The fact that Chicago Med is in the midst of airing its tenth season is a major accomplishment for everyone involved in the TV show. When people accomplish something that impressive, there can be a tendency for them to want to rest on their laurels. However, it could easily be argued that Season 10 succeeding is a make-or-break scenario for Chicago Med continuing and for its legacy.
Since Chicago Med is arguably at such a pivotal point in its history, every aspect of Season 10 needed to be on point. However, the unfortunate truth is that Season 10 of Chicago Med has had some notable missteps. For example, the way that Season 10 of Chicago Med handled the character Dr. Mitch Ripley has been a lowlight.
Dr. Mitch Ripley’s Season 10 Storyline Was Based On The Repercussions Of One Of Chicago Med’s Worst Ever Storylines
Throughout the history of Chicago Med, the show’s main characters have gone through a staggering amount of drama. As a result, nobody watches Chicago Med expecting any of the characters to have an easy life.
During the 10th season of Chicago Med, a lot of the drama has been taken up a notch. A perfect example of that is the fact that Sharon Goodwin was stalked, attacked, almost killed, and severely traumatized during the season.
Unfortunately for any Chicago Med fans who like Dr. Mitch Ripley, he has also gone through a staggering amount of drama during Season 10. In Dr. Ripley’s case, one of the reasons why his highly dramatic Season 10 storyline is a drag is because it stems from one of the worst Chicago Med storylines ever.
Throughout the first several episodes of Chicago Med Season 10, Dr. Ripley was shown spinning out over the fate of his childhood friend.
Chicago Med’s Best Characters, According to CBR | |
|---|---|
Character | Rank |
Dr. Sarah Reese | #10 |
Maggie Lockwood | #9 |
Dr. Connor Rhodes | #8 |
Dr. Dylan Scott | #7 |
Dr. Natalie Manning | #6 |
Dr. Will Halstead | #5 |
April Sexton | #4 |
Dr. Ethan Choi | #3 |
Sharon Goodwin | #2 |
Dr. Daniel Charles | #1 |
After reentering Dr. Ripley’s life, his old friend Robert “Sully” Sullivan committed an assault, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and became a father. Dr. Ripley was willing to sacrifice his career to protect Sully from the consequences of his criminal actions.
That series of events led to the rest of Dr. Ripley’s storyline throughout the remainder of Chicago Med’s 10th season. That was a major problem for the show since Sully committed that assault due to a truly horrible Chicago Med storyline.
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During the 8th season of Chicago Med, fans saw Dr. Daniel Charles fall for a woman named Liliana Wapniarski. Liliana’s brother, Pawel Wapniarski, was then introduced and the fact that he was sketchy very quickly became clear.
Chicago Med’s Dr. Mitch Ripley is portrayed by the Australian actor Luke Mitchell. Before joining the cast of Chicago Med, Luke had previously starred in other shows like Neighbours, Home and Away, The Tomorrow People, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Blindspot, among others.
During one of Pawel’s later appearances, he went to the hospital and was treated by Dr. Ripley. When Pawel later sued Dr. Ripley for malpractice, Sully attacked Liliana’s brother and that was the crime that launched all the drama.
One of the biggest problems with that series of events is that it means that fans still can’t move on from Pawel and Liliana which is brutal since they were such awful characters.
In April 2024, a fan on the r/ChicagoMed subreddit posted about how much they didn’t like Liliana as a character. That post had a simple title that communicated their feelings. “I do not like Liliana.”
To be clear, nobody blames the actors who portrayed Lilana and Pawel Wapniarski for why their characters were so hated. Instead, it was the way that those two characters were handled on the show that most viewers complained about.
There were a lot of reasons to dislike Liliana, including the fact that the character had no chemistry with Dr. Charles and that she came across as a drag. No matter why fans disliked her, the top most-upvoted response to the post perfectly reflected how a lot of Chicago Med fans feel about Liliana as a character.
“It’s one of the worst storylines Med has ever done. I hope it wraps up this season. The relationship storylines on Med this season are just awful.”
Another one of the most-upvoted responses to the post complained about Liliana’s relationship with Pawel. “Me either, her unquestioning devotion to her skeezy brother just rubs me the wrong way.” Considering that fans love Dr. Charles, it is baffling that the show thought viewers would enjoy the character interacting with Pawel since he obviously was bad news.
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Thankfully, at the beginning of Chicago Med’s 10th season, it seemed clear that the show’s writers figured out that fans hated Liliana and Pawel. Both characters were unceremoniously written out of the show, much to the delight of fans.
The problem is, however, since Dr. Ripley’s entire Season 10 storyline was created because of Pawel, that decision has meant fans still can’t let go of him. Forcing Chicago Med viewers to constantly be reminded of Pawel was a huge mistake for the show. Instead, Chicago Med could have introduced a new reason for Dr. Ripley’s struggles that had nothing to do with Pawel.
Dr. Ripley’s Season 10 Storyline Is A Total Bummer
When fans tune in to watch Chicago Med, they are prepared for the show’s characters to struggle and suffer turmoil. However, ultimately fans watch Chicago Med in hopes of seeing the characters grow and move forward.
During the 9th season of Chicago Med, fans saw Dr. Ripley go through a lot of growth.
When the character was first introduced, he was defined by his resentment for Dr. Daniel Charles who treated him when he was a teen. As a result, even when Dr. Charles would try to be good to Dr. Ripley, he would initially be treated with nothing but anger.
However, as the season progressed, fans saw Dr. Ripley let go of much of his old trauma. That culminated in Dr. Ripley and Dr. Charles eventually making peace.
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When all the drama surrounding Pawel Wapniarski and Robert “Sully” Sullivan was introduced into Dr. Ripley’s storyline, however, all that growth completely regressed.
Dr. Ripley went from being a doctor who’d built himself up despite being held back and facing huge setbacks, to someone who seemed to make non-stop mistakes.
Of course, the truth is that many people in life can be haunted by their pasts. Sadly, people do wind up making mistakes that echo things that they’d previously overcome. As a result, if you ignore the improbably over-the-top negativity of the events surrounding Dr. Ripley during Season 10, his storyline is realistic in a way.
However, Chicago Med isn’t a documentary, so being truthful isn’t the ultimate priority. Instead, fans watch Chicago Med to be entertained and there is nothing about Dr. Ripley’s Season 10 storyline that is enjoyable to watch. Instead, Dr. Ripley’s over-the-top downfall during Season 10 has been a total bummer to watch.
Chicago Med
- Release Date
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November 17, 2015
- Network
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NBC
- Showrunner
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Michael Brandt
- Directors
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Michael Waxman, Michael Pressman, Charles S. Carroll, Milena Govich, Anna Dokoza, Bethany Rooney, Fred Berner, Tess Malone, Mykelti Williamson, SJ Main Muñoz, Donald Petrie, Martha Mitchell, Vincent Misiano, Timothy Busfield, Jonathan Brown, John Polson, Stephen Cragg, Anthony Nardolillo, Michael Berry, David Rodriguez, Afia Nathaniel, Oz Scott, Valerie Weiss, Gonzalo Amat
- Writers
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Joseph Sousa, Lily Dahl, Natalie Drayer, Darin Goldberg, Shelley Meals, Melissa R. Byer, Treena Hancock, Mary Leah Sutton, Simran Baidwan, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Jason Cho, Will Pascoe, Liz Brixius
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S. Epatha Merkerson
Maggie Lockwood
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Oliver Platt
Sharon Goodwin
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Nick Gehlfuss
Dr. Daniel Charles
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Nick Gehlfuss
Dr. Will Halstead
