Chicago Med Season 3 Episode 16 Review: An Inconvenient Truth
Elizabeth Harlow
at
.
The promo for Chicago Med Season 3 Episode 16 may not have been as misleading as others we've seen, but it did bury the lede. Connor and Ava getting into spats is nothing new or exciting, but Will and Nat ending things? There's some drama!
Even from a medical stand point, there were more exciting cases. Both the complicated ethics of Nat and Daniel's case and Sharon's guilt ridden godson were more compelling than a lost instrument.
While the location (and size!) of the lost instrument was concerning, I thought it was kind of a flimsy premise for the conflict it created. It's alarming to think about, but retained surgical instruments are not exactly uncommon.
Really, the scrub nurse who didn't notice the bullet sized piece missing from the suction tube should be the one reprimanded.
I guess it let us see more of Ava's "human" side, but it was a pretty contrived way of doing so. If anything, it just revealed more of Connor's jackass side.
Related: Enjoy UNLIMITED access to thousands of Movies & TV Shows with Amazon Prime Video!
The longer Ava is around, the more I like her. The more I like her, the more I'm annoyed by how she's written. Norma Kuhling does what she can, but the writer's aren't giving her a whole hell of a lot to work with.
Her ambition is shown as a mark against her character, while the same behavior in Connor gets him labeled as a innovative doc willing to push boundaries for his patients. Her caring side is presented solely for Connor's gaze, to feminize her to him.
She can't express her emotion without being overcome by it, without it interfering with her work. I know Jennifer Palmieri wants us to have the freedom to cry at work, but I don't think she meant in the middle of a medical procedure.
Connor: Are you all of a sudden rooting for my success?
Ava: Not at all, I just hate winning by default.
And shortly after Nat's brilliant assertion to Will that she doesn't need male protection, we're given the same stale story where Connor tries to protect the girl because of some out dated white knight complex.
It's difficult, because I do prefer the two fellows as friendly adversaries...even better as friendly adversaries who dispel the tension from their high stress careers together, naked.
But Ava's "I can take my lumps, you know" was a too passive a rebuttal to his interference for my taste. And, honestly, it was vastly out of character.
Ava: I guess we're both in the dog house now.
Connor: Plenty of room for two. Don't worry, you get used to it. Builds character.
Speaking of, was Will's screw-up with Maia OOC behavior, or was his entire relationship with Nat the aberration?
Considering his defense for his behavior was that it was just high-school stuff and that it didn't mean anything, I'm leaning towards the latter.
That may be my old dislike of Season 1 Will peeking through, but c'mon. If you lived through the 90s and don't know what being on a break means, you're a willful idiot.
Is it time now for this gif? #ChicagoMed #Manstead pic.twitter.com/7rcwded6jB
— COLIN DONNELL (@colindonnell) April 18, 2018
Also, what a douche for ruining a night a Shaws! Yes, yes, telling her ASAP was the right move for a lot of reasons, but Nat had HALF A DOZEN OYSTERS ORDERED!!!
First step in apologizing to her is sending her a GrubHub order, pronto. And no chintzing -- he better send one of the seafood platters and a whole raspberry pie for her to share with Maggie.
Rude.
Related: 27 Breakups That Broke Our Hearts
I have absolutely no delusions that this breakup is for good considering the way the publicity team has shoved this couple down our throats from the get go.
Let's just hope that Will uses the time apart to actually learn from his mistakes and do better going forward. #OneChicago has enough playboys already, we don't really need another one.
There are other ways to recover from a breakup after all.
Connor: What time did you make it home from Molly's last night?
Will: I didn't.
Connor: Oh. Walk of shame? I mean, I've been there.
Luckily we had some respite from romantic upheavals. Nat and Daniel's case was by far the most medically interesting, and I really wish the writers would have spent more time on it.
Frankly, April's attempts to find the son of her dying patient, while sweet, were patently unoriginal. I don't even mean for a medical show in general, but within Med. Hasn't she already done this?
Even if she hadn't, it felt recycled. And done purely for the parallel to Sarah and her father. Talk about as subtle as brick.
Sarah: When I said I didn't wanna see my dad, truth is, I didn't want to want to see him. Does that make sense?
Noah: Uh...
Sarah: It's okay. Doesn't make sense to me either.
But Emma's case of 5AR-deficiency was something you don't see a lot of, even if you are a hospital drama junkie.
The case for Emma being able to make her own decision down the road was appropriately emphasized, but I was entirely disappointed by the far too easy wrap up for the case.
If the writers really wanted an easy out after all of that, why not just use the logical argument that the decision to remove the testes could always be made at a later date?
Nat's words were touching, sure, but also felt like something written by an undergrad who stayed up too late and had to rush to finish their final term paper in time.
You're not going to lose her. No matter what gender Emma identifies with, she's still going to be your child. The same kid who love chocolate sundaes and hates ballet.
Nat
April's futile hunt for her patient's son also took time away from Sharon's godson. The medical portion of the story wasn't all that compelling, and frankly neither were the ethics -- obviously Sharon's advice was the only way she could do right by Carter.
But it's also clear that the fallout from her advice is not over. Will Sharon face losing her job over this? Messing with that kind of donation money is not going to be great for her career.
You're going to carry this day with you for the rest of your life. And holding a secret on top of that...it will be too much, baby. It'll break you, Carter. It'll break you.
Sharon
Sarah and her father will be in the limelight once again on Chicago Med Season 3 Episode 17 ("The Parent Trap"). As her father's condition declines, Connor will rush to make sure he gets a heart.
Meanwhile, Sarah will struggle with the decision to visit him or not. I'm actually kind of over that struggle. She's a psychiatrist (almost) and he's a psychopath; she should not feel guilt over staying far away from him.
Doesn't she have a therapist to tell her that?
Down in the ED, Nat and Will are going to figure out why it's sometimes best to keep romance out of the workplace. Having to work closely on a case together after a breakup is going to suck.
It's even odds in my book if Halstad will over compensate and bow to her every suggestion or be an asshole who gleefully pulls rank on his ex.
It's going to be a tough day for Nat either way.
Related: NBC Cheat Sheet: What Will Be Renewed?
What did you think of the big breakup? Is there hope for #Manstead? Are there too many stories for you each episode, or do you like the formula Med has settled in to? How long do you think it will be before Sharon's advice comes back to bite her?
We want to hear your thoughts on "An Inconvenient Truth." You can join the conversation in the comments section below! And remember, you can watch Chicago Med online anytime, or catch up on past Chicago Med reviews at your leisure.
Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.
