S01.E14: Hearts

[WendyCR72]

There's a week off before this episode; just a heads up!

 

An erratic patient comes to the emergency department claiming that his heart is pounding inside his head and takes drastic measures to stop it, leaving Dr. Choi and Dr. Charles to figure out the best course of action. Dr. Manning works on a young boy with a broken wrist, but her suspicions abound when the facts don't add up, prompting her to report the situation to Goodwin and Dr. Charles, who must make a serious decision. Dr. Rhodes impresses Dr. Downey with his skills inside the operating room, but the pressure takes a toll. Elsewhere, Will receives news about the pending lawsuit, April feels a spark in her social life, and Sarah tries to determine the cause of her recent anxiety.

[starri]

 

Dr. Manning works on a young boy with a broken wrist, but her suspicions abound when the facts don't add up, prompting her to report the situation to Goodwin and Dr. Charles, who must make a serious decision.

Again?

[statsgirl]

At least this time she reported it to Goodwin and Charles instead of calling DCIS herself.  Could it be she's learning?

[Keekski]

I saw that Good Son storyline as soon as the show opened.

[backformore]

The PENCIL in the ear!!! AAACCCKKKKKK!

Hard to keep watching.

[statsgirl]

I thought it was a solid episode. Manning is actually learning and this time goes to Charles to check out her theory before calling in the authorities.

I really liked Choi's solution to the echoing heart. Nice use of cognitive therapy there,, Choi. (This show does mental health issues so much better than any other medical show on TV right now.)

Halstead got stood up for his drink at the end. (They really are trying to redeem him.) But poor Rhodes, the success was wiped out by the failure later in the day.

Reese finally figured it out that she wants to be in the ED, but the contract is binding. Good work, show, for that bit of reality, although I have no doubt that she'll be in the ED next season

[WendyCR72]

Reese finally figured it out that she wants to be in the ED, but the contract is binding. Good work, show, for that bit of reality, although I have no doubt that she'll be in the ED next season

 

Wow, in this regard, Reese really is a female John Carter, isn't she? (Same story done on ER eons ago.)

[blxckbird]

omg the psycho kid.. i love it! :D

[BooksRule]

The only thing was would have made that psycho kid creepier would have been to show him standing there holding a red balloon.  I wonder if that family will return in a later episode (although it is probably more effective a story if the audience is left to wonder about the family's future).

 

The heart guy reminded me of a story I recently heard on NPR about the woman who had had open heart surgery and could then see her heart making her shirt vibrate (as well as glasses of water when she leaned up against a table).  Others could actually hear her heart beating when they stood next to her in a quiet room.  They said it was due to scar tissue after the surgery.  I had never heard of such a thing, but apparently it happens every once in a while.  I thought about that as soon as the guy said he could hear his heart in his head, but when they never mentioned heart surgery I thought maybe it was something else.  It was an interesting storyline.

[cam3150]

I am admittedly completely freaked out by creepy children in any format, either in a horror movie or like the one portrayed in the show last night. Well, creepy children and creepy elderly people. Also, creepy dolls.  

 

Anyway, I thought that actor did a really good job in the role. It has to be hard for anyone, especially a child, to act in such a way.  I saw that he was the issue almost right away. That's a hard thing for a parent but that kid was a total psycho.  I can't say for sure what I would do but I feel as though I would recognize the need to get my child help, even if that meant him or her being taken away from me.  He's already hurt the Mom and the brother.   Dr, Charles  was right. This won't end well. I suspect we might see that family again.

 

I agree, Reese will certainly be in the ER next season (has it been renewed?).  As an aside, the actress who portrays her is really uniquely beautiful.

I really am enjoying this show a lot. It started out slow but has grown on me.  I am in the minority in that I also really like Dr. Halstead. I know he's been portrayed a douche but he is one of my favorite characters He seems to have mostly good intentions even though some of his actions are questionable.  I can also see myself on the Manning/Halstead ship should the show ever go there for real.

Edited April 20, 2016 by cam3150

[Sandman]

The only thing was would have made that psycho kid creepier would have been to show him standing there holding a red balloon.  I wonder if that family will return in a later episode (although it is probably more effective a story if the audience is left to wonder about the family's future).

 

I did wonder if all Griffin's backward glances at Dr. Manning were meant to be simply unsettling for the audience or to be foreshadowing that he was eventually going to come after her.

[Lady Calypso]

This is honestly the first episode where I can say I kind of actually liked Dr. McDouche? He wasn't even being a douche, so I can actually use his name. Maybe it's because he was paired with Reese, but he worked well. It's the first time I could buy him as a competent doctor. He actually seemed caring and nice. Plus, there was less of him, so that helped. Maybe this show just needs him paired less with Maggie and Manning, and more with other people who can make him less of a douche. 

 

The psycho kid creeped me out right away. His perfect exterior, his questions, his creepy smile all made me suspect him early on. I do think the family will be back, possibly with Bo being more seriously hurt next time around, and that will get the kid checked out. 

 

Choi's heart patient story was good too. I felt so bad for the guy, and that actor did a super good job. 

 

I also felt bad for Connor; he did so well with his first patient, and then his second patient dying on him must have really freaked him out. I mean, he literally had her hand on his arm and she was staring right at him as she died. I don't blame him for standing Halstead up. And Hotshot Doc actually took notice of this and took on the responsibility of informing the parents. Yay Hotshot Doc! 

[starri]

Note:  Halstead's lawsuit died on the way back to its home planet.

 

This was another solid episode.  I think I might have actually liked all of the characters, which is a first.  Also, Choi was shirtless, which is always a plus.

 

I really get where Reese is coming from.  It's a very strange experience when you're torn between two specialties, particularly when it's two things that are polar opposites.  For me, it's Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.  I'm going to end up flipping a coin in a few months.

[Margherita Erdman]

It's a very strange experience when you're torn between two specialties, particularly when it's two things that are polar opposites.  For me, it's Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.  I'm going to end up flipping a coin in a few months.

Too bad you can't match with Chicago Med, where if you were a psych resident under Dr. Charles you could spend all of your time in the Emergency Dept!

Seriously though, good luck with your decision :)

[Lillybee]

Don't most interns have to do a rotation throughout all departments before declaring a speciality?

 

I knew that the older brother was the abuser as soon as I saw him smile. I wonder what I would do if one of my kids turned out like him.

 

Dr. Choi is one fine specimen of a very hot man. I will see myself out now.

[candall]

At least this time she reported it to Goodwin and Charles instead of calling DCIS herself.  Could it be she's learning?

Not really.  "But he's just a little boy!"

 

  For me, it's Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.  I'm going to end up flipping a coin in a few months.

Outstanding.  Congratulations!  Keep us informed.

Dr. Choi is one fine specimen of a very hot man.

The word "chiseled" comes to mind.  (But it never hurts when you pose three-quarters view in a sunlit window, either.)

Edited April 21, 2016 by candall

[Sandman]

I think I can give Dr. Manning a pass on the "But he's just a little boy!" thing. It seemed like the reaction of a moment, and who really wants to believe that an eleven-year-old is a soulless monster? I call shenanigans on the younger brother's fear response even while sedated, however; shouldn't there have been some sign of such primordial terror when the brothers were initially brought in and Bo was awake and interacting with Griffin?

Edited April 21, 2016 by Sandman

[Texasmom1970]

This episode was okay but there was one thing that bugged me. The scene where Reese was yelled at by Maggie to spit out her gum. I kept on waiting for them to reference the gum or slide having to do something with her not feeling well because they seemed to make that scene so prominent. Was it just to show Reese was stressed that is why she was chewing gum. Or was it to show Maggie set up as being Reese's hard-ass mentor like Eriq LaSalle was with the original Carter on "E.R."

 

Maybe its just me, but it just stuck out like a sore thumb, it was out of place and clunky.

[Xantar]

I like that the hotshot doctor teaching Rhodes is actually pretty nice and compassionate. Asshole surgeon is such a tired trope (and one of the things that turned me off Code Black).

[backformore]

This episode was okay but there was one thing that bugged me. The scene where Reese was yelled at by Maggie to spit out her gum. I kept on waiting for them to reference the gum or slide having to do something with her not feeling well because they seemed to make that scene so prominent. Was it just to show Reese was stressed that is why she was chewing gum. Or was it to show Maggie set up as being Reese's hard-ass mentor like Eriq LaSalle was with the original Carter on "E.R."

 

Maybe its just me, but it just stuck out like a sore thumb, it was out of place and clunky.

Not just you.  I was expecting the gum chewing to indicate something else, not just "stress".  Like low blood sugar, or a reaction to artificial sweetener in the gum (xylitol causes intestinal cramps).   I was waiting for it.

OR - pregnancy.   because on tv,  nausea and fainting =knocked up.   And on tv, female doctors are notoriously dumb about their own pregnancies.

 

(Oh - and you might chew gum if you're nauseated). 

[Texasmom1970]

Not just you.  I was expecting the gum chewing to indicate something else, not just "stress".  Like low blood sugar, or a reaction to artificial sweetener in the gum (xylitol causes intestinal cramps).   I was waiting for it.

OR - pregnancy.   because on tv,  nausea and fainting =knocked up.   And on tv, female doctors are notoriously dumb about their own pregnancies.

 

(Oh - and you might chew gum if you're nauseated). 

I thought the same when Dr.. Douchebag came in and she said she had vertigo. I was like on no Reese is knocked up, thank heavens they are not going with another baby story line!

[izabella]

The psycho kid creeped me out right away. His perfect exterior, his questions, his creepy smile all made me suspect him early on. I do think the family will be back, possibly with Bo being more seriously hurt next time around, and that will get the kid checked out.

 

The kid even talked about how his brother's wrist made a snapping sound when it broke, like how cool!  The actor did a great job with the role.  I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be raising a budding Dexter.

[Bobcatkitten]

The gum thing was stupid. Did the athlete guy at the end leave the nurse to pay the bill? I was confused.

[statsgirl]

I think I can give Dr. Manning a pass on the "But he's just a little boy!" thing. It seemed like the reaction of a moment, and who really wants to believe that an eleven-year-old is a soulless monster? I call shenanigans on the younger brother's fear response even while sedated, however; shouldn't there have been some sign of such primordial terror when the brothers were initially brought in and Bo was awake and interacting with Griffin?

He did look scared when the older brother said that he would take care of him when he was discharged. But I don't expect much acting from kids that young. On the other hand, even if the parents didn't want to believe it, they should have realized how scared the little one was, heck even the mother was scared, and protected him.

 

I really get where Reese is coming from.  It's a very strange experience when you're torn between two specialties, particularly when it's two things that are polar opposites.  For me, it's Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry.  I'm going to end up flipping a coin in a few months.

Congratulations.

 

If you do pick Psychiatry, please promise me that you will do a Dr. Charles, listen to the patients and try to do psychotherapy instead of just pushing drugs at them.

 

They are different (ED is for adrenaline junkies, psych means you keep a relationship with someone for possibly years) but what they have in common is that the problems change all the time.  Neither gets really boring.

[Sandman]

He did look scared when the older brother said that he would take care of him when he was discharged. But I don't expect much acting from kids that young. On the other hand, even if the parents didn't want to believe it, they should have realized how scared the little one was, heck even the mother was scared, and protected him.

 

You make a fair point about really young performers. And now that you mention it, I think I remember some level of reaction from Bo at his brother's (faintly creepy?) promise to look after him. Probably the showrunners wanted a lower-key reaction in the first act to prolong the mystery. It was the mother's scared-but-covering-it-up response that made me see the family dynamic as abusive. I don't know if the parents' denial of the problem, and closing ranks to the protect the family (from outsiders), is a realistic response or just a tv trope, but it seemed at least consistent with how these stories are portrayed -- or stereotypical, depending on how well one felt the story was executed.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Sandman

[izabella]

I think the parents are terrified.  They know exactly how bad things are at home because of their psychopathic child, but they are also in some level of denial as well.  I'm imaging there was some weirdness apparent at a young age, and it slowly grew into all these fractures and broken bones and burns so they are used to living that way and trying to protect their family.  He's their beautiful firstborn baby boy, and their first instinct is to protect him because they still see him as their little boy who needs them.  Since his parents can't do anything to change him into less of a psychopath, he'll just become more dangerous to others until he's too big for them to control.

 

They really, really need to consider the welfare of their younger son, though.  That child will need a lifetime of therapy when he grows up and realizes his parents chose to do nothing after his brother deliberately broke his wrist for fun and relished the sound of his bones breaking, and that wasn't the first time he had tried to break it.  What is that child learning about love, family, abuse, lies and relationships?  He is going to be one fucked up adult, if his brother doesn't kill him first just to see all his blood run out of his body onto shiny buttons on the floor.  I can't imagine he'll ever be able to forgive his parents for that.

 

I'm really surprised the DCFS person wouldn't have insisted on getting the younger boy out of the home.  Maybe they can't force the parents to take the older kid to a psychiatric facility, but they can take the younger boy to keep him safe from more violence and abuse.

Edited April 22, 2016 by izabella

[Sandman]

But if the parents are denying that abuse is going on, can DCFS act without the parents' cooperation?

[izabella]

Don't all child abusers lie about abuse going on?  And they still take their kids away, pending an investigation? 

 

Those parents were forcing their younger son to live in the same house with someone who has deliberately broken his bones for fun.  That's abuse even if they don't admit it, and it makes the parents complicit in it just as if they were doing the physical violence,  That's how it seems to me. 

 

In my view, the mom rushing into her younger son's room yelling, "what did you do?  what did you do?" when she thought older son had gone to hurt him seems like an admission that she knows he might, could, and would do something to hurt him.  if you know psycho kid is capable and willing to abuse your other child, and is more than likely to do so the minute you turn your back, and you can't control him or ensure that it doesn't happen, aren't you culpable for putting your child at risk of abuse? 

 

Also, not taking their younger son to the hospital when the other one fractures his wrist because they didn't want the hospital to have records or notice the abuse, also seems like an admission that they knew their son was abusing his brother.  And by covering it up, they are enabling it to continue. 

 

I don't know, it seems like DCFS could make a case for getting involved to protect that abused little boy.

Edited April 23, 2016 by izabella

[backformore]

Yes, DCFS would step in, and the parents would be in trouble for not protecting the kid, or not supervising them well enough.   They might not remove anyone from the house, but sometimes DCFS tells the parents they have to seek psychiatric help for the kid, and DCFS would continue to monitor the family. 

The problem, at least in my state, is that DCFS workers are often overwhelmed by huge caseloads and ill-prepared to handle problems, resulting in inconsistent application of the rules and procedures.  So, what happens to the family is largely dependent on which DCFS worker is assigned. 

[statsgirl]

I don't know if the parents' denial of the problem, and closing ranks to the protect the family (from outsiders), is a realistic response or just a tv trope, but it seemed at least consistent with how these stories are portrayed -- or stereotypical, depending on how well one felt the story was executed.

Sadly, family members denying the problem is a very real thing. 

 

My mother once told me how glad she was that there is now legislation that forces doctors and other professionals to report abuse.  Many years ago as a family doctor, she suspected that the grandfather was abusing the young girl. No proof but she told her suspicions to the mother and never saw them again.  It bothered my mother for years.

[twoods]

But if the parents are denying that abuse is going on, can DCFS act without the parents' cooperation?

Yes. If there are signs of abuse (they sometimes have abuse specialists come in) and a creepy psychotic kid, they can pull a kid from the home. Unfortunately it doesn't happen often secondary to how busy DCFS is so the abuse continues and sometimes the child winds up dead. It's happened a few times in LA county and it's really sad. I wish more money went to these organizations so they aren't so busy and stressed. Or more money to mental health, but that's another can of worms nobody wants to open.

I've heard a lot of moms whose child has a congenital heart disease freak out because they hear their child's heart murmur or heartbeat regularly. It must be so scary to audibly hear that and worry if the heart is okay.

Edited April 24, 2016 by twoods

[TobinAlbers]

The look of 'Oh, hell no!' On Dr. Charles' face when he figured out Griffin was a psychopath was great. Charles is usually unflappable but he wasn't having it after he heard that kid say 'the knives'. And then later when mom was like 'Where's Griffin?!' Charles' double take and expression again of 'Oh, hell no! I am not signed up for a child serial killer in the hospital, crap!'

Halstead playing concerned big bro with Reese was cute. Nice to see them mix and match up the cast. And he's buying Rhodes a drink! Sweet.

Props to the guy with the echo chamber heart issue for jamming the pencil in his ear. 'Will you see me now?!' Sad that he was so desperate but he knew how to finally get them to see him at least. Loved that Choi was able to finally see the issue and loved his helping the guy cope.

Ah, Jello. Indicator of approaching dinosaurs and pounding hearts and sweet fun dessert. What can't it do?

So where is April's athlete dad ex-wife? We haven't seen boo from her and her son had major surgery. That is the complication April should be dealing with, not the 'he's a boy in a man's body'.

Nice job of the signification of the red purse throughout the episode. No way Rhodes couldn't take that death hard. He could logically assess the reason why she wasn't under and why she grabbed his arm, but emotionally that had to be devastating. She wasn't a toddler but she was still just starting out in life at 18 and as we saw from the mother's grieving she was 'someone's baby.'

[Sandman]

Not only did she grab him, their eyes met. I think he made a direct connection with her as she died. That would shake anyone to the core.

[WendyCR72]

Just a quick reminder that the board will be undergoing an important upgrade tomorrow, beginning at approximately 9:00 a.m., give or take. This may take most of the day.

[torqy]

The look of 'Oh, hell no!' On Dr. Charles' face when he figured out Griffin was a psychopath was great. Charles is usually unflappable but he wasn't having it after he heard that kid say 'the knives'. And then later when mom was like 'Where's Griffin?!' Charles' double take and expression again of 'Oh, hell no! I am not signed up for a child serial killer in the hospital, crap!'

 

 

Oliver Platt out-acted himself with that look alone!

 

I picture the young psycho practicing "Au Clair de la Lune" on the piano, driving the mother to distraction. "Give me those shoes right now!!"

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Very late commenting on this episode since this show languishes on the DVR, but how cute is Dr. Manning's baby?!?  Adorable!

[Chas411]

Aww poor Halstead getting stood up. Not sure I thought it was big enough of a a deal to get the dramatic ending but I do love that they've finally decided to do something other then making him a foil to everyone.

The scene with the kid was so eerie.

[awaken]

On 4/19/2016 at 11:08 PM, backformore said:

The PENCIL in the ear!!! AAACCCKKKKKK!

Hard to keep watching.

I had to look away. So gross!

[Kristi800]

Quote

I saw that Good Son storyline as soon as the show opened.

I can't believe I missed it. I usually catch that sort of thing, too. The kid acted the heck out of that - or is indeed a psychopath. Reminds me of the girl in the L&O Original Flavor who killed the other kid and was a total psychopath. What would you think if you came across like this? You generally give kids the benefit of the doubt that they'll grow out of this, but if there are no repercussions for this behavior, then what do you get?

It's nice to see the male doctors get to have emotions, too.