As a One Chicago OG and a longtime anchor of Chicago Med, it’s hard to imagine the Windy City hospital without the beloved Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt).

While the Med veteran has long been a source of comfort and cherished consultation on the NBC drama, he has recently been on the precipice of a new chapter. Dr. Charles has been voicing thoughts of retirement since earlier this season on Chicago Med after suffering his first panic attack in decades. Showrunner Allen MacDonald even revealed to NBC Insider that Platt “broke the railing on the elevator” while filming the intense scene.

Gaffney’s go-to psych took some time away from the E.D. to regulate his antidepressants, but he’s still struggled to get back into a steady groove. While volunteering for the suicide hotline has given him a welcome distraction, it was clear from Dr. Charles’ condition in Season 11’s “Book of Charles” that he’s not doing well. Family drama at home with his daughter and increased stakes at work have created a perfect storm for the Chicago Med fan favorite to land at a crossroads.

After catching wind of an enticing job offer as a medical school professor, Dr. Charles seemed quick to turn it down, but after recent events, the beloved Gaffney psychiatrist may be handing in his resignation letter soon. Here’s what happened:

Dr. Charles opening scene was a “tour de force”

To start out the episode, Dr. Charles navigated a troubling phone call at the hotline. Platt was the only character on screen in the harrowing scene, as he went through the motions of talking down a suicidal caller.

“That was a tour de force performance,” MacDonald told us. “I loved that scene so much. And, you know, that was always the plan just for him to be onscreen alone.”

Platt reflected on filming the emotional the opening sequence and how mirrors the very real work of hotline workers.

“There was a sensational actor on the other end of the line, who was actually just in the other room pouring his guts out, take after take,” the actor says. “Those workers, the needle that they need to thread, the things that they’re allowed to say, the things that they’re not supposed to say, the way they’re supposed to — I have just an extraordinary amount of respect for people who actually do that on a regular basis.”

I want them to be scared for his life.”

Allen MacDonald

After coming home from his shift, Charles got into a heated argument with his college-aged daughter. Then, upon arriving at the hospital, Dr. Charles and his good friend Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) talked about his opportunity to pivot to teaching, an offer that Dr. Charles assured Sharon he turned down without second thought. However, after encountering a particularly harrowing Munchausen’s case, Dr. Charles felt shaky in his resolve at his current post. After the patient, Sage, grew frustrated with Dr. Charles’ diagnosis, he was shocked when she later filed a formal complaint against him.

Goodwin explained that she had to investigate the complaint like any other incident, and Dr. Charles grew furious over her lack of trust in him. Amid an explosive argument between the Med veterans, Dr. Charles admitted that his teaching offer was looking more enticing by the minute. It was a confession that stung as Dr. Charles stormed out of a stunned Goodwin’s office.