley has been keeping his past secret from everyone, so Peter likely didn’t know.
In that case, Peter should have ripped him a new one for tanking the case by not telling him ahead of time so they could prepare, but Peter said nothing to Ripley and only discussed the issue with Sharon.
Scully’s Return Was More Interesting
Scully first appeared on Chicago Med Season 9 Episode 6, where he and Ripley nearly came to blows because Scully refused to listen to Ripley’s advice about his potential lung cancer. His return gave Hannah a glimpse into Ripley’s former life.
It must be frustrating for her that he won’t tell her anything about his childhood. If love is in the air for this couple, they need to be open and honest with each other.
It’s generally a red flag when someone won’t share anything about their past. A woman like Hannah, who is guarded with her heart, would likely be more suspicious than understanding.
Still, Scully and Lynne’s visit to the hospital put Ripley in an awkward position because he was required to keep Scully’s confidence when Lynne wanted to know what was going on.
Hannah: Significant lesion on the lung. You think it’s cancerous?
Ripley: I’m pretty sure. I tried to get him to go for treatment a few weeks ago, but it didn’t go well.
Hannah: I’m surprised Lynne didn’t say anything. Wait… she doesn’t know?
Ripley: I tried to get him to tell her, but he kept dodging, so I backed off.
Hannah: I don’t get it. He’s your old friend but you can’t sit him down and have an honest conversation with him?
Ripley: What am I supposed to do? He’s my patient. I have to honor his desire for confidentiality.
Ripley was right that he couldn’t tell Lynne anything without Scully’s permission. Hannah was also right that Ripley being afraid to confront his old friend was ridiculous.
Hannah doesn’t understand this friendship dynamic, another reason Ripley needs to open up to her more about his past.
Ripley eventually got through to Scully and it seems like everything ended happily… for now. Scully may be back as his cancer progresses.
Hopefully, it won’t be as graphic or depressing as Gary’s death on A Million Little Things. I couldn’t take a second heartbreaking lung cancer story.
Loren’s Story Fit Into The Night’s Theme
Loren pushed himself too hard because he was afraid Dean Archer wouldn’t think highly of him if he told him he wasn’t ready to work yet. As a result, he ended up off the case.
This fit in with the theme of “fighters not knowing when to quit.”
It also made me wonder if Loren and Maggie will split for the sake of drama before they have a chance to get started. Maggie kept trying to tell Loren to take it easy, and he gave her a strange look after Archer kicked him off the case.
The New Medical Student Is Great
Charles’ case also fit into that pattern, with Jay wanting to push himself too hard to get his art in galleries so he could prove his dad wrong.
This story also gave viewers some information about bipolar disorder, something which is vital during Mental Health Awareness Month (or anytime, really.)
The best part of the story, by far, was the introduction of the new medical student, Naomi. I felt bad for her that Archer kicked her out of his OR. She seemed sweet, eager to help, and afraid of making mistakes.
I hope she gets to work with Crockett Marcel (where was he, anyway?) After all the nonsense he went through with Zola, he deserves an eager-to-please student.
Your turn, Chicago Med fanatics! What did you think of the end of this lawsuit, Ripley’s latest run-in with Scully, or any other aspect of this episode?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.
Chicago Med airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 8/7c. New episodes drop on Peacock the day after they air.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
