[SPOILER] Made an Emotional Exit From 'The Resident' and We're Not Crying — You Are

Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 3 of The Resident.

If we didn’t know any better, we would have said that Season 4 of The Resident gave Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) and Nic Nevin (Emily VanCamp) their happily ever after. The beloved couple saw quite a few scares, but at the end of the season, audiences witnessed the birth of Georgina Grace Hawkins. Fans thought that they’d see the new happy family together in Season 5, but, sadly, that’s not how things are going to play out.

Emily VanCamp has announced that she will not be taking part in the show's fifth season, which leaves us with a big question: How is Nic being written off? As a new mom, it seems unlikely that she could just suddenly walk away from her family. And if she left Chastain Park Memorial Hospital to be home with her new baby girl, it would be hard to convince the audience that Conrad’s wife wouldn’t be around with him still at the hospital.

With Matt on board as Conrad for the foreseeable future, it would be difficult to envision a happy ending for the couple. So just how unhappy will Nic’s departure actually be? Does Nic die? Or is there another way that she could leave?

Last season wasn’t easy for Nic. In addition to her pregnancy, she was also stabbed, which nearly killed both her and the baby. But luckily, Gigi and Nic were both just fine. Gigi entered the world happy and healthy.

Season 4 concluded on a bright note for the family, but fans are concerned that Season 5 won’t continue the same way. In Episode 1, we were told that Nic was on a retreat, taking care of her health after her new baby. And while that seemed perfectly fine, knowing that Emily VanCamp is leaving the show made fans think that her retreat would lead to her death.

Episode 2 proved that fans were right. Nic's messages to her husband stopped after she said that she was almost home. At last, a knock on the door made Conrad think that Gigi's mom was back. Instead, he answered the door to find two police officers waiting for him, who informed him that there was an accident.

Conrad's worst fears are realized when Nic is rushed to Chastain ER in Episode 3. Despite doctors' best efforts and Conrad's denial, Nic is braindead with little-to-no chance of recovery. After Nic is put into a medically-induced coma, the Chastain team says one last goodbye to their old friend, who manages to save lives even in death.

Nic's organs are donated to several patients, including a COVID-19 survivor who is in desperate need of a trachea transplant. It's safe to say that Nic got the send-off she deserves. But why did Emily VanCamp leave The Resident?

According to Deadline, Emily asked to be released from the show at the end of Season 4. Although there was some effort by the showrunners to change her mind, things just didn’t work out. Emily is leaving shortly after having her first daughter, just like her character, with husband Josh Bowman.

Although Emily hasn’t opened up about the exact reasons behind her departure, it’s likely that a desire for more family time contributed to her choice. However, in speaking with People about her relationship with Josh, Emily also mentioned that she’s been “burning the candle at both ends.” As Marvel fans know, Emily is also in the MCU as Sharon Carter, who played a big role in Disney Plus’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which was filmed at the same time as the last season of The Resident.

"So the beginning [of the COVID-19 lockdown] was very welcome. I was like, 'Okay, I actually get to just sleep for a bit,' which was amazing. Just being able to enjoy the quiet, enjoy my husband and my dog, enjoy being home, things that I hadn't had for a really long time. I did not take that for granted at all. I loved every second of it,” she said.

Season 5 of The Resident airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on Fox.