Chicago Med delivered a more lighthearted story than usual for Dean Archer (on acid!) in the February 26 episode in the 2025 TV schedule, but there was plenty of stress for Ripley as the hits kept on coming. Already on forced leave from Gaffney, his attempt to help out Lynne resulted in her planting a kiss on him, and he needed advice to guide him back to Hannah... only for Hannah to break up with him. In the next episode, he's going to put his own life in danger in a move usually reserved for the first responders of Chicago Fire, and I spoke with actor Luke Mitchell about what happened and what's ahead.
The breakup with Hannah was especially heart-wrenching after Ripley dropped an "I love you" on her, but Hannah was firm that it was for the best because she couldn't be the one to save him. (The episode is streaming now with a Peacock subscription.) When I chatted with Luke Mitchell ahead of the big upcoming episode featuring a Chicago Fire star, he weighed in on whether his character saw that breakup coming:
I think he did. I think he didn't want to believe it. At least on a subconscious level, he would have felt it coming as he's sliding down this dark path that he's on. But I think he's just so caught up in grieving and trying to figure himself out that he wouldn't have wanted to believe it.
With as eventful as One Chicago has been lately, it may be easy to forget that it wasn't all that long ago that Sully died, so it's natural that Ripley would still be grieving. That doesn't mean he's been grieving in the healthiest way! All in all, 2025 really hasn't been his year so far. Since the breakup happened outdoors at night in the Windy City, I had to ask the Australian actor: just how cold was it to film the sequence with Jessy Schram?
Apparently, the temperature when filming that emotional scene between Hannah and Ripley was nothing compared to shooting on location for the upcoming episode, which could not be more appropriately named than its title of "Down in a Hole." Luke Mitchell shared:
[The breakup scene] wasn't too bad. It wasn't too bad at all. In Fahrenheit, it was probably around 32, maybe high 20s. But the temperature when we shot on location for this episode coming up was a different story. That was like the first blast of proper Chicago winter, and we were shooting an hour and a half out of the city. It was kind of the hilariously perfect thing, considering on Chicago Med, we never shoot outdoors, or very rarely, and then we get three days on location, and it just happens to be crazy cold temperatures.
Most of the doctors and nurses of Chicago Med spend their time in scrubs and sneakers, which S. Epatha Merkerson jokingly referred to as "pajamas and slippers" since she wears suits and high heels as Sharon Goodwin. Joe Mińoso, who knows a thing or two about Chicago winters after thirteen seasons and counting of Chicago Fire, also joked that on Fire, they "call it Club Med" because "everything is so clean over there, mostly heated all the time" while they're "walking around in comfy scrubs."
No Club Med for Ripley in "Down in a Hole," which airs on Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC! He'll be struggling to rescue a woman and her daughter when they're trapped in an abandoned well, and it doesn't appear in the preview that it will be any roomier for him on Med than when something similar happened to Burgess over on Chicago P.D. The good news for Ripley is that he'll have another One Chicago hero on hand to help him out: Mouch, played for the past thirteen seasons by Christian Stolte, who is crossing over from Chicago Fire to lend a hand.
And when it comes to what it was like for Luke Mitchell to work with the longtime Fire cast member for one of his rare Med ventures outside of the hospital, the actor only had good things to say about Stolte:
Such a pleasure. I got the opportunity to work with Christian a little bit during the big crossover. I was a part of his storyline. Just getting to see the caliber of actor that he is and the level that he brings day in and day out was really wonderful to witness. And of course, he's just a lovely guy. So when I found out that they were pitching for him to be a part of this episode, I was over the moon. He's an absolute gentleman. He's an absolute professional, and we had a really great time working together.
The actors may have had a "really great time" teaming up after working together on the three-part Avengers-esque One Chicago crossover, but based on the promo, I think it's a safe bet that the characters won't be having such a great time. Check out Ripley down a hole with Mouch on the scene in the preview for the next episode below:
Assuming Ripley makes it out of "Down in a Hole" alive, I would not blame him if he wants to stick with the scrubs, sneakers, and heated hallways for a while after this ordeal! Don't miss the big episode on Wednesday, March 5 in Chicago Med's usual 8 p.m. ET time slot on NBC, followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. Be sure to check back next week for more from Luke Mitchell as well!
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