Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22 Offers An Acceptable Story But No Exciting End-of-Season Cliffhangers
I was wrong. Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22 was far better than it seemed like it would be from the preview trailer.
The best news is that the father who grabbed a gun waited until near the end of the hour and was quickly talked down.
Still, I’ve been spoiled by recent season-enders, so the lack of exciting cliffhangers made this season finale almost as disappointing as a certain other Dick Wolf show that had no ending at all.
Anna’s Story Had The Most Potential, But It Was Resolved Far Too Quickly
Dr. Charles’ wayward daughter, Anna, has always been one of my favorite characters.
As a teenager, she was a spitfire who butted heads with him constantly because he tried too hard to guide her in the direction he thought she should go.
So the idea of Anna’s life being in danger and Charles realizing that she had tried to kill herself was extremely compelling, and not just because of the psychiatrist whose family has serious mental health issues trope.
Yet, somehow, it fell flat.
Suicide is a really important topic.
It’s a complex and often tragic issue, especially for those left behind who wonder how they didn’t see the signs and why their loved one chose to leave this world by their own hand.
For that reason, it bothers me when TV shows treat it as a one-and-done issue.
Maybe I’m being unfair, and Chicago Med plans to address this serious mental health story on Season 11.
I hope so. The reality is, someone like Anna should need a lot of treatment, both inpatient and outpatient, later, to resolve suicidal ideation — yet the finale wrote it like one honest talk with her dad cured everything.
Anna cried, the two of them agreed to communicate better, and the credits rolled.
That’s not realistic, and frankly, I expect better of Chicago Med.
Despite This Flaw, There Was Some Strong Material Here
While the ending was rushed, some of the other scenes were among the strongest of the season.
I don’t understand why Charles was turning to his former mentee and frenemy, Sarah Reese, for help dealing with his feelings about Anna’s situation, but his guilt and confusion resonated anyway.
His explanation of his backstory was also emotional.
I’m pretty sure I knew his father died of suicide, but I don’t think I ever heard it expressed as clearly and heartbreakingly as it did in that scene.
Charles’ discussion with Robyn about Anna’s state of mind and Anna’s insistence that “I’m your daughter, not a puzzle to be solved” were also some of the best scenes of the season.
Unfortunately, they didn’t lead to any jaw-dropping cliffhangers — but as a standalone story, this was one of Charles’ best.
I Thought We Were Supposed To Have Several Former Characters Visit
This is minor in the scheme of things, but the buzz around the season finale included several visits from former characters.
The only one who visited was Reese — and I suppose Bert’s cameo counts as a visit from an alum.
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It doesn’t change the season finale much. My big problem with Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22 is the lack of cliffhangers, not the lack of visitors.
However, these visits didn’t live up to the buzz, which is annoying, to say the least.
When shows overpromise in interviews and trailers and the delivery doesn’t come close to what was advertised, I feel as if I were lied to.
In this case, it might have been me misunderstanding what I read, but still.
In my mind, “visitors from the past” means more than a third visit from Reese, a character who left at the beginning of Chicago Med Season 4.
It means cameos from Will, Natalie, Marcel, and other fan favorites who haven’t been on canvas for a long time.
I Don’t Care About Sharon And Dennis, But I Appreciated One Thing
Sharon and Dennis are not the couple I most want to break up.
I don’t care about them one way or the other, truthfully. However, I’m extremely grateful that Dennis pointed out Sharon never dealt with her trauma.
I’ve been screaming that from the rooftops for months.
She got one episode to struggle with PTSI (I recently learned that’s the newer, preferred term for PTSD so I’m sticking with it!), and then it was all forgotten… until now.
That said, I didn’t think it was wrong that she told her abuser to go to hell.
I don’t believe that you need to forgive someone who hurt you in order to move on, at least not in the sense it’s often meant on TV.
On TV, and sadly also in real life, trauma survivors are often encouraged to “rise above” their trauma by a type of forgiveness that involves having more empathy for the person who hurt them than they do for themselves.
Sharon’s refusal to give the woman who nearly killed her a pass for doing so because she’s now on medication and found Jesus is perfectly acceptable to me.
The only caveat is that if she’s holding onto anger to the degree that she’s hurting herself, she needs to change that. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Anyone Else Think Hannah Would Be Better Off Without Lizzie?
I’m super disappointed that Hannah’s quest to make amends with her sister has led to this extremely self-centered woman verbally abusing her every chance she gets.
Lizzie only forgave Hannah so that Hannah could help her get IVF and threw a tantrum when Hannah refused to risk her medical license and freedom by falsifying records so insurance would cover the treatment.
Now, she’s angry that Hannah is pregnant. She accused her of being selfish because she can’t be a surrogate right now.
I thought the idea was for Lizzie to adopt Hannah’s baby, but I guess that was naive of me.
The only thing less interesting to me than Lizzie’s nonsense is who the father of Hannah’s baby is.
The cliffhanger (such as it was) implied that Archer and not Ripley is the father. I’m relieved, I guess, because Ripley and Hannah are the worst idea for a couple ever, but when did Hannah sleep with Archer?
I thought it was pretty clear their relationship was platonic, but I don’t care enough to be annoyed that it apparently wasn’t.
We Didn’t Need That Moment With The Gun But At Least It Was Just A Moment
Walter grabbing the gun was an unnecessary story that was tacked on, I guess for extra excitement.
I’m glad it wasn’t the entire episode. I was dreading yet another hostage storyline.
I know some people love it when main characters are held at gunpoint, but I find it to be an extremely tired trope that wastes an hour of screen time.
In this case, it was annoying.
The storyline didn’t need this sudden detour into violence, especially since Walter’s anger was based on a misunderstanding.
I hate that trope with a passion. It usually pops up in romantic storylines, causing splits for the sake of drama when someone mistakes a sister for a secret lover or something equally ridiculous.
In this case, it was even more aggravating. People could have died because Walter didn’t check his damn messages and learn his son was in surgery getting new lungs.
The guy was sympathetic until then. He told his son how proud he was of him and swore he’d get new lungs soon. Why did we need to ruin it with this nonsense?
The Bottom Line: I Didn’t Hate Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22, But I Didn’t Love It Either
It was a decent episode despite some annoying aspects, but I expect more from a season finale.
Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22 felt like a regular episode, with nothing special to spark discussion throughout the summer.
What did you think, Chicago Med fanatics?
Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.
Say something in the comments and share with a friend so they can join the conversation!
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Chicago Med Season 10 is over, but all episodes are available to stream on Peacock. Chicago Med Season 11 will premiere on NBC in the fall of 2025.
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