Spoilers ahead for Episode 16 of Chicago Med Season 7, called “May Your Choices Reflect Hope, Not Fear.”
Chicago Med picked up where it left off last week when it came to Will deciding to keep his whistleblower money, and Vanessa was mulling over her dating life while working another psych case with Dr. Charles, but the emotional heart of the episode saw Crockett, Archer, Pamela, and Goodwin finding the way to save the life of a baby and bring a new family together in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. Saving the life of a baby helped set the stage for the character who returned in the final moments of “May Your Choices Reflect Hope, Not Fear,” but her arrival still came as a surprise. Welcome back, Dr. Hannah Asher!
Yes, actress Jessy Schram returned at the end of the episode, after Goodwin established that Med is implementing an emergency OB/GYN service into the ED, and needed an experienced attending to get it off the ground. Archer had some reservations about hiring her, considering that her exit from Med happened because of her drug addiction, but Hannah had an answer to his concerns:
It’s a fair question. I am almost two years sober and committed to doing whatever it takes to stay that way. I’m ready for this, both personally and professionally.
Archer seemed convinced enough by her speech, and Goodwin warmly welcomed her back. Deadline has already confirmed that Jessy Schram has returned to Chicago Med as a series regular, so fans will see a lot of her, and it’s not too soon to start considering what her arrival means for the ED... and Will, since their breakup happened because she needed to leave, not because they no longer cared about each other. Read on for what Hannah’s full-time presence could mean for the future of Season 7!
More OB/GYN Cases In The ED
Chicago Med has delivered plenty of cases involving pregnancy and women’s health over the years – and in fact featured more when Hannah started recurring back in Season 5 – but it’s probably very safe to say that the ED is going to be treating a lot more of these kinds of patients moving forward. Goodwin specifically mentioned that Med is implementing the OB/GYN service into the ED, so Hannah probably won't be handling the general cases as much as some of the others.
That said, the ED tends to be all-hands-on-deck when things get slammed, and Dylan doesn’t exclusively treat kids, so it should be interesting to see how Hannah fits in. Even if she does pitch in on general cases, it seems unlikely that Med would have started an emergency OB/GYN service if there’s not going to be a serious increase in obstetric and gynecology cases. Hannah was clearly a skilled physician when she wasn't battling her addiction, and she is back on the wagon in Season 7.
Stevie Really Might Be Gone For Good
Chicago Med added Kristen Hager as a new series regular to start Season 7, helping to fill the void after the departures of Yaya DaCosta and Torrey DeVitto, but Stevie decided that she would go back to Michigan and give her marriage another try fairly early in 2022. I originally thought that Stevie might just be gone for a few episodes before coming back, particularly with how Med had been building up her dynamic with Will.
But then the show gave her closure with her mom before sending her to Michigan, which seemed like a sign that she really might not need to come back. Now, with the addition of a new series regular whose character will be the head of an ED program – and who comes with some romantic baggage with Will – it really seems like Stevie might be gone for good, with Hannah as her replacement.
Kristen Hager hasn’t publicly said anything about returning or not returning to Chicago Med, although she did reveal some happy news on Instagram: she’s pregnant, and busted out the heart emoji for the reveal! Whether or not Stevie will return to the show remains to be seen, but Hager has plenty to celebrate.
Will Has A Former Flame In The ED (Again)
Will and Hannah’s road to romance was more than a little rocky the first time around, considering Will found out that she was an addict while he was secretly working at an illegal safe-injection site. Dr. Charles warned that starting a relationship with Hannah while she was working on her recovery could backfire, and she did ultimately relapse. They moved in together over the hiatus between the end of Season 5 and beginning of Season 6, and Will said “I love you,” but Hannah realized that she needed to leave Chicago for her own good.
Will didn’t waste any time in getting flirty with Sabeena, but it’s worth remembering that he and Hannah didn’t break up because they didn’t care about each other, or because they didn’t want to be together. Hannah is doing better than ever with her “post-rehab glow” and Will is financially stable for the first time in a long time, so they could be in an ideal place to restart a relationship.
That’s not to say that either or both of them want to restart a relationship. After all, they were dating when Hannah relapsed last time, so she might want to give him as wide a berth as possible, and Will has gone through a lot since they were together. Still, I can’t help but think that Med bringing back one of Will’s exes to fill Stevie’s vacancy will result in sparks flying all over again. And while I had some mixed feelings about Will/Hannah last time, it could be pretty interesting now that both characters are in different places in their lives.
All things considered, the return of Jessy Schram could be a pretty great development for Chicago Med. Hannah is a familiar face, but has gone through a lot since leaving, and has an arc ready-made for her. The only bad news is that fans are in for a wait until seeing her back in action at the hospital. Chicago Med won’t be back with a new episode until Wednesday, April 6 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC to start a new night of One Chicago action. You can always check out past episodes of Med streaming with a Peacock subscription during the wait, and take a look at our 2022 TV schedule for some upcoming viewing options.
