S03.E03: Trust Your Gut

[WendyCR72]

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When Goodwin receives financial complaints from the hospital board, she is forced to implement new guidelines that cause headaches for the doctors. Dr. Rhodes and Ava continue to compete in the operating room, while Dr. Charles and Dr. Reese are surprised when they treat a man who has a peculiar theory about his sickness. Dr. Manning and Dr. Choi can't figure out what is wrong with a young girl, leading them to look to a questionable source for answers.

[mrsbagnet]

I really need to this show to give a "visible intestines" warning. That was more than I was expecting. Sarah is becoming more annoying. Is the level to which she is challenging Dr. Charles appropriate? I felt like she was overstepping a bit, even though it turned out they were both wrong.

Bekker, uggh. So now Connor likes sparring with her? Double uggh. She's just stood there and took credit for his work. The only enjoyable thing about that storyline is Dr. Latham's bewilderment.

Yay to Maggie potentially getting some. She is long overdue for a romantic interest.

Edited December 6, 2017 by mrsbagnet

[Chelle1979]

The way they wrapped up the family of the girl that died was just too neat and perfect and topped with a bow. Do they seriously want us to believe that family conflicts resolve themselves with a plea for forgiveness and hugs?  I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they would fall out! 

[FnkyChkn34]

What is Noah's purpose?  He's never been shown actually doing his job...

[Sentient Meat]

Not a banner episode in the franchise... Dealing with budgetary problems... already done to death in Grey's Anatomy... if you want to go there, why not deal with something real like the political ramifications of cutting health care, the effect of the ACA on patients, you don't even need to take a side, but just present something real and tangible.

Choi and April have fast forwarded to the second half of Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage.  No honeymoon period... just already fighting with each other.  If you want people to root for a couple, you need to show some good moments for awhile... this is Romcom 101, writers.

I can't tell what they are doing with Reese and Daniel's dynamic... at first I thought it was going somewhere specific, but it's beginning to feel half baked.

Agree with what was said above about the vegan woman... it started out interesting and then the forced epiphany scene was terrible.

It seems as though they are slowly transitioning Robin's character out as I haven't seen her in a few episodes.  Maybe the actress is just working on another project... maybe they are setting up a love triangle thing with Connor's rival, but it's odd that she's been reduced to an off camera character.

Anyway, with so much happening in the real world, people forced to cut off medication because of insurance woes... you'd think there would be a goldmine of issues to discuss beyond generic issues.

[statsgirl]

Mekia Cox is working on Once Upon A Time this season so Chicago Med will probably transition her out, which is no great loss because she never was more than a half-baked character.

But even a hallucinating needy Robin is 1000% better than Bekker, who is completely awful and makes me want to turn off the show every time she comes on.  If Connor likes this fighting with her then he's a masochist and he's dead to me. Which is a pity because that leaves only Charles, Sharon and Maggie as tolerable characters on the show.  Choi can join the list as soon as he dumps this horrible storyline with April.

Reese has now become the Worst Psychiatrist on TV, taking the title away from various Grey's Anatomy characters.  Diagnosing schizophrenia from a first psychotic episode is so last century.  Thinking you're smarter than your supervisor who has 30 years experience on you is stupid in any century.  But it was really nice to see Splendorkable back again.  So so much better than Noah.

The less said about April and her need to enable her substandard brother the better.

Manning and Halstead were the best things in this episode even if the writing for their case was crap.  That's really damning the show.

[Netfoot]

4 hours ago, statsgirl said:

But even a hallucinating needy Robin is 1000% better than Bekker

I hate them all, so I am only too glad to see Becker come and piss in their soup!

[Lyanna19]

I think the writers have no clue how to actually make couple's that can click.... Or maybe the actors can't act worth a darn, 

I love Maggie, Sharon and Charles, totally agree with statsgirl.....

Edited December 7, 2017 by Lyanna19
Spelling correction

[Lady Calypso]

20 hours ago, statsgirl said:

Which is a pity because that leaves only Charles, Sharon and Maggie as tolerable characters on the show.  Choi can join the list as soon as he dumps this horrible storyline with April.

I personally disagree on Charles (he's irritated me since last season's spat with Connor and I think he's a pretentious dick most of the time), but Sharon and Maggie are tolerable most of the time, which is important. If Connor decides to not hook up with Doctor Bitchface, he can remain on my Nice List. Everyone else is pretty much stuck on my Naughty List. Choi only became intolerable when he got saddled with April and her drama.  

I only watched parts of this episode, but I did enjoy seeing Splendorkable again. I didn't see the conclusion to April/Choi's drama, but I did see the part where he bitched at her for her neediness with her brother. I assume she bailed him out of his responsibilities as a doctor for the millionth time. Why is he a doctor, again? 

[statsgirl]

He's a doctor because he's the sainted boychild, I assume.  As much as I dislike April these past two seasons, she should have been the one to go to medical school.

Noah was complaining that he didn't have time to eat anything but burgers because he's working 90 hours a week. April pointed out that the law only allowed 80 but he said he couldn't refuse when Stohl asked him to volunteer for more work.  This might actually have been an interesting storyline.

Instead, April suggested he get those meals that are delivered to you because now he has a pay cheque and he said he didn't have time to arrange it so April did it for him.  That's when Choi told her she was babying her brother too much.  In the end Choi saw the error of his ways when the parents of his dead patient rallied around the son they have kicked out and scorned for years.  Family First.

[RedbirdNelly]

my only high points:

* watching Dr. Latham. Maybe they should just make the show about him discovering/trying to figure out how other humans interact

* seeing Spendorkable again. Yea for continuity

I agree with others on needing a warning on seeing intestines. I get grossed out so easily.

Other semi-high point--seeing Manning work with Choi instead of Halsted. But it seems like she never has a patient by herself. All of her patients get 2 doctors at all times.

[Lyanna19]

It's a medical show, there's gotta be some gross stuff ?

[preeya]

What/who is Spendorkable??

[mrsbagnet]

4 minutes ago, preeya said:

What/who is Spendorkable??

Sarah's ex, the guy in the lab who identified the "twin" that was removed from her patient.

[preeya]

12 hours ago, mrsbagnet said:

Sarah's ex, the guy in the lab who identified the "twin" that was removed from her patient.

OK, thanks. But tell me what does Spendorkable mean. I get the dork part.

[RedbirdNelly]

it's actually Splendorkable (my typo above--my apologies). I don't really know what it means; it just fits--I guess spendidly dorkable boyfriend.  As far as I know it was coined on these boards, season 1, and just fits perfectly.

Edited December 8, 2017 by RedbirdNelly

[Fireball]

6 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

it's actually Splendorkable (my typo above--my apologies). I don't really know what it means; it just fits--I guess spendidly dorkable boyfriend.  As far as I know it was coined on these boards, season 1, and just fits perfectly.

I thought the name came about from how Sarah & Ex met which was at the coffee kiosk Sarah liked Splenda in her coffee so "Splend" and the Ex was a "dork", so the couple name was coined Splendorkable. 

[starri]

On 12/7/2017 at 1:35 PM, statsgirl said:

Instead, April suggested he get those meals that are delivered to you because now he has a pay cheque and he said he didn't have time to arrange it so April did it for him.

I guess she also paid his tuition so he doesn't have six figures of student debt.

[Ailianna]

On 12/6/2017 at 0:00 AM, mrsbagnet said:

-Yay to Maggie potentially getting some. She is long overdue for a romantic interest.

I just wish it wasn't showing her going to back to someone who cheated on her and hurt her, as if she has no other options.  She's right--she is a catch, and she probably would have lots of of options in real life.  She's too beautiful and awesome.

[spunky]

I need to get this off my chest, that ending family scene was as unrealistic and unbelievable as Choi and April's relationship. So the parents beg their son whom they deemed worthless just two seconds prior for forgiveness, and he's all accepting, yeah okay. So April and Ethan are arguing over Noah, how boring. In fact their entire relationship is boring, hell Will and Natalie have more chemistry and maturity than those two. On a side note Ethan is correct Noah does need to grow up.

So Maggie is finally getting a romantic interest, apparently with an ex who cheated. At least it's not with someone from Fire or PD, even though she and Kevin might have made a good pair. Hopefully this is not another dead end romance.

[Lady Calypso]

I will say this season has gotten me liking Manning/Halstead, for the sheer reason that all of their other new pairings suck ass. 

[starri]

10 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I will say this season has gotten me liking Manning/Halstead, for the sheer reason that all of their other new pairings suck ass.

While I still loathe Natalie (don't really mind Will these days), at least getting them together has stopped the obnoxious will they/won't they we sat through for 2 years.  That actually is minor improvement.

Have they just given up the idea that Natalie does primarily pediatrics?  I assume Ethan is an attending now, since he was sitting in on that meeting with the Troll and Sharon, and she should be too, but I don't think we've seen her with a child once this season.  I know this show doesn't go for verisimilitude in medical education like ER, but they set it up, they should address it.

I'm also not sure the storyline of "we have to bill more!" is particularly accurate.  I work for a county hospital, and our ER is one of the few departments that actually makes money.  Maybe that's atypical.

Edited December 11, 2017 by starri

[Lady Calypso]

3 hours ago, starri said:

Have they just given up the idea that Natalie does primarily pediatrics?  I assume Ethan is an attending now, since he was sitting in on that meeting with the Troll and Sharon, and she should be too, but I don't think we've seen her with a child once this season.  I know this show doesn't go for verisimilitude in medical education like ER, but they set it up, they should address it.

I noticed that they pretty much gave up on it last season, when a lot of the paediatric cases went to other doctors while Natalie got cases that she probably shouldn't have. They seem to only give her cases involving kids went the plot calls for it. 

[RedbirdNelly]

3 hours ago, starri said:

While I still loathe Natalie (don't really mind Will these days), at least getting them together has stopped the obnoxious will they/won't they we sat through for 2 years.  That actually is minor improvement.

 

I completely agree with this.

[Chas411]

I don't mind Natalie in cases like these. I actually think peadiatrics is the worst place for her because she comes off as such an asshole not to mention judgemental. 

I don't like how desperate Conor is from everyone. He just seems stuck with whatsherface. I love Latham but I wish they'd integrate he and Conor in with everyone else. 

What's Natalie, Choi and Will? Are they all general doctors? Grets seems to be the only show that delve into specialties.

[starri]

6 hours ago, Chas411 said:

What's Natalie, Choi and Will? Are they all general doctors? Grets seems to be the only show that delve into specialties.

They're emergency medicine physicians.

[SnarkySheep]

On 12/6/2017 at 0:00 AM, mrsbagnet said:

I really need to this show to give a "visible intestines" warning. That was more than I was expecting.

I feel like now that Bones is over, this show has seamlessly taken its place in the "eat your dinner beforehand" category.

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I don't mind Natalie in cases like these. I actually think peadiatrics is the worst place for her because she comes off as such an asshole not to mention judgemental. 

I hate how she seems to think that actually being a parent herself is more of a qualification than, y'know, MED SCHOOL. 

[Sandman]

On 12/18/2017 at 8:32 PM, SnarkySheep said:

I hate how she seems to think that actually being a parent herself is more of a qualification than, y'know, MED SCHOOL. 

I actually see the problem as the reverse: Natalie, Red Halstead, and occasionally Ethan appear to interpret medical qualifications as "my having a medical degree makes me the expert on all things in your life." I don't mind Natalie's frequent resort to her experience as a parent; I mind that it always seems to come at the 42-minute mark, and that the access to, you know, empathy, that it gives her comes after the patient is Mostly Dead, furious to the point of legal action, or morbidly afraid of her -- or some (highly justified) combination of all three. This show continually relies on the idea that the doctors will substitute their own judgment over the express wishes of a competent, if untrusting, patient; this would be fine if the doctors on staff had all been trained in the 1940s, when informed consent wasn't really a thing. In the 21st century, though, it doesn't feel like an issue we need to revisit every third episode or so.  

I'm with mrsbagnet on the Exposed Intestinal Structures warning: I vastly prefer it when the patient's need to spill his or her guts remains metaphorical.

Also, Splendorkable's still creepy, and I found his glee about the fetus in fetu alarming-- "Really cool"? No, the word you're looking for is "Eeeeeyack!"

Noah's implied acknowledgment "Stoll the Troll" actually is Dr. Stoll's in-show nickname is the most I've ever liked Noah. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Sandman

[SnarkySheep]

3 hours ago, Sandman said:

I don't mind Natalie's frequent resort to her experience as a parent; I mind that it always seems to come at the 42-minute mark, and that the access to, you know, empathy, that it gives her comes after the patient is Mostly Dead, furious to the point of legal action, or morbidly afraid of her -- or some (highly justified) combination of all three.

When you mentioned empathy, I think that hits it right on the said, as far as what I was trying to say. It's like Natalie being a parent herself means she's the only one who can truly "get it" - as though Will, Connor, Maggie or whoever can't possibly empathize with the situation because they don't have kids themselves. (They did the same to April for a bit, although not to the same extent, for obvious reasons.)

FWIW, I think this is actually true to life to some extent. For instance, I work for a school district. If I have to tell any parent something they don't want to hear, I invariably get, "Do YOU have kids yourself??" Honestly, it makes zero difference if I do or don't; there are rules I have to follow, regardless, and if someone is indicating a hardship and it's within my power to help in some way, I will. I just can't stand the implied "we parents stick together" kind of thing, which is kind of what's going on with Natalie here.

Edited January 3, 2018 by SnarkySheep