S06.E16: I Will Come To Save You

[WendyCR72]

Airing May 26, 2021:

Quote

Carol receives a second chance at life when a new heart becomes available. Ethan and Archer find themselves in hot water with an old patient. Will faces the consequences of the stolen trial medication.

 

[SunnyBeBe]

That’s was an odd finale.  I’m underwhelmed. 

[dovegrey]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

That’s was an odd finale.  I’m underwhelmed. 

Agreed. It almost felt like they had to stop filming and ended on an incomplete scene (this is not the case). 

I think the writers of Med and Fire think the audience has a very low threshold for excitement or anticipation. Very forgettable. 

[LittleIggy]

Abrams and Latham in the same episode! 🥳  

Even with Natalie’s confession, Will would still deserve to be fired since he decided to cover for Natalie and let her keep the meds.

[preeya]

8 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Abrams and Latham in the same episode! 🥳  

Even with Natalie’s confession, Will would still deserve to be fired since he decided to cover for Natalie and let her keep the meds.

Will, Natalie, April, and throw in Archer should all go.

Bring back Latham full time.

Edited May 27, 2021 by preeya

[Frisky Wig]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

Abrams and Latham in the same episode! 🥳  

Even with Natalie’s confession, Will would still deserve to be fired since he decided to cover for Natalie and let her keep the meds.

Yep! He still needs to be fired, as does she! 
 

The minute Maggie’s daughter asked to talk to her privately, I turned to my mom and said “she probably did a separate search for her birth mom and learned the truth.” Sure enough! The daughter is right: what Maggie did, keeping the truth from her, was wrong. 

[SunnyBeBe]

It was as if the writers took an odd direction with Maggie.  She started acting different and it turned out her young daughter was more mature than her.  I didn’t care for it.

The writers continued to let Natalie appear to be a winner. Really?  She was the biggest screw up, but always seemed to come out on top. Her mom is fine.  When she was confessing to Sharon, I half expected Sharon to say she understood and that she would be forgiven, considering the circumstances. And, that very well could have happened knowing these writers. Man, I wish they would fire them and get better writers. 

[Guildford]

I got the feeling that Natalie's confession was supposed to be a cliffhanger, the old, will she, won't she be back and considering after they filmed this is came out that she won't be back that it felt pretty feckless. I mean it wasn't great to start with but knowing she has left it was such an anti-climax (totally appropriate for this show though)

[SunnyBeBe]

These writers just don’t have it. Now, a great finale would have been one of the former parents of a child that Natalie treated against their will to come back after her!  They lure her to the roof and throw her over!  Good riddance!  Lol. It’s not that difficult to make stories that amuse and provide justice.  NBC makes some very bizarre decisions. 
 

I wonder if the actors who play April and Natalie decided to leave before they became any more hated by viewers.  

Edited May 27, 2021 by SunnyBeBe

[SuzieQ]

Kind of a snooze-fest for a season finale!

 

[preeya]

So, with us knowing that Natalie & April are leaving, is the unexciting cliffhanger, if Will's dismissal be reconsidered. 

IMO, he should remain fired, as he was complicit in the fact that the trial had been compromised and cost Med big bucks.

As an aside, the writers did throw some very larger daggers at the Russian government re: the "psych hospitals."

Edited May 27, 2021 by preeya

[sweetandsour]

My happiness at Latham and Abrams being in this episode really eclipses my usual disappointment with this show.  And I say "usual" because, although this was a season finale, it really just felt like a regular episode to me.  To the point where it seemed like they had to stop filming early like last year, and cobbled together enough of "suspense" based on the scenes that were finished.  The pacing was weird for a finale, too.

Truly. Abrams is a wonder.  I don't know how much I'd like a coworker like Abrams, but as a viewer of him as a neurosurgeon, I'm all in.  Whenever I'm feeling unsure about something, I'll think of his scene - "That person doesn't exist" - and get supercharged with confidence.  Second place scene goes to Goodwin reading Will the riot act and burning lasers through him with her glare.  Sure, she shouldn't have let him get away with a lot of things he's already done, but I loved it when she brought up "this is why I didn't make you chief, you unethical, unstable asshole."  Third place scene goes to the astoundingly bad Chicago backdrop CGI when Marcel and Natalie were on the roof.

"That person doesn't exist."  BOOM!  I can do anything!!!!!

[preeya]

2 hours ago, sweetandsour said:

Third place scene goes to the astoundingly bad Chicago backdrop CGI when Marcel and Natalie were on the roof.

I did notice this ↑ and it was putrid. What were they thinking and why would they do it? 

[LittleIggy]

I liked Goodwin doing a “talk to the hand” to Will after she fired him. 😆

Edited May 28, 2021 by LittleIggy
Put the name of the wrong Halstead bro in

[SunnyBeBe]

24 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

I liked Goodwin doing a “talk to the hand” to Jay after she fired him. 😆

Yeah, and he had the audacity to act surprised that his purported behavior warranted termination.  Like, yeah it does!

[Sake614]

I thought that was the finale but the way it ended had me checking my TiVo for another episode next week. So that’s it for a Natalie and April? The former confesses and the latter gets into the nurse practitioner program. And...what? April just professed her undying love to Ethan. Now she just walks away? I’m not complaining about either character being gone. It was just a very strange way to end the season. I guess Natalie will be fired off screen and we’ll just hear about it in passing next season? Or maybe it won’t even be mentioned. 
 

I had to laugh at Will’s reaction to being fired. Dude, you should have been axed years ago. How can you possibly be surprised that Sharon finally had enough? You cost the hospital millions of dollars! 

[NJRadioGuy]

15 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

These writers just don’t have it. Now, a great finale would have been one of the former parents of a child that Natalie treated against their will to come back after her!  They lure her to the roof and throw her over!  Good riddance!

Damnit, there was a helicopter in this episode. It needed to fall on someone and Natalie would have been as good a choice as any. We all know Will isn't going anywhere so...status quo there. I really liked the Russian doctor. A lot. Character actors make dumb shows like this ever so slightly more three dimensional.

9 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I liked Goodwin doing a “talk to the hand” to Will after she fired him. 😆

Why wasn't security waiting to escort him off the property? He's an MD with basically an all-access pass who, if went off the deep end, could do some serious damage on his way out.

[cinsays]

So are we to wonder whether Archer does something vile in treating Ethan so he can upgrade his temporary ED manager position to permanent?  That's where my mind went anyway.

Quite a disappointing season finale. 

 

[Driad]

The writers have delusions of adequacy.

[watcher1006]

23 hours ago, preeya said:

So, with us knowing that Natalie & April are leaving, is the unexciting cliffhanger, if Will's dismissal be reconsidered. 

IMO, he should remain fired, as he was complicit in the fact that the trial had been compromised and cost Med big bucks.

As an aside, the writers did throw some very larger daggers at the Russian government re: the "psych hospitals."

I agree, both Drs. Manning and Halstead should be fired, whoever stole the meds. And isn't that still a possibility? I haven't heard confirmation that Nick Gehlfuss' contract has been renewed. Loss/theft of experimental drugs HAS to be reported.

This show has been over the top for a while, but this unending series of ethical violations and lack of medical professionalism on the part of the characters is too much. I know this isn't real life and truly realistic stories wouldn't make for a compelling series but going to far makes the melodramatic portrayals become insulting to medical workers. I eventually couldn't watch House. I'm done with this show, whoever is coming back.

[KeithJ]

24 minutes ago, watcher1006 said:

This show has been over the top for a while, but this unending series of ethical violations and lack of medical professionalism on the part of the characters is too much. I know this isn't real life and truly realistic stories wouldn't make for a compelling series but going to far makes the melodramatic portrayals become insulting to medical workers.

This is what really bothers me as well.  I know it's a TV show but every character on this show should have been fired at least five times and blackballed from ever working in the medical field again.

[dovegrey]

15 hours ago, Sake614 said:

I thought that was the finale but the way it ended had me checking my TiVo for another episode next week. So that’s it for a Natalie and April? The former confesses and the latter gets into the nurse practitioner program. And...what? April just professed her undying love to Ethan. Now she just walks away? I’m not complaining about either character being gone. It was just a very strange way to end the season. I guess Natalie will be fired off screen and we’ll just hear about it in passing next season? Or maybe it won’t even be mentioned. 

Altogether, from what I've seen of the Chicago shows (all of Fire, much of Med, little of PD), it seems like the writers are REALLY BAD about writing out characters, even when they know ahead of time and have time to write the departures into the episodes. Like Rhodes and Ava. Like Gabby on Fire, whose actor gave a full 1-year notice. I shouldn't have been surprised but I was surprised that this finale was business-as-usual with these characters.

8 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

That said, I do like Archer.  Is he arrogant?  Yup.  Does he cross the line?  Yup.  But at least he isn't a hypocrite about it unlike the rest of the recurring characters on this series, as if they can pull some horrible shit and it is just fine, but if anyone else does it they throw a tantrum.  I think Steven Weber is an awesome actor.  I like him a lot.

I also really like Archer as a character. I don't know that I like Archer, but I like the character. He seems the most realistic and dynamic and like a character who could have been on ER, rather than another character from General Hospital like all the others. (Okay, I've come around to also liking Marcell, when he's not around Manning.)

[NYCFree]

I actually did not know that Natalie and April were leaving and thought we had a no spoilers policy here.

[AnnA]

1 hour ago, NYCFree said:

I actually did not know that Natalie and April were leaving and thought we had a no spoilers policy here.

I don't know if it would be considered a spoiler or not.  It was announced by Deadline a few weeks ago and posted here on the Media thread.

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/

Edited May 29, 2021 by AnnA

[BooksRule]

When Dr. Charles suggested contacting an old doctor friend who could consult and also translate, I immediately wondered if they had cast the 'HITG' actor that always seems to be hired whenever someone who speaks Russian is needed for a show/movie.  And, in comes the 'HITG' himself, Elya Baskin.  Are there any other Russian-born actors who are working in the U.S.?  I'm kidding, because I like Baskin.  He is good in any role he plays.  It just seems funny that it's usually him that shows up when the role calls for a Russian character. :) 

Edited May 30, 2021 by BooksRule
typo

[amarante]

I realize that Will has acted unethically and rashly on numerous occasions - some of which were known to Godwin.

But my surprise was that he seemed to be surprised that he was fired. Any employee who compromised a test would have to be fired because the hospital would be unable to participate in any other tests which is a detriment on so many levels. It is hard to even bring in many high level doctors unless they have the ability to bring in outside research funding. And of course, that someone would compromise a study is completely outside the realm of appropriate behavior - it is one of the sacred tenets of science that studies not be compromised and that those running the studies can be trusted to at least not go outside the parameters of the guidelines for the applicable study.

[dovegrey]

10 hours ago, amarante said:

I realize that Will has acted unethically and rashly on numerous occasions - some of which were known to Godwin.

But my surprise was that he seemed to be surprised that he was fired. Any employee who compromised a test would have to be fired because the hospital would be unable to participate in any other tests which is a detriment on so many levels. It is hard to even bring in many high level doctors unless they have the ability to bring in outside research funding. And of course, that someone would compromise a study is completely outside the realm of appropriate behavior - it is one of the sacred tenets of science that studies not be compromised and that those running the studies can be trusted to at least not go outside the parameters of the guidelines for the applicable study.

I'm probably projecting a real-life situation I'm navigating right now (heh, I'm not the one who should be fired and I'm not the manager, though), but bad managers enable bad employees like Will. Every inappropriate thing he's done without consequence has reinforced that he's safe and can do whatever he wants, because, although angry and disappointed, Goodwin will more-or-less have his back. Of course he's surprised. After six years of stunts, he literally never saw this coming. As a manager, Goodwin is a fake hard ass, which, to me, is the worst kind - she puts on a great talk but heads rarely roll. That style of management does nothing for anyone. 

And although I saw initial surprise and definitely saw him get blindsided by the termination, I thought the majority of Will's response in that scene was him deciding if he should/could throw Natalie under the bus. To me, it read as him cycling through all the possible options.

[amarante]

59 minutes ago, dovegrey said:

I'm probably projecting a real-life situation I'm navigating right now (heh, I'm not the one who should be fired and I'm not the manager, though), but bad managers enable bad employees like Will. Every inappropriate thing he's done without consequence has reinforced that he's safe and can do whatever he wants, because, although angry and disappointed, Goodwin will more-or-less have his back. Of course he's surprised. After six years of stunts, he literally never saw this coming. As a manager, Goodwin is a fake hard ass, which, to me, is the worst kind - she puts on a great talk but heads rarely roll. That style of management does nothing for anyone. 

And although I saw initial surprise and definitely saw him get blindsided by the termination, I thought the majority of Will's response in that scene was him deciding if he should/could throw Natalie under the bus. To me, it read as him cycling through all the possible options.

Interesting analysis. Of course, it is hard to remember which of the shenanigans Goodwin was aware of but of course she is an enabler.

In terms of the nuanced response in Goodwin's office, I am not sure the writers are nuanced enough to have that in their "notes" for the actor in the script in terms of how they want the character to be reacting. And at the end - for whatever reason - Will defends his decision to Nat as there being no other option. Of course that could be viewed as fake bravado.

Of course there is the possibility that the actor inserts his or her *deeper* read into the role. I am not sure that the actor portraying Will is that cerebral in terms of his acting chops or does he just essentially call it in given the mediocrity of the show itself. 

[dovegrey]

1 minute ago, amarante said:

Interesting analysis. Of course, it is hard to remember which of the shenanigans Goodwin was aware of but of course she is an enabler.

In terms of the nuanced response in Goodwin's office, I am not sure the writers are nuanced enough to have that in their "notes" for the actor in the script in terms of how they want the character to be reacting. And at the end - for whatever reason - Will defends his decision to Nat as there being no other option. Of course that could be viewed as fake bravado.

Of course there is the possibility that the actor inserts his or her *deeper* read into the role. I am not sure that the actor portraying Will is that cerebral in terms of his acting chops or does he just essentially call it in given the mediocrity of the show itself. 

She knew enough of his antics to not make him Chief, almost bitterly so. And vicarious learning of consequences is a thing, too - look at how much Natalie's gotten away with. Kidnapping some parents' kids and screaming hysterically at them didn't get her fired. If that doesn't, then nothing will get any of these lunatics fired. It's all bad writing, but, at some point, it does reflect on the characters themselves. Goodwin is nice but she's a terrible manager.

I try not to disparage actors. Anyone with half a brain cell would be thinking "if I throw the real culprit under the bus, will that save my job?" 

[amarante]

15 minutes ago, dovegrey said:

She knew enough of his antics to not make him Chief, almost bitterly so. And vicarious learning of consequences is a thing, too - look at how much Natalie's gotten away with. Kidnapping some parents' kids and screaming hysterically at them didn't get her fired. If that doesn't, then nothing will get any of these lunatics fired. It's all bad writing, but, at some point, it does reflect on the characters themselves. Goodwin is nice but she's a terrible manager.

I try not to disparage actors. Anyone with half a brain cell would be thinking "if I throw the real culprit under the bus, will that save my job?" 

HA HA - not defending Goodwin's managerial skills as she obviously lets a whole lot of shenanigans proceed. The whole thing about Maggie and her daughter are suspect. But I still was amused that Will seemed a bit surprised that there would be consequences. If he didn't think there would be repercussions, why would he protect Natalie at all? As I had posted upthread, the ramifications for the study itself are far worse if he is the one that breaches protocol since he was in control of the study whereas Natalie went rogue and stole medication and therefore everything about the study wasn't suspect.

I don't really know what his acting chops are. However, I do find that many actors call it in or perhaps are less skillful. Most of them retain their own characteristics and so they are completely recognizable even in other roles because they are essentially just themselves reading lines and emoting a bit.  I was just discussing how amazing Patricia Arquette is in The Act. I had seen her on The Medium and she was virtually unrecognizable in terms of the character she created - not just in terms of the physical attributes but in her actual essence. This was similarly true of Kate Winslet's current rule in Mare. 

[Quark]

I found this episode a hoot and a half.

Will's face when Goodwin fired him was amazing. Great scene.

I assume the actual exits for both Manning and April will occur in the first episode of next season? I think that's what they did with that awful South African and the guy Colin Donnell played.

[Diana Berry]

April is an RN so she’s trying to be a nurse practitioner.  I thought that ranked lower than an RN.  Any med professionals explain that to me?

So is Archer a good guy, a bad guy with good intentions, or just a plain bad guy?  In a show full of annoying characters, I can’t figure him out.

Ive been watching since Day1, somehow I now think that Halstead is pretty cute.  How did that happen?

 

 

[Guildford]

1 hour ago, Diana Berry said:

April is an RN so she’s trying to be a nurse practitioner.  I thought that ranked lower than an RN.  Any med professionals explain that to me?

So is Archer a good guy, a bad guy with good intentions, or just a plain bad guy?  In a show full of annoying characters, I can’t figure him out.

Ive been watching since Day1, somehow I now think that Halstead is pretty cute.  How did that happen?

 

 

Nurse Practitioner's are able to diagnose & treat certain conditions & have limited prescribing rights. They are more skilled & trained than an RN but do not have a medical degree.

[statsgirl]

April has been telling the doctors what to do since the first episode so while becoming a nurse practitioner is a step down from that, it is higher than a nurse. Could you have been thinking of a licensed practical nurse @Diana Berry ? A LPN usually has a 2 year college degree and works under an RN, who often have BAs.

Didn't Goodwin refuse to hire Will as an attending in s2 after he finished his residency because of his antics? Not that Choi is any better at being a professional.

I missed (i.e. couldn't watch) a few episodes. Did they give a reason why Natalie's mother couldn't be give the medication outside of the drug trial? Or was Natalie just being her usual "I know better than everyone else" self?

[AnnA]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

 

I missed (i.e. couldn't watch) a few episodes. Did they give a reason why Natalie's mother couldn't be give the medication outside of the drug trial? Or was Natalie just being her usual "I know better than everyone else" self?

I don't recall the name of it but she opted for some kind of surgical procedure which excluded her as a candidate for the drug trial.   

ETA:  I should say know-it-all Natalie decided she should have the procedure.  

Edited June 6, 2021 by AnnA

[SunnyBeBe]

It was my understanding that the drug was only available in you were in the drug trial. I can’t recall why Natalie’s mother wasn’t in it...maybe too late or didn’t realize.  

[RedbirdNelly]

I did not realize people were leaving. I always prefer not to know. They could really replace most of the cast and just try to restart the show with better writing. No one would mind.

[Sake614]

Natalie didn’t wNt to risk her mother’s life on the trial because there was no guarantee she would get the actual drug and not a placebo. So she opted for the LVAD instead. She also had an assist from Crockett, who as a surgeon, naturally recommended surgery instead of a drug trial. I don’t think anyone actually asked Carol, who was the one receiving the treatment…

https://www.heartngmc.org/our-services/lvad/

[Feech]

They can definitely upgrade by replacing most of the cast.

It looks like they are losing two or three of the worst offenders.

[jabRI]

I don't think Will should stay fired. From my understanding (half watching it was so boring) Will did not know about the medication being stolen until Carol came to the hospital in distress and talking about the new 'blue pills', that's when Nat confessed.  He was not complicit in letting her 'keep' the pills, they had already been administered.  Are you referring to the ones still in her car? It's not like she was going to give them to her mother, its a moot point.. He could stay fired for not telling the truth, and making the hospital look even worse than it is, perhaps.

[CatLady]

This post is very late but I didn't catch up on CM until recently.

First I must admit I do not like the characters of Will or Choi.  Will was so desperate about Natalie in the beginning of the show it turned me off big time.  Then as time went on he just kept breaking rules and it was ridiculous.  Will is the poster boy for bad judgement. Look at his drug addicted doctor gf.  What a mess.  Then he totally screwed up with the drug trial before Natalie even stole the drugs.  I wish Will was going to Africa for Doctors Without Borders or something.  His cowboy antics might make a difference there but I hate him on this show.  Frankly I miss Connor like crazy.

Then there's the arrogant, hard-nosed Choi who is so willing to throw others to the wolves but has done quite a few nasty tricks himself.  He is just a loser.

Steven Weber is a great addition to the cast for his multi-layered performance of Archer.  He is brilliant, devious and troubled.  He is perfect for the show as a way to introduce angst.

Though I love TD, Natalie is a rogue doctor and always has been.  Despite her terror for her mother she did a terrible thing and put the hospital in a financial bind that I would assume most hospitals cannot afford.  This is just the worst of Nat's faux pas.  Unless the character had some realization that her behavior is out line most of the time, it's wonderful that she is gone.

Goodwin is a great character but her heart is often interfering with business-like with Sharon.  Sharon knows better but she made a huge error in her professional life and a huge error with her daughter.  It was almost cruel to the girl who was perfectly content with her adopted parents.  Sharon forced that girl to know who she is.  So unfair.  And I like Sharon a lot.  But she is a keeper of a character regardless.  Goodwin also let her son do several questionable things until she stopped him.  Michael was an accident waiting to happen. Thankfully Goodwin has Dr. Charles to be her friend and sounding board.  I love Oliver Platt in his role.

I've been hooked on medical procedural shows since St. Elsewhere and ER.  Hope next season has some better writing and better characters to replace Nat and April.

 

 

[Crashcourse]

On 8/5/2021 at 12:09 PM, CatLady said:

Sharon knows better but she made a huge error in her professional life and a huge error with her daughter.  It was almost cruel to the girl who was perfectly content with her adopted parents.  Sharon forced that girl to know who she is.  So unfair.  And I like Sharon a lot. 

You mean Maggie.  Sharon is Goodwin's first name.