Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Chicago Med Season 7, called "To Lean In, Or To Let Go."
Chicago Med is settling into the new status quo with Natalie and April gone, and Ethan still out of commission, but that doesn't mean the ED is anything resembling boring, and not just because Goodwin and Will have a sting operation going. New character Dylan Scott, played by Guy Lockhard, came to Med as a former cop, and the show could be using him to build stronger ties to Chicago P.D.
Admittedly, those two shows already had one of the most direct connections within One Chicago thanks to Will Halstead on Med and Jay Halstead on P.D., but the Halstead bros don't share the screen on a regular basis. Dylan brings a connection to CPD that's already directly tied to a P.D. character without requiring that family bond, as he told Will in Season 7 premiere that he knows Jay. "To Lean In, Or To Let Go" established that he still feels connected to his life as a cop, and he called in some favors with some officers. Plus, his dad is a lieutenant at the 23rd District.
The officers who showed up in this episode of Med weren't any of the cops who lead the action on Chicago P.D., but Dylan has already proved to be a link to the CPD and Jay in particular. Even if the big crossovers between the One Chicago shows aren't going to be happening in the 2021-2022 TV season, mini crossovers can still presumably happen. And hey, the shows connecting because of a fun new character rather than anybody on P.D. getting shot again, or a Med character being drawn into a dangerous undercover operation again, would be a plus!
I can admit that I also thought that Med and P.D. could have been setting up closer connections last season with Will's cardiac drug trial storyline unfolding on Med just as Upton's dad ran into heart problems over on P.D., but Dylan Scott is already proving to be a key character in Season 7 with an interesting backstory that has only just been touched on. Med going in a brand new direction with Dylan has really worked for Season 7, to me, since the whole dynamic of the show was going to be different no matter what after losing two series regulars at the end of Season 6.
Plus, Brian Tee still isn't back, with Ethan still in rehab from his gunshot wound. Med is already doing something new with Dylan; why not use him to build closer ties to P.D. on top of the Halstead brothers? It could also work on the P.D. end, with the Intelligence Unit potentially making contact with Dylan, or with his dad at the 23rd. With the Dick Wolf TV universe expanding, the ties between the shows are more interesting than ever, and I know I'd be down to see more after the introduction of Dylan on Med.
Find out with One Chicago Wednesdays on NBC, starting with Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET, continuing with Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET, and closing out with Chicago P.D. (with or without any nods to Dylan Scott) at 10 p.m. ET. The Dick Wolf action picks up on Thursday nights with Law & Order: SVU and Law & Order: Organized Crime, which have an exciting three-hour event coming up!
