Dr. Archer’s Chicago Med resignation cliffhanger is worrying a lot of people.
It’s likely he won’t actually leave the medical drama, but still. He submitted that letter despite promising Hannah he’d reconsider.
The good news is that this is not the first medical drama with this storyline. Years ago, ER had a similar story with Gregory Pratt (Mekhi Phifer), so is it possible to look at it for clues as to what happens next?
How The ER Story Is Similar to Dr. Archer’s Chicago Med Resignation Cliffhanger
On ER Season 14 Episode 11, Pratt had a similar experience to Archer. In Pratt’s case, he had been passed over for the ER Chief position, which he felt he deserved, in favor of Skye Wexler.
Skye was a young female doctor who had recently arrived, and Pratt felt disrespected. Thus, he considered submitting his letter of resignation.
Meanwhile, at a different Chicago hospital on Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 8, Archer pretended not to be upset that he had been demoted from ED Chief to attending after demonstrating he couldn’t get along with Caitlin Lenox, a young female doctor who had recently arrived at the hospital.
Eventually, Archer admitted to Hannah that he couldn’t deal with not being ED Chief anymore and that he felt there was no purpose to his continued presence at Gaffney Medical Center.
Thus, he wrote his letter of resignation, ignoring Hannah’s pleas to reconsider, and headed to Goodwin’s office to submit it.
Obviously, These Two Stories Are Not Exactly The Same, But…
This is not to say that Archer’s Chicago Med resignation cliffhanger copied ER, as that is obviously not the case.
On ER, Pratt decided not to resign after meeting PA Jeanine Boulet, who helped him find his purpose as they worked on a difficult case together.
However, this role is somewhat analogous to Hannah’s; she tries to remind Archer that his friendship with her is valuable even if he doesn’t see the point of staying at Gaffney otherwise.
Additionally, Pratt was offended at being passed over for the ER Chief position, while Archer had been the ED Chief but had been demoted, making the situations somewhat different.
These differences are important. No one wants to watch the same story twice!
Still, the resolution of Pratt’s story can still give us clues as to how Dr. Archer’s Chicago Med resignation cliffhanger is likely to go.
Like Archer, Pratt felt he didn’t have enough purpose in his current job and that he had been passed over in favor of a younger person who didn’t have the right ideas for the hospital.
In Pratt’s case, his decision not to resign after all came from the case he worked on with Boulet more than meeting her.
Boulet’s son was seriously ill after a head injury, and Boulet, who was herself HIV+, was scared when Pratt discovered a brain tumor that suggested her son had AIDS. Thus, by working on this case, Pratt rediscovered his sense of purpose.
Additionally, he realized that life is too short.
The patient’s serious illness reminded him that he wasn’t guaranteed a lot of time on Earth and that he shouldn’t waste any being aggravated that he’d been passed over for the promotion he wanted.
Thus, instead of resigning, Pratt remained at the hospital and tried again to become ER Chief later.
In Archer’s case, it’s surprising that he has given up completely.
Archer has never been the most straightforward of characters, often doing the right thing for the wrong reason, so it would have made more sense for him to pretend to be okay with being demoted while scheming to get his position back.
Like Pratt, Archer needs to rediscover his sense of purpose, though it probably will come from a different source.
Archer’s Chicago Med resignation cliffhanger wasn’t the only jaw-dropping ending scene.
After delivering the letter, Archer heard banging on the glass door separating the administrative offices from the elevator lobby and turned to see Goodwin trying to fight off the person who had attacked her with a knife.
Thus, when Chicago Med returns from its midseason hiatus, Archer will probably be involved in trying to rescue Goodwin.
That could give him the sense of purpose he needs to reconsider his decision to resign.
Hopefully, he will be able to save Goodwin’s life, either during the crisis or if she needs medical attention afterward.
If Goodwin were to die or be seriously injured, that could make Archer even more convinced that he needs to run away from the hospital.
Plus, it would be a depressing as hell ending for Goodwin’s character, so we don’t need that.
We also don’t need a repeat of when Dr. Lim was paralyzed on The Good Doctor and spent the whole season yelling at Shawn about his choices in the OR instead of being grateful he saved her life.
That’s not Chicago Med’s style, so hopefully, it will avoid any of those negative paths.
Dr. Archer’s Chicago Med Resignation Cliffhanger Is Probably A Fakeout Anyway
Even without the similarity to ER, this storyline is likely a fakeout.
There has been no news that Steven Weber (Archer) is leaving Chicago Med. In fact, the actor has been vocal about how great he thinks the new writing team is.
Plus, he has a vital role to play in rescuing Goodwin.
So what do you think, Chicago Med fanatics? Is Archer actually going to resign, or will it be similar to Pratt’s ER storyline?
Hit the comments with your thoughts.
Watch Chicago Med Online
Chicago Med airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 8/7c. It will return with all-new episodes on January 8, 2024.