Spoilers ahead for Episode 14 of Chicago Med Season 11, called "Twist & Shout" and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.
Fresh off of One Chicago delivering one of the biggest network television events of the 2026 TV schedule with the death-defying crossover event, Chicago Med was back within the walls of the hospital to revisit the romance between Lenox and Ripley. Of course, "romance" might have been a generous way to describe it prior to the events of "Twist & Shout," with the pair hooking up for the fun of it after they bonded over her winter premiere crisis. I've been lukewarm about the relationship, but credit to actor Luke Mitchell. He won me over to the romance with his delivery of just one line.
At the start of "Twist & Shout," so named for the iconic scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Lenox and Ripley were still keeping their trysts secret, although they were getting a lot less careful about covering their tracks. While they might not have had a choice about the truth coming out for much longer, Lenox decided to nip it in the bud and pull Ripley up to Goodwin's office to go on the record about their sexual relationship. She neglected to give Ripley a head's up about what they were doing, instead giving him a rude awakening after he thought Lenox was hinting he was going to get lucky.
And I was ready to be indignant on Ripley's behalf after she dropped this news on Goodwin without consulting him first in the last few minutes of the episode, but the comedy of the scene was pretty great. S. Epatha Merkerson's reaction as Goodwin got the shock of two ED doctors strolling in to come clean about their sexual relationship was pretty great.
But it was Ripley's reaction when Lenox's speech made it increasingly clear that she was going to list every single one of their trysts, complete with a full list on her tablet, that got me:
- Lenox: "At no time did we compromise patient care in any way. But to fulfill reporting requirements and moving in reverse chronological order from our most recent to our first assignation––"
- Ripley: "Oh, my God."
- Lenox: "This morning at ––"
The exchange may not seem too funny just typed out, but Lenox going through her list while Ripley grew more and more mortified was a treat at the end of an eventful hour. I think my hangup with the pairing came from a few different factors that were all addressed by the end, namely that 1) Ripley was still rebounding when they first hooked up, 2) Lenox wasn't being particularly open about chasing an adrenaline high, and 3) they were both the "straight man" in the duo.
Ripley seems to have his head on straight again, and even had some nice and normal interactions with Hannah in the last couple of episodes. Lenox hasn't opened up about her prion disease diagnosis, but did clear more of the air in "Twist & Shout" after Ripley took issue with her announcing their relationship to Goodwin without talking to him first. She's ready for something more "meaningful" than just adrenaline-fueled, and he was happy to hear it.
And finally, both characters originally brought a lot of weighty baggage to their trysts, so it felt like an inevitable trainwreck. But if they're going to be allowed to be funny every once in a while, like with Ripley's reaction to Lenox in Goodwin's office, they could be a lot of fun to watch. Possibly also still a trainwreck down the line, but an entertaining one! Consider me officially endeared.
It doesn't look like the next episode will be packing in the laughs, however, especially for Dr. Frost with his parents in the mix. Check out the promo below:
Keep tuning in to NBC on Wednesdays for the One Chicago block of primetime, starting with Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET, continuing with Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET, and then wrapping with Chicago P.D. at 10 p.m. ET. You can also stream the newest episodes next day on Peacock, as well as all of the earlier seasons.
