Is Steven Weber’s Archer Leaving Chicago Med Season 10?

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Chicago Med season 10, episode 8, entitled “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”Chicago Med season 10, episode 8, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” suggested that perpetual curmudgeon Dean Archer might leave Gaffney Medical Center. Archer is one of actor Steven Weber’s best TV characters. He has been the ED chief since his arrival in season 6, when he took the position on an interim basis as a favor to Choi (Brian Tee), who he served with in the Navy. Archer is often sarcastic, is highly critical of other doctors, and sometimes blurs ethical lines to get patients the care they need.

Archer may have met his match with one of Chicago Med’s season 10’s newest cast members. He has butted heads with Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos) since learning that Lenox was hired to be co-chief of the ED. That battle came to a head in Chicago Med season 10, episode 7, when Archer’s insistence that they could not work together resulted in Goodwin demoting him to attending while leaving Lenox as sole ED chief.

Archer Resigns From Gaffney In Chicago Med Season 10, Episode 8

He Slips A Letter Under Goodwin’s Door

Throughout most of “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Archer seems to be happier than he was before his demotion, even telling Hannah that “getting demoted gives you time to do errands like going to the grocery store.” He wishes Lenox well and tells her he will not give her trouble now that she’s his boss, surprising her and everyone who witnesses it. He even gets ordained online so he can officiate a patient’s wedding, joking that he is marrying them “by the power vested in me by some random website.”

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However, Archer’s smiling, relaxed demeanor hides his true feelings about the demotion, and he later tells Hannah that he’s written his letter of resignation. He feels there is nothing left for him at Gaffney now that he’s been demoted on top of Sean’s leaving town. Hannah is Archer’s closest friend and believes she can leverage their relationship to talk Archer out of this idea, but he goes through with it, delivering the letter despite promising Hannah he’ll reconsider.

Why Archer’s Resignation From Chicago Med Is So Surprising

It’s Not Like Him To Refuse To Fight

Archer’s demotion in Chicago Med season 10, episode 7 pushed him toward out-of-character behavior. This started with his refusal to fight Goodwin’s decision, with him instead buying everyone a round at Molly’s after learning he was no longer going to be ED co-chief. This is a man whose introduction to Gaffney Medical Center involved him purposely putting a patient in a coma so he could impose treatment the patient didn’t want — and who later refused to admit that his kidney disease meant he couldn’t work full-time. Thus, his lack of fight when it came to the demotion seemed strange.

The most likely explanation for this change in demeanor is that Archer is lying low and pretending to accept the demotion while plotting to reclaim the ED chief position and get rid of Lenox. However, his decision to submit a letter of resignation instead suggests he has no master plan and wants to leave quietly. Choosing to withdraw without a fight is so unlike Archer that it should be a red flag that he is having a serious mental health issue because of this demotion.

Is Chicago Med Season 10 Really Writing Out Archer?

It’s More Likely He Will Have A Change Of Heart, Given The Goodwin Cliffhanger

Steven Weber has been with Chicago Med since season 6, and actors often leave to pursue other projects after several years with the same series. However, there is no news suggesting Weber has decided to walk away from the medical drama, and he was confirmed as part of the Chicago Med season 10 cast before it began. Additionally, Weber is enthusiastic about the direction new showrunner Allen MacDonald is taking, telling Cinemablend, “People are really digging the show and coming to it and looking forward to it… That’s a function of our new writers.”

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Archer dislikes change and often fights it to the bitter end. He was previously unwilling to relinquish control of the ED to Choi when he returned to work, and his close friendship with Hannah is surprising, considering how hard he tried to talk Sharon out of rehiring someone who had a drug problem in the past. Thus, it’s likely that this resignation letter isn’t the end of Archer’s storyline.

Chicago Med’s season 10 Sharon stalker storyline provides the most likely reason for Archer to have a change of heart. He is unaware that Sharon is being held hostage in her office as he delivers the letter, but Sharon temporarily gets the upper hand over her attacker and bangs on the door, trying to get his attention, just as the doors to his elevator back down close. Thus, Archer will probably be central to Sharon’s rescue when Chicago Med returns from its mid-season hiatus. The experience could make him realize that he is still needed at the hospital.

Source: Cinemablend

Chicago Med is a medical drama television series that follows the lives of the doctors and nurses of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. Created by Dick Wolf and Matt Olmstead, the show is the third series in Wolf Entertainment’s Chicago franchise. Chicago Med premiered on NBC in 2015, and occasionally has crossover events with Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.

Cast

Marlyne Barrett , S. Epatha Merkerson , Oliver Platt , Nick Gehlfuss , Brian Tee , Lorena Diaz , Yaya DaCosta , Torrey DeVitto

Release Date

November 17, 2015

Seasons

8