Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Win Loss
Elizabeth Harlow
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Some days are harder than others.
Not that it's ever a cakewalk in the ED. But Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 2 saw a deeper exploration of the weight that gets carried by the docs. They're all finding their own way.
Honestly, after the day Connor had, who would have blamed him for dealing with things in one of the oldest ways known to man: a good, stiff drink.
Seeing how Chili's alcoholism played out over on Chicago Fire, let's be glad that Dr. Rhodes didn't head down that path. I could not have taken another ridiculous and over the top take on alcoholism. I mean, in theory, I think alcoholism and drug addiction can be really compelling on a medical show (or any show really), but it needs to be handled with finesse.
Not the sledgehammer that we've seen in the past on Dick Wolf shows.
On the flip side, the writers gave us a more nuanced view of transplants than a television audience usually gets. So often, we only meet the donor or the recipient, or the donor is troubled in some way that we don't feel guilty rooting for them die so the other patient can live.
But these were babies. Really freaking adorable babies. And we got both families stories. How can root for a child to die, even if it's to save another kid's life? I kept waiting for the schmaltzy moment when the mothers shared a look, a conversation, a hug... But I appreciate that the show didn't go there. Life isn't always happy endings after all.
Look, nothing really prepares you for war. But a day in Chicago, the number of gunshots we see, the navy sending corpsmen for a rotation in the ED is a pretty good primer.
Ethan
While Connor watched Tim's parents and (presumably) prayed for a miracle, and Natalie went to go get herself some, Choi's method of decompressing seemed a bit more...creepy?
Honestly, I hope no one at Chicago PD ever finds his journal, because the only thing that stopped it from being the log of Dexter style serial killer was that it didn't detail who killed his patients. I like Choi, but I'm pretty sure that Dr. Charles would have some words for him about all this.
I'd rather see him deal with stress by becoming overly attached to his bird, and really pimping out a cage for the fellow. Poor little dude doesn't have any toys, or a mirror, or even a decent perch.
Maggie: You're trolling the internet, what'd you expect?
Will: It's the hospital community page, I don't know, someone like me.
Maggie: Oh, you mean, like, a slightly anal, overly stubborn, rule breaking control freak?
While our three senior residents worked their way through the existential burdens of the job, Will was weighed down by the more practical issues. Not only did this play into the established background of the character, but it kept him too busy to act like an asshole to everybody.
Nina might have helped with that too. Sorry, #Manstead fans, but it seems like that pairing may finally be put to rest. It certainly seemed like it was being set up to the #Dawsey or #Linstead relationship of Med, but (thankfully) it looks like they've both moved on.
As that romance bit the dust, Will's search for a roomie to alleviate his financial hardship highlighted another difference between the first two shows and Med. While the others (notably Fire) have a cast of characters that behaves like a family, the doctors are all more of colleagues. Hopefully this season and the additions to the cast will help elevate the camaraderie.
Oh my god. You're shrinking me. Three weeks in psych, and she's Freud.
April [to Sarah]
Back to Nina: I really hope that she's going to be more than just a romantic foil for Will. I'm actually more interested in her as a pathology attending and how she can interact with the ED crew in a professional capacity. Of course, having her date Will would help with that "everyone here is family" dynamic. At least for a while.
Maybe they could double date with Sarah and Joey, and we could get some hilariously awkward moments out of it. The docs need to get out of the hospital for more than just coffee, drinks, and hookups. Some downtime at the hospital wouldn't be amiss either.
In my experience, we get the patients we need.
Dr. Charles
Dr. Latham will be back on Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 3 ("Natural History," airing October 6th). I'm excited for the prickly surgeon's return – nothing brings coworkers together like a scarily unbalanced boss! But seriously, I don't see how telling a student they are incapable of things is an acceptable teaching practice.
While Connor is out to prove himself, Maggie heads to a family reunion – with Will in tow. I'm not going to even speculate on how that comes about.
We love hearing your thoughts on things, so join the conversation in the comments section! You can always watch Chicago Med online if you need to reevaluate a scene (or if you suffered a DVR related tragedy)!
Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.
