Chicago Med saved one of its biggest twists of the sixth season for the very end when Ethan was shot by a former patient, and his brief return in the first half Season 7 showed that he was still doing his best to physically recover from the trauma of his injury. Now, Brian Tee is on the verge of returning in 2022 as Ethan, and it will be a big episode for one of the show’s longest-running characters. The actor opened up about what fans can expect from the hour, and it’s going to be complicated.
Brian Tee is returning in the January 19 episode of Chicago Med, called “What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You,” and he answered some questions via email for CinemaBlend that indicate fans will definitely not want to miss it. Ethan will get some encouragement from Dr. Charles to reconcile with his father. The actor shared what the dynamic with Charles looks like in the episode:
It's all personal... I think Daniel and Ethan have had a long standing professional relationship that has developed into a personal one over the years. We've done 7 seasons, and over the course, we've seen a lot of their relationship in the hospital. It's great to finally see the friendship dynamic of their characters on a personal level, outside of the hospital.
Dr. Charles has not only been there for Ethan in some of his most trying times over the years, but also some of the people important to him, including Dean Archer back in Season 6. The January 19 episode will evidently shine a light on a different side to their friendship than ever before with an interaction outside of the hospital. (And this might be an ideal episode for Charles to not be at Med!)
While Ethan and Charles’ dynamic will be a strong and personal one built off of friendship in “What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You,” the same can’t quite be said for Ethan’s relationship with his father. Brian Tee previewed the kind of emotional baggage that needs to be reconciled between father and son:
It's complicated... like a lot of Father/Son relationships. Especially Ethan's. But it will all be revealed in the episode. Sorry, no spoilers. ;)
Although the actor couldn’t drop all the spoilers for what to expect with Ethan’s 2022 return to Chicago Med, Ethan is in for some complications involving his father! After his complicated relationship with his sister earlier in the series, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise when not everything will be easy between him and his dad, particularly in light of Ethan’s shooting. Brian Tee shared how well Ethan’s recovery from his trauma has been going since the setback earlier in Season 7, and Ethan is going through some changes because of it. He shared:
Ethan is recovering well. Though I do think he went in too hard and too soon mid season, but now he's realized the healing process is as much psychological as it is physical. There is much more Ethan is dealing with from the trauma of this incident and his past that we will unfold. And through it, you'll come to see a changed Ethan... hopefully for the better.
Ethan has some experience with dealing with psychological and physical trauma, so hopefully that will help him on his road to recovery from his latest painful experience. Whether or not his father is helpful to that process remains to be seen, but changes to the character are on the way no matter how well the potential reconciliation goes. Tee weighed in on what he’s looking forward to fans getting to see from the story with his character’s dad:
I hope that fans get a better understanding of who Ethan is and who he wants to be after meeting his father.
All in all, the “What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You” episode of Chicago Med should shed some light on Ethan in a big return after his long absence in Season 7. The showrunners had already previewed that he would come back for a very “moving” storyline involving Dr. Charles, and fans are finally on the verge of getting to see it. Be sure to tune in to NBC on Wednesday, January 19 at 8 p.m. ET to catch Brian Tee’s episode of Chicago Med!
Med kicks off a full night of One Chicago action on NBC, followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. (which promises to deliver some twists with the newest member of Firehouse 51) and Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. (to follow up on the big episode for Atwater that sets up some potential changes), all in the 2022 midseason TV lineup.
