‘Chicago Med’: Luke Mitchell on Ripley’s Key Hallucination and His Fight for His Job

George Burns Jr/NBC

And he needed it to be Sully because of everything that’s happened this season leading up to it.

Totally. Yeah, because the grief that Ripley has been dealing with is basically the catalyst for everything that’s been going wrong for Ripley. So I think it’s very poignant that it is Sully that he hallucinates in this moment.

It feels like he hasn’t really had time to grieve. He hasn’t taken the time to grieve either.

No, no, not at all. I think he’s really struggling with it, and he doesn’t know how to deal with it. And he’s using alcohol to numb himself and to push feelings down and to try to run away from it, to try to convince himself that he’s okay, but really he’s not. He’s the furthest thing from okay. And it’s just a slippery slope as he starts to — he doesn’t want to realize, but he is realizing that he’s slipping into these old habits and these old patterns of behavior that he thought he’d grown out of. And yeah, it’s a scary place for him.

So how is this experience going to change Ripley going forward?

I think it’s going to change him fundamentally in a lot of ways. I think we are going to see a new and improved Ripley. I think we’re going to see a Ripley that takes ownership of his choices, and I think he’s going to have a bit of a pep in his step.

What’s coming up when it comes to his job and earning back Goodwin’s (S. Epatha Merkerson) trust? 

Yeah, I mean, he’s got a lot of work to do, so I don’t know that that’s necessarily going to be an easy thing to do. Goodwin was the one that is recommending he be terminated, so I think he’s got to win back a lot of people’s trust. I think he’s hurt a lot of people, so, yeah, it’s going to be an interesting journey to see him metaphorically and physically climb out of that hole.

How does he feel about his future with Asher? That relationship is so complicated.

Yeah, look, it is. I think ultimately they’re really good for each other, but I just think that their timing hasn’t been great, and therefore, yeah, I don’t know. I think where they’re at, they need to be at. I think they need to be on a break, whether it’s indefinite or just for a short period of time. Ripley needs to be by himself. I think he needs to figure himself out. But I got a lot of love for their relationship.

And I don’t think he realizes yet that he needs to be by himself because of that conversation at the end of the previous episode. He’s not ready for that.

No, he’s in desperation mode. Yeah, he’s trying to cling onto anything good in his life, and she’s the best thing in his life, and he doesn’t want to lose her. And he’s trying to articulate his feelings and be better, but he’s just not there yet. And I think her walking away from him in this moment is the best thing for him and for her.

The Ripley and Charles relationship is so good… 

Oh, yeah. There’s a really beautiful scene between them in this episode. Yeah, again, one of my favorite scenes. I love working with Oliver. This one is particularly poignant and special and needed. I talked about Sully being someone that Ripley needed in this moment, but I think Dr. Charles is also someone that he really needed in this moment.

Without this experience, what do you think it would’ve taken for Ripley to make the changes he needs to,

Oh God. Probably many more episodes of sliding down the scope of bad behavior. So hopefully the events of this episode sped that process up.

Chicago Med, Wednesdays, 8/7c, NBC