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Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles Had An Explosive Meeting with Her Ex on Chicago Med
When Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles had to break some news to her ex, Bert, it didn't go well.
When Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) tried to address growing concerns about her ex-husband's memory in Season 9, Episode 5 of Chicago Med, things erupted in a disastrous meeting.
In the prior episode, Albert "Bert" Goodwin, along with the ex-couple's grandson, ended up at the hospital where Sharon works after Bert fell on the child while babysitting. At the time, the Goodwins’ daughter, Tara, raised concerns to her mother about Bert’s apparent memory and confusion issues.
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In Episode 5, those concerns were only exacerbated after she and Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) got Bert (Gregory Alan Williams) to undergo a physical exam and then met with him to tell him they've noticed some memory issues.
Sharon Goodwin told Dr. Charles she's concerned about her ex-husband's memory
When Sharon ran into Dr. Charles at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, she asked him about the last time he saw Bert, who also happens to be a longtime pal of Dr. Charles. The doctor recalled how he called him a few weeks earlier, and Bert said he’d call back, but never did.
“Is that something you’ve noticed? His memory?,” Goodwin asked, but Dr. Charles initially didn't seem too concerned, replying, “Not really. I mean, that could happen to any of us. I do that stuff all the time. Why, are you worried about it?"
Sharon explained that her daughter, Tara, is concerned about Bert, and that he fell while babysitting their grandson.
“I mean, it wasn’t anything serious,” Sharon said about the fall. “He just twisted his knee. But he just seemed a little confused. And I wouldn’t be concerned, but Bert does have a family history of dementia. His mother. His mother’s mother.”
Since it's tough getting Bert to agree to see a doctor, the two hatched a plan for Dr. Charles to stop and chat with Bert to feel out any cognitive issues when Bert came by later that day for a knee injury follow-up.
Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles share a special bond
S. Epatha Merkerson, the actress who plays Sharon, told NBC Insider in an interview that Dr. Charles and Sharon have a special relationship.
"She goes to him when she's having issues," Merkerson said. "She goes to him to talk to Bert. Because of their friendship — Bert and Daniel were friends. They know so much about each other, that she can say, 'Listen, I don't need to tell you this.' And he knows exactly what she's talking about."
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When Bert arrived at the hospital to have his knee looked at, Sharon asked him when the last time he had a physical was. She convinced him to get one by promising it'll be quick and telling him that he owes "it to your children and grandson to look after your health.”
Dr. Dean Archer began giving a combative Bert a physical, but then Dr. Charles stopped by and offered to take over.
Dr. Charles examined Bert Goodwin
Dr. Charles told his old friend that he's thinking about placing a bet on the Chicago Bulls against the Boston Celtics. Charles asked Bert how much money he’d win if he put $20 down on 6 to 1 odds, and Bert answered $110. Dr. Charles gently corrected Bert, pointing out that it would actually be $120.
The doctor also asked Bert if he wanted to grab lunch at Al’s on Friday, and Bert agreed. Later, as Dr. Charles asked Bert to hang around the hospital until his blood work was back, he added, “Looking forward to Friday.”
“Friday?,” Bert asked, clearly confused.
“Lunch,” Dr. Charles reminded him. “Lunch at Al’s.”
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Bert tried to play off the confusion and replied, “Right. Lunch at Al’s. See you then.”
After the interactions with Bert, Dr. Charles informed Sharon, “We could be looking at some issues." She mentioned that Bert would need more testing, but knowing that convincing him to do so wouldn't be easy, Sharon asked Dr. Charles to help her out and they agreed to tell him together.
Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles confronted Bert about his memory issues
Sharon led Bert into her office and Dr. Charles then came by. Charles informed him that while he's mostly in good health, he did notice "some short term memory issues."
Bert asked what he meant by that.
"Well, you’re forgetting things, Bert," Sharon explained.
When Bert said that everyone forgets things and asked what this meeting was all about, Dr. Charles added, “Really, just about your friends and your family being a little bit concerned, that’s all.”
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When Goodwin told her ex they’d like him to get more testing, Bert got agitated, demanding, "To see if I’m all there? ... Is that what you’re talking about?”
“If there is an issue, and trust me, big ‘if,’ don’t you want to know?,” Dr. Charles asked. “I mean, I certainly would.”
Bert blew up on Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Charles
Bert then declared that this "was a setup from the beginning.”
When Sharon pointed out that their daughter Tara has been worried, Charles yelled, "No, don’t put this on Tara! This is you! You’re trying to put me away! You’re trying to put me away so you can get your hands on my pension.”
Bert then turned to Dr. Charles and screamed, "And you’re in it with her. The two of you cooking up this nonsense so you can get my money — a couple of crooks!”
Bert declared that he and Dr. Charles are no longer pals, despite 40 years of friendship, and told Sharon that he’s taking away her power of attorney over him, before storming out of the room, yelling, “You ought to be ashamed!”
But by the end of Episode 5, Bert came around a little. Having waited for Sharon to arrive at her home after work, he told her he'd get further testing, "just to get you off my back."
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Merkerson shared more with NBC Insider on what it was like to film the emotional scenes between Sharon, Bert and Dr. Charles, and how the theme of aging and loss of memory is sadly familiar to many families.
“It was just a collaborative experience,” Merkerson told NBC Insider. “I mean you certainly, when you say the lines, you have something in your mind and in your heart about these issues. The three of us have lived lives now, so we’ve had experiences with loss, and all the problems ... But I also think the friendship that grew out of the three of us working together, over these years, has an ease ... No matter what the scene is, the three of us have a history, and so now that history becomes the history of Daniel, Bert and Sharon."
To find out what's next for Sharon and Bert, watch new episodes of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
—Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
