Major spoilers lie ahead for Episode 2 of Chicago Med Season 5, aptly titled "We're Lost in the Dark."
One of the many cliffhangers in the Chicago Med Season 4 finale concerned Maggie and the likelihood that she had metastatic breast cancer, and it was a cliffhanger that wasn't 100% resolved in the Season 5 premiere like the end of Connor's story and April's possible pregnancy were. Poor Maggie does indeed have breast cancer, and by the time the time jump following the premiere picked up, she'd gone through a lumpectomy and a first round of chemotherapy.
Maggie decided to undergo her cancer treatment at a hospital other than Med so she could avoid being known as the "sick" person, and "We're Lost in the Dark" kicked off with only Sharon knowing what Maggie was going through. Unfortunately for Maggie, the crisis of the week saw the power going out in Med, so she was under way too much physical stress for somebody who had just gone through a round of chemo, and she nearly passed out.
It's pretty clear that Maggie's struggle with cancer won't be wrapped up by the time the crossover rolls around in a couple of weeks; what exactly is in store for her? Chicago Med showrunners Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov explained the plan for Maggie's story as a cancer patient:
Andrew Schneider: We want to do a realistic and prolonged story about cancer treatment, which has its ups and downs.Diane Frolov: And how it affects her life and her relationships. Andrew Schneider: And her emotional life. There will actually be a romance for Maggie down the line.
While her cancer diagnosis was terrible news for Maggie, it sounds like Chicago Med will use her illness to tell a rich and multifaceted story. I imagine there will be mixed reactions from her friends at Med when they inevitably find out that she was concealing a huge and heartbreaking secret from them, and hopefully Maggie will take the support where she can get it. Her life, her emotions, and her relationships will all be impacted.
On the upside, Maggie will make a love connection in Chicago Med Season 5! Chicago P.D. won't be the only Chicago series setting up romances (or potential romances) in the 2019-2020 TV season. Hopefully this means that Maggie will find somebody to lean on and fall for while she's in such a difficult period of her life. Fingers crossed that this new relationship won't be one of the ones disrupted by the new doctor!
If Med goes a more tragic route, Maggie could fall in love with somebody she meets while getting treatment, and it would be heartbreaking if Maggie had to watch a new love interest die from their illness. Well, that would deliver a "down" in Maggie's series of "ups and downs" this season! At this point, we technically don't know for sure that Maggie will survive.
Her prognosis isn't great, but it would be rough to lose Connor, Ava, and Maggie all in one season. Admittedly, Connor was still alive when he left, and Ava wasn't exactly a hero when she killed herself rather than face justice for murdering Connor's dad. Only time will tell what specifically the future holds for Maggie.
Find out with new episodes of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
