Dominic Rains' send-off on Chicago Med may disappoint fans

Chicago Med's milestone season is set to make its debut Wednesday, Sept. 25 but this tenth outing is going to be without Dominic Rains as Dr. Crockett Marcel.

Fans have been preparing for Rains' departure since news broke that he would no longer be a series regular on the medical drama. However, the hope was that he'd get some kind of send-off that would be satisfactory to viewers. It doesn't seem like that's going to be the case.

In an interview with One Chicago Center, showrunner Allen MacDonald shared, "Dominic does not return at the top of season 10 and we explain his departure to you pretty quickly."

What does that mean? Well, in true procedural fashion, Crockett's departure will likely get explained in a line or two of dialogue, or perhaps at least a conversation between characters. We've seen this happen time and again. MacDonald's explanation for this writing choice does make sense though due to the events that unfolded in the season 9 finale.

"The reason I decided to do that was just simply I felt that Dr. Crockett Marcel had already been written out at the end of last season. It was left in a way that he could come back or if he left, it was understandable that he had some issues of his own that he needed to work out in terms of his grieving process for the loss of his daughter. I didn't really feel there was a need to bring him back to write him out because I felt that had been done."

Remember, Crockett had a harrowing case where the father of one of his patients committed suicide after the doctor's decision not to proceed with an operation. Crockett had canceled the boy's liver transplant because the child had caught an infection. He did so even in the face of the father's begging and, like the man feared, his son died. Unable to cope with the grief the man took his own life.

The event shook Crockett up and reminded him of his own struggles when his daughter had leukemia and later died. He, too, had felt helpless at the time. Crockett realized that he hadn't properly grieved his child or sorted through the trauma of that experience, so it makes sense that he's now going to be taking the time he needs.

Rains' exit does come with the addition of two new doctors on Chicago Med. Sarah Ramos plays Dr. Caitlin Lenox, an ED Attending who sees how the hospital needs to improve. In the season premiere, she'll be dealing with the influx of casualties from a boat crash that happens at Navy Pier. Darren Barnet has also joined the cast as Dr. John Frost, a pediatric resident who has a secret.

As for whether Rains will pop up on the show again one day, never say never. This medical drama has familiar faces drop in from time to time and MacDonald is very interested in keeping up that tradition even though there are no "solid plans" for returning characters at the moment.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more news! Chicago Med season 10 premieres Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Next day streaming is available on Peacock.