Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 12 Offered An Exciting Story Before a Hiatus, But No Cliffhangers

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

Chicago Med always saves the best for last.

Sadly, the medical drama is going on another month-long hiatus because of the Winter Olympics, but at least there was a memorable story to tide us over before the break.

Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 12 combined its usual medical stories with a more gimmicky surgery-in-the-air plot that worked better than most such stories.

Traveling Never Works Out For TV Professionals, And This Was No Exception

It’s been a trope on many shows for someone to get on a plane or a train, only for the job to interfere with their attempt to escape from it.

Of course, Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 12 was slightly different since Sharon wasn’t traveling for pleasure.

The board meeting situation was going to be tense because of Miranda, even before her sudden illness.

Miranda wanted to get rid of Sharon out of spite, which is doubly stupid since Miranda’s nephew didn’t even want the job in the first place.

Characters like Miranda always end up needing to be saved by the people they’ve made enemies out of for no reason, so it wasn’t surprising that she began having serious aftereffects from her accident in the middle of the flight.

Predictable doesn’t necessarily mean terrible, though — sometimes the point isn’t the plot twist but what happens afterward.

Sharon noticed Miranda’s symptoms, insisted on examining her, and realized something was seriously wrong.

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Even if Sharon did nothing further besides insist the plane make an emergency landing so that Miranda could get medical attention, she still would have deserved Miranda’s gratitude.

Of course, Sharon went far beyond that, instead engaging in the usual trope of doing surgery without a license or proper instruments while someone instructed her over the phone (at least for the first two minutes)

Sharon’s Story Was Unrealistic, Yet Fun

It’s often hard for me to get into these types of stories because literally nothing in them works the way it does in real life.

I was dreading this one for that reason. Former nurses doing surgeries they never even assisted on before, using objects found on a plane, just felt like a step too far for me.

Surprisingly, though, the story didn’t irritate me nearly as much as I expected it to.

For one thing, it didn’t take up the entire hour.

No one story was the main event this time, which made all of the stories easier to digest, including this one.

I put up with the silly premise, even the predictable complication of the phone cutting out amidst turbulence in the air — another good reason that the sensible thing to do is make an emergency landing and go to the hospital. It didn’t overshadow anything else and was on just long enough to be interesting instead of annoying.

I do have a question, though: what’s going on with that board meeting?

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Maybe it was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment that I blinked and missed, but it seemed like the story jumped directly from the emergency on board to Sharon returning to Gaffney.

The board is down a member while Miranda recovers, so I guess whatever happens next with budget cuts is supposed to be a cliffhanger.

Dr. Charles’ Story With the Medical Students Had Promise

I didn’t like that two of the three medical students were considering a different career path after spending all of one day shadowing Charles, though.

That didn’t seem realistic, especially since they were first-year medical students who didn’t need to choose a speciality yet and who had no hospital experience except for the work they did with Charles.

I think the intention is for Amira tobecome part of the show, so at least there’s that.

I did like the idea of Charles exposing these students to psychiatry early, though, and Lenox not liking having to explain things to them made for a perfect intra-office conflict.

Of course, if Charles wanted to increase the number of medical students entering his field, he mostly failed, undermining the story’s purpose.

And his advice to the guy who preferred private practice was ridiculous. Not wanting to be at the hospital 24/7 doesn’t mean a doctor is less dedicated, and since Charles has been unhappy and considering retirement lately, he should understand that better than he does.

Besides, even private practice doctors have to do residencies first. Charles could have simply said that and encouraged the guy to give ED psychiatry a chance before deciding, rather than giving him a lecture.

I also wish the story about the kid who was shot and killed on the way to his SLP appointment had gotten more screen time.

After he was admitted, he disappeared until his sudden death rattled one of the medical students, making him feel more like an object meant to provoke emotion than a real child.

Frost’s Medical Story Was One of The Most Interesting

Although I will always think it’s silly that patients ask doctors to share details of their personal lives and the doctors on Chicago Med are happy to oblige, I enjoyed Frost’s story.

The teenage girl’s rare autoimmune disease was a refreshing change from the usual cryptic pregnancy or secretly abusive step-dad stories that pass through Gaffney, and Frost’s conflict with his parents is also interesting, although it feels like a more commercialized version of what happened at the end of Brilliant Minds Season 1.

I wasn’t excited that the episode ended with more sex (this time Frost and Novak), but I guess you can’t have everything.

What did you think about Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 12?

Did it feel like the right episode before another long hiatus, or did it leave you wanting something more?

Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so that they can join in.

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If you enjoyed this article, check out our other One Chicago coverage, including our Chicago PD reviews.

Chicago Med airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 8/7c and streams on Peacock on Thursdays. The next new episode airs on March 4, 2026 and will be part of a One Chicago crossover event.

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