Dominic Rains' Dr. Crockett Marcel left the Chicago Med series, which is headed for Season 10, with no indication of a return.
NBC's beloved medical drama is back, following the happenings of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center and its various staff members.
Like many seasons before it, Chicago Med Season 10 sports a jam-packed cast, with over a dozen returning favorites back for more fun and some big-name new additions.
Is Crockett Leaving Chicago Med for Good?
Fans may have noticed during the Chicago Med Season 10 premiere that Domonic Rains' Dr. Crockett Marcel was noticeably absent from the series' long-awaited return.
Rains' Dr. Marcel was in the series for five seasons (Seasons 5 to 9), working as a trauma surgeon fellow at the Gaffney Medical Center.
However, he underwent something of a come-to-Jesus moment at the end of last season, which was seemingly the reason for his not returning to the show for Season 10.
In the Season 9 finale ("I Think I Know You, But Do I Really?"), Dr. Marcel faced an emotional quagmire.
Throughout the episode, the series spent plenty of time building up a deep and personal connection between Dr. Marcel and a young patient who needed a life-saving kidney transplant.
Dr. Marcel and the rest of the Gaffney team were ready to operate on the boy; however, that is when life took the patient into its own hands. A devastating infection overcame the young patient, overpowering the young boy and sadly taking his life in the process.
Having become close to his patient and previously having lost a child of his own to Leukemia, this series of events shook Rains' character. This was only made worse when the boy's father then took his own life out of insurmountable grief.
Because of this, Dr. Marcel was told to take all the time he needed away from the hospital to recover emotionally, setting up his permanent exit from the series.
The Real Reason for Crockett Leaving Chicago Med
While a character or actor leaving a long-running series is nothing new, several big names have already departed from Chicago Med itself. Yet, the departure of Dominic Rains' Dr. Crockett Marcel may surprise some.
Yes, Season 9 set up the perfect exit point for the character, but it is hard to say if it was written as such.
Seeing as Rains' parting ways from the show was not announced until well after the Season 9 finale aired, it seems this moment was not necessarily written to be the end for Dr. Marcel.
According to Rains himself, he saw the ending of Season 9 as his character "being written out," so he decided he would part ways with the show (via One Chicago Center):
"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."
He continued, saying that "I didn't really feel there was a need to bring him back," as it was clear his character had "some issues of his own that he needed to work out:"
"It was left in a way that he could come back or if he left it, 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."
There is no telling if Dominic Rains and Dr. Crockett Marcel will ever be seen or heard from again in Chicago Med, but if these comments are anything to glean from, it seems like his time on the show is officially over.
New episodes of Chicago Med Season 10 are released every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock.
