S06.E14: A Red Pill, A Blue Pill

[WendyCR72]

Airing May 12, 2021:

Quote

Third-year med students begin their rotation in the ED and Maggie keeps a careful eye on one of them. Natalie, whose mom's health takes another decline, tries to cover up how she broke the rules to treat her.

 

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m curious....are there any Natalie fans out there?  What does this show hope to accomplish with having her continue on?  WHAT is the point? Someone will go down for the trial violation. It certainly won’t be Natalie.  
 

I’m not sure why Maggie gave her daughter such bad advice.  She and the girl knew it was improper to handle the procedure like that.  Has she lost it?  Why sabotage your own daughter?  
 

And another case of a doctor trying to force treatment on a client against their will.  This theme is now on every medical show every week! Enough already.  

 

 

 

[wonderwoman]

re natalie (and april) — take a look at ‘chicago med in the media’ thread.

[Kleav]

Those “little blue pills” were the size of AirPods. 

[geekyoldlady]

Were they trying to show at the ending, that Dr. Archer knocked out the delusional patient with morphine, or that Dr. Archer is addicted to morphine?

[preeya]

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by preeya

[preeya]

2 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

re natalie (and april) — take a look at ‘chicago med in the media’ thread.

That certainly deserves a HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE

[FnkyChkn34]

2 hours ago, geekyoldlady said:

Were they trying to show at the ending, that Dr. Archer knocked out the delusional patient with morphine, or that Dr. Archer is addicted to morphine?

You know, that's actually a good question - I never considered that he knocked out the patient with it.  I just immediately went to him being addicted to it.

ETA:  Dr. Archer also seems to be this show's answer to Owen Hunt on Grey's Anatomy.  Why, though?

Edited May 13, 2021 by FnkyChkn34

[LittleIggy]

I love Margaret Colin so I don’t want to see her character die, but Natalie’s mother needs to die for Natalie to finally have consequences. I’m so sick of her being rescued.

I loved Maggie’s bio-daughter telling her to stay away from her! 😆
Dr. Charles has never seen The Matrix?

Edited May 13, 2021 by LittleIggy

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, preeya said:

That certainly deserves a HUGE ROUND OF APPLAUSE

👏👏👏👏👏🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Please let Natalie lose her medical license and go to prison! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[sweetandsour]

Omg, more of Natalie spinning out and frantically trying to hide what she done was really great to watch.  And then the writers spoiled the party by having Will ultimately "support" Natalie and give her access to the drugs and a pledge to cover for her.  UGH!  Though that was completely in character for both of them, so the one and only fail I can't stamp this storyline with is "out of character."

And watching Maggie scamper around after her daughter was super cringeworthy.  Vanessa is fine, but I don't enjoy watching Maggie and Vanessa together at all.  At all.  At this point, I don't want them to make her a recurring or regular character next year.  Sharon needs to do more than vaguely caution Maggie.

Ethan is like, "Ms. Goodwin, I can never attend a budget meeting again in person.  I cannot leave these doctors unsupervised for even a second!"

Everyone on this show is flatlining at Chicago Morality Hospital.  Meanwhile, Connor Rhodes is off somewhere, saving people left and right and not able to remember the names of his old colleagues.  When he's in Texas for work or recreation, sometimes he has coffee with Sarah Reese and they just laugh and laugh about how great their lives are now.

[Guildford]

30 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

If you could post a link to that location I would appreciate it.   You'd think since I have posted in the forums since the beginning, I would know where everything is.  Not true, I couldn't find my own ass with a GPS.

Every time I search for something I can never find it in the forums.

The problem with this series is that it seems as though every character cuts corners and pulls all sorts of bullshit, and is never held accountable.

Of course Halsted was going to cover for Natalie.  If there is one thing that this series is, it is predictable.

April you have pulled all sorts of bullshit over the years.  Dump the moral high ground, it doesn't suit you, hypocrite.

Archer did what he had to do to save the patient, no matter how illegal.  So why is he getting so much heat?  Isn't that what all of the main characters do in this series?   The rules and laws apply to everyone else, but them.

 

https://deadline.com/2021/05/chicago-med-yaya-dacosta-torrey-devitto-exit-nbc-drama-april-sexton-natalie-manning-original-cast-members-s-epatha-merkerson-return-1234753741/

[amarante]

12 hours ago, geekyoldlady said:

Were they trying to show at the ending, that Dr. Archer knocked out the delusional patient with morphine, or that Dr. Archer is addicted to morphine?

I don't know why his having given the guy excessive amounts of morphine to snow him is in question since that is absolutely what he did..

Showing him with the two bottles to dispose of was just to use an anvil at the end to underscore that in the event that there was any doubt. 

Of course my understanding is that morphine is a closely tracked substance in any hospital and so someone can't just throw out two bottles and that is the end of the story. Of course this is Chicago Med so either they don't track narcotics or this signals some kind of discovery of proof of his having overdosed (snowed) the delusional patient.

Is there any doctor or nurse except Crockett and Dr. Charles left who has any shred of medical or other ethics left?

[preeya]

53 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

If you could post a link to that location I would appreciate it.   You'd think since I have posted in the forums since the beginning, I would know where everything is.  Not true, I couldn't find my own ass with a GPS.

HERE:  https://tinyurl.com/yjd8hosv

[limecoke]

Ok, I only watch this show for two reasons. First, I have a thing about finishing what I start. Second, it’s kind of like a trainwreck you can’t walk away from. So, thoughts...

As a former sufferer of anxiety attacks and therapy, I have the utmost sympathy for mental issues of all kinds so I mean no disrespect but this show forces me to say some things that might sound harsh so I apologize.

First of all, just about everyone associated with this ER is completely batpoop crazy. Dr. Charles is an exception but he’s involved in a situation where the doctors are crazier and more irresponsible than the patients. Goodwin is also an exception but she almost seems too nice to bring down the hammer on these wingnuts when it’s needed. Choi used to be a light in the darkness that is Chicago Med but his involvement with St. April has led to the absence of any backbone altogether. It’s sad. Poor Dr. Marcel-he seems to have no clue about the level of doctoral insanity he’s involved in. Plus, having been drawn into the Natalie web of nuttiness, his future judgment might be in question. Spoilers lead me to believe he might make it out safely.

I have no patience with April’s hypocrisy. Climbing on her high horse over Dr. Archer was a massive eye roll moment, yet predictable. One of the most annoying characters I can ever remember. Right up there with Gabby Dawson. I don’t think April is as insane as some others. She’s just insufferable.

Natalie and Will. What a horror show. I thought it was awful back when Meredith casually wrecked Derek’s drug trial on Grey’s but at least he had the wits to go nuts about it and actually act like she’d done something wrong. Will is pathetic. Natalie is a toxic wacko. And they are both completely crazy.

So the previously sane Maggie helps her bio-daughter get a potential gig in her ER then prods her to do a procedure she has to know is illegal. Ok. Lawsuit, anyone? Goodwin just says, “I’ll look into this.” WHAT?  Then there’s Choi who casually walked away to attend a meeting, leaving a STUDENT doctor to perform a procedure which should be supervised by a, you know, real doctor. But then again, as most every doctor in this ER is nuts, it really didn’t make all that much difference. 

Ethan’s mentor, Dr. Archer, is an obviously disturbed and reckless victim of PTSD. He’s desperately in need of help, which he refuses, and is still allowed to practice medicine in an ER, potentially endangering all future patients. If Choi ever figures out Archer snowed a patient he’ll probably cover it up like good old Will covered up for Nat. And to think, the poor guy used to be Brian Hackett.

The only sane storyline in this episode was Marcel and the baby with the gunshot wound. So sad and tragic and a real problem in our world. But that story was given short shrift in favor of...the crazy. 

There’s so much more but it’s safe to say that Chicago Med is the hospital at the doorway of Hell. Enter at your own risk. May the Lord help us all if we’re ever in the hands of doctors like this band of losers. Seriously, do the writers of this crap actually believe this is good TV or are they just laughing at us??

 

 

 

 

[LittleIggy]

April especially has a lot of nerve going to tattle about Dr. Archer when her idiot brother facilitated the suicide of a grieving man then she begged (successfully) Ethan to cover it up. At least Archer saved a life. 🙄

[Sake614]

9 hours ago, amarante said:

Is there any doctor or nurse except Crockett and Dr. Charles left who has any shred of medical or other ethics left?

That’s a rhetorical question right? 

[StevedeMena]

On 5/12/2021 at 6:28 PM, geekyoldlady said:

Were they trying to show at the ending, that Dr. Archer knocked out the delusional patient with morphine, or that Dr. Archer is addicted to morphine?

That he knocked out the delusional patient with morphine. He was throwing out the empty vials.  

[dogdays2]

It’s really sad that, at a time when we are holding up healthcare professionals as heroes because they are, this show chooses to portray them as uncaring, unethical, criminal, homicidal, petty, narcissistic, and just about every negative trait one can imagine.  Not just as an isolated incident but the way that doctors and nurses generally conduct themselves.  
 

And, as someone said, morphine is very closely tracked and every HCP know it.   But then again, probably not at Chicago Death.  

[Quark]

Everyone's lying!

Watching Natalie lose her mind, especially at the start of the episode, was glorious. "Will, I didn't give my Mum the pills you're talking about. Oh wait, I did! Let's team up!"

Maggie initially lying about her biological daughter. "No she's just someone I met, wait, she's actually my daughter. No, it won't be a problem if she works at the hospital and I tell her I gave birth to her."

Dr Archer making medical decisions about another patient, when he probably shouldn't even be making any medical decisions about himself. "No, I didn't cause my patient to be unconscious so I could operate on him and I don't suffer from PTSD. Oh wait, I did and I do!"

Thank goodness for Dr Marcel, Dr Charles and Miss Goodwin, who now seems back to normal.

It's just insanity.  

[MinorL]

I can’t take this show seriously at all. These storylines are insulting to viewers’ intelligence. 

[WinJet0819]

This show, just like the others, has just devolved into a joke. All of these doctors and nurses, save for Marcel and Charles, would be fired from any reputable hospital.

I am so glad April, and especially Natalie, will be leaving. They are despicable. Natalie, a doctor, uses a trial drug on her mother, with no supervision and no knowledge of the side affects or how it can interact with another device a patient is using, like an LVAD. That is just plain reckless to essentially make her mother a guinea pig. It should not matter that she's desperate and willing to do anything. And of course, once again, she faces ZERO consequences. What a miracle that the drug that she used on her mom unsupervised is actually helping her heart and will get her off the LVAD. So lucky. And of course, Will covers for her. So how you going to explain the missing pills, Will? What a joke.

And April has the nerve to tattle on Archer. Kind of hypocritical with all she's done. And Steven Weber certainly continues his string of playing unlikable characters with Archer. He plays it up to the hilt. And with Ethan continuing to coddle him, it's not going to be long before Archer kills somebody. Ethan should have just made the ultimatum: You can't work here until you have 2 weeks of therapy.  Otherwise, you're fired.

I really wish Maggie could join the exodus of character's leaving. Here whole storyline was just plain cringeworthy. The constant hovering around her biological daughter made me want to vomit. And as the head nurse, how the hell can she think she's helping by putting her daughter in a position where she violates protocol? That's the kind of stuff that gets med students tossed out.

These storylines are just so mind-numbingly stupid. This is another example of where personal drama storylines are what's driving the medical. For once, I just wish to see an episode where they are all acting like actual doctors doing things by the book, where the drama is created by the patients they deal with. Not romantic relationship stuff. Not a sick parent that justifies breaking the rules. Not a long lost child who might be working there permanent. That would be so refreshing. 

Dick Wolf, how can you let your shows devolve into this?

On 5/14/2021 at 1:13 PM, Quark said:

Thank goodness for Dr Marcel, Dr Charles and Miss Goodwin, who now seems back to normal. 

I don't trust Goodwin at all, considering she's inconsistent on what rules should and shouldn't be followed and never enforces any type of discipline. And then, she herself, coerced doctors to violate HIPAA and then tried to make a mother change her medical decision.

[Guildford]

2 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

 

These storylines are just so mind-numbingly stupid. This is another example of where personal drama storylines are what's driving the medical. For once, I just wish to see an episode where they are all acting like actual doctors doing things by the book, where the drama is created by the patients they deal with. Not romantic relationship stuff. Not a sick parent that justifies breaking the rules. Not a long lost child who might be working there permanent. That would be so refreshing. 

Dick Wolf, how can you let your shows devolve into this?

 

You know, I've being trying to figure out the problem I have with this show & I think this is it. So thank you.

Poor writing, awful characters & every story line driven by emotionally stunted, narcissistic, idiotic, unlikable characters & their toxic relationships with each other. 

[dovegrey]

15 hours ago, Guildford said:

You know, I've being trying to figure out the problem I have with this show & I think this is it. So thank you.

Poor writing, awful characters & every story line driven by emotionally stunted, narcissistic, idiotic, unlikable characters & their toxic relationships with each other. 

 

18 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

These storylines are just so mind-numbingly stupid. This is another example of where personal drama storylines are what's driving the medical. For once, I just wish to see an episode where they are all acting like actual doctors doing things by the book, where the drama is created by the patients they deal with. Not romantic relationship stuff. Not a sick parent that justifies breaking the rules. Not a long lost child who might be working there permanent. That would be so refreshing. 

This episode felt like many of the characters were having a nightmare. I had that thought a few times as I watched the "drama" unfold. It's completely unrealistic and driven by inane, nonsensical decision-making, the way bad dreams don't make sense. There's no way Maggie gives that advice to a med student, let alone to her secret daughter (plus, what the hell does Maggie think Vanessa will do once she discovers the truth, whether it be tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, or ten years from now??). Just like there's no way any halfway intelligent person gives someone else secret medication without thinking through the obvious consequences (Christ, Natalie, at least take your mom to Lakeshore instead of where you work).

Yes, absolutely - interesting, powerful drama comes from characters making rational decisions within the reasonable confines of their jobs, and, thus, storylines and plots emerge organically from those confines and in-universe rules. This is why most of ER stands the test of time: it's so damn enjoyable to watch interesting, mostly likable, sane characters do good, complex work and navigate the realities of their job (within the bounds of TV). It would be so refreshing and enjoyable to see Med and Fire try to do that. Most writers worth their mettle enjoy the puzzles of those confines and write better stories because of it, but not any of these writers. Not one of them.

I respect all the main cast members who have voluntarily decided to leave the One Chicago Trainwreck universe, though I'm sure it must really suck to have to choose between self-respect and job security.

[Diana Berry]

On 5/13/2021 at 9:28 AM, Guildford said:

https://deadline.com/2021/05/chicago-med-yaya-dacosta-torrey-devitto-exit-nbc-drama-april-sexton-natalie-manning-original-cast-members-s-epatha-merkerson-return-1234753741/

Now if only Collin Donnell would come back

[WinJet0819]

Almost forgot. The upside to Nataloon leaving means that Crockett will finally be free, and Manstead will never happen again. Yay!!!!

[cameron]

Thinking that Natalie is wearing extensions.  Her hair has grown leaps and bounds.

[cameron]

Just watch the show now for how outrageous the stories can become.  So bad that they are so good to watch.  A little levity at night.

[RedbirdNelly]

Once again Halsted continues his pattern of "take a stand to do what is right but change my mind by the end of the episode."

I thought his scene when he went off on Natalie was his best acting of the show. He honestly came across as truly angry. 

I wanted Sharon to tell Maggie she is coming off like a creepy stalker with her daughter--just jumping out over eager every time she comes by--if you didn't know the mom/daughter thing, you'd like Maggie has a huge crush and is terrible about keeping it secret or acting close to normal. 

I kept getting confused on whether Vanessa was a resident or a 3rd year medical student--because it really seemed to stretch things for a 3rd year to be asked to do things with no doctor in the room. Maybe I'm wrong about that but isn't 3rd year the first year to be doing clinical things? 

[SnarkySheep]

Honestly, Maggie's ridiculous behavior took a backseat in my mind to the fact that Vanessa happened to remain in Chicago after her adoption, then also attend med school in Chicago, now is being placed in not only the hospital where her bio mom works but also THE SAME FREAKIN' DEPARTMENT, ON THE SAME SHIFT?? Like seriously?? With these kinds of astronomical odds on her side, Maggie should play the lottery.

I used to really like Natalie, and then when she and Will finally became a couple, I was really happy. I thought we'd get some good storylines, like them trying to work together while married, Will adjusting to being a dad, whatever. But then that relationship became a seriously creepy thing, and then Natalie afterward even creepier.

In my mind, both Halsteads are married...Will to early days Natalie and Jay to Erin. They both have babies now and are very happy.

[awaken]

On 5/13/2021 at 4:18 PM, limecoke said:

Ok, I only watch this show for two reasons. First, I have a thing about finishing what I start. Second, it’s kind of like a trainwreck you can’t walk away from. So, thoughts...

As a former sufferer of anxiety attacks and therapy, I have the utmost sympathy for mental issues of all kinds so I mean no disrespect but this show forces me to say some things that might sound harsh so I apologize.

First of all, just about everyone associated with this ER is completely batpoop crazy. Dr. Charles is an exception but he’s involved in a situation where the doctors are crazier and more irresponsible than the patients. Goodwin is also an exception but she almost seems too nice to bring down the hammer on these wingnuts when it’s needed. Choi used to be a light in the darkness that is Chicago Med but his involvement with St. April has led to the absence of any backbone altogether. It’s sad. Poor Dr. Marcel-he seems to have no clue about the level of doctoral insanity he’s involved in. Plus, having been drawn into the Natalie web of nuttiness, his future judgment might be in question. Spoilers lead me to believe he might make it out safely.

I have no patience with April’s hypocrisy. Climbing on her high horse over Dr. Archer was a massive eye roll moment, yet predictable. One of the most annoying characters I can ever remember. Right up there with Gabby Dawson. I don’t think April is as insane as some others. She’s just insufferable.

Natalie and Will. What a horror show. I thought it was awful back when Meredith casually wrecked Derek’s drug trial on Grey’s but at least he had the wits to go nuts about it and actually act like she’d done something wrong. Will is pathetic. Natalie is a toxic wacko. And they are both completely crazy.

So the previously sane Maggie helps her bio-daughter get a potential gig in her ER then prods her to do a procedure she has to know is illegal. Ok. Lawsuit, anyone? Goodwin just says, “I’ll look into this.” WHAT?  Then there’s Choi who casually walked away to attend a meeting, leaving a STUDENT doctor to perform a procedure which should be supervised by a, you know, real doctor. But then again, as most every doctor in this ER is nuts, it really didn’t make all that much difference. 

Ethan’s mentor, Dr. Archer, is an obviously disturbed and reckless victim of PTSD. He’s desperately in need of help, which he refuses, and is still allowed to practice medicine in an ER, potentially endangering all future patients. If Choi ever figures out Archer snowed a patient he’ll probably cover it up like good old Will covered up for Nat. And to think, the poor guy used to be Brian Hackett.

The only sane storyline in this episode was Marcel and the baby with the gunshot wound. So sad and tragic and a real problem in our world. But that story was given short shrift in favor of...the crazy. 

There’s so much more but it’s safe to say that Chicago Med is the hospital at the doorway of Hell. Enter at your own risk. May the Lord help us all if we’re ever in the hands of doctors like this band of losers. Seriously, do the writers of this crap actually believe this is good TV or are they just laughing at us??

Well put!  👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼