The end of 2022 is quickly approaching, and that means the fall finales of the three One Chicago shows. While there are reasons to be excited for all of them, Chicago Med has something special in store for Ethan: no less than a happy ending. That’s not to say that there won’t be complications, but co-showrunners Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider opened up to CinemaBlend about giving Ethan the ending he deserves… and characters who may not get such happy endings to close the year.
But let’s start with the good news, following the reveal in the previous episode that Ethan and April were engaged!
The latest episode revealed that Ethan and April were done wasting time after getting back together, and planning to get married very soon. Ethan was all smiles about the good news, and the wedding was set to be a big church event. Now, big weddings don’t always go well on Chicago Med, as Will and Natalie know well, but co-showrunner Diane Frolov promised that it’s “safe to say” that Ethan and April’s nuptials will go a lot better than when Manstead tried to tie the knot. She then previewed what the actual ceremony will look like:
It is a very traditional wedding because April is Catholic, so we're using a priest and the correct vows, the Catholic Church vows. It's very traditional.
Co-showrunner Andrew Schneider added that it will be traditional “in every way,” and the look at the ceremony (seen above) proves that the happy couple put together a beautiful wedding pretty quickly, complete with a gorgeous dress for April and a huge smile for Ethan. Even the priest looks thrilled for them!
Of course, fans have known since back in October that actor Brian Tee was leaving the show in the fall finale, and the stage hadn’t really been set for Ethan’s departure at that point other than reuniting him with April. So, did the Med showrunners have an alternate plan for his exit, in case actress Yaya DaCosta hadn’t been able to return?
Diane Frolov shared that they “always wanted a happy ending for him,” and Andrew Schneider elaborated:
As we were beginning to plan the season, the first thing we did was see if Yaya would come back and commit to this storyline, and she was very enthusiastic, so we never needed to entertain an alternate exit for Ethan.
Not only did the Chicago Med team have time to plan ahead for Ethan’s exit well before viewers found out that he was leaving, but they had Yaya DaCosta on board for April’s reunion with him leading to marriage. Frolov went on to explain why the relationship works differently this time around:
We thought that having her come back and finishing that story was a really good way to highlight the changes that Ethan has gone through. He's seen it in this relationship.
Ethan went through some tremendous changes over the last couple of seasons, and the previous episode even established that he might have a calling important enough to take him away from Med without leaving Chicago. Ethan was upset that the medical system failed a man because he didn’t have access to the care that could have saved his life. If that’s how Med says goodbye, what better way?
Well, Ethan getting a happy ending with the woman he loves doesn’t mean everybody on the show will have an easy time in the fall finale. Crockett has been in a difficult position ever since saving Jack Dayton turned him into a sort of celebrity, and Dayton coming into the mix helped with the supply chain shortages. He even made a huge (although undisclosed) donation to the hospital after telling them that asking for $10 million wasn’t enough.
While that should be good news, a huge donation doesn’t necessarily come without some expectations. When I asked if Dayton offered his support with some strings attached, Diane Frolov previewed:
There are definitely strings.
Dayton attaching himself to Med (and Crockett) hasn’t necessarily been a bad thing so far, but he also hasn’t seen the workings of a hospital quite the same way as the doctors and nurses. Andrew Schneider went further to explain what sets the character apart from the others:
He is an entrepreneur and a businessman, as well as a brilliant engineer, so there's always something else going on with Jack.
Diane Frolov agreed and added that he “doesn’t understand medicine,” even though he’s a “businessman, a developer, an engineer.” He also seems very used to getting his way with his resources, which presents a weak spot, as Schneider said:
[He is] a brilliant engineer, but patient care is not something he's accustomed to.
Can Jack Dayton become accustomed to taking patients into account instead of just engineering and developing? He helped save a life earlier in Season 8 by creating a set of lungs, but that was more of taking on a challenge than wanting to serve the greater good. While he has helped the hospital a lot already, a donation with strings attached doesn’t necessarily bode 100% well.
Even though Maggie doesn’t seem to be facing health issues anymore, there have been a lot of ups and downs for her in Season 8 due to the return of Grant to her life. Spending time with him was easier to explain when Vanessa was still around, as they were her biological parents. After Vanessa left and Maggie almost kissed Grant in his car, she made the questionable decision not to tell Ben about their car accident. When I noted to the showrunners that Maggie not telling Ben seemed like a disaster waiting to happen, Andrew Schneider said:
As you see!
Fans will be able to see some fallout from Maggie’s decision, and it’s probably safe to say that she may regret not only what she did in getting close to Grant again, but also not telling Ben about the accident. Diane Frolov shared her take:
I think we can say it was a mistake.
While Maggie was getting too close to Grant for comfort almost as soon as he returned to her life, the near-miss kiss and car crash happened after Vanessa left. According to Schneider, however, Maggie's decisions about her ex had nothing to do with their biological daughter leaving. The co-showrunner said:
I think it really has to do with her own ambivalent feelings about Grant, and their past. But this will clarify things for her and what's important and what she wants to do going forward.
Clarity should be good for Maggie, but it sounds like it could come at the cost of her realizing just how much of a mistake she made. Depending on if (or when) Ben finds out, it might be a while before she’s as happy in marriage as Ethan and April! All things considered, there seems to be a lot to look forward to in the fall finale before Med returns in the 2023 TV premiere schedule.
Tune in to NBC on Wednesday, December 7 at 8 p.m. ET for the fall finale of Chicago Med, ahead of the fall finales of Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. If you’re not ready to give up the One Chicago action during the hiatus, you can find past seasons streaming with a Peacock subscription.
