S04.E03: Heavy Is The Head

[WendyCR72]

Quote

When a sick boy is brought in, Ethan is faced with a tough decision that quickly escalates into a complicated and dangerous situation. Connor and Maggie are put to the test, while Natalie and Ethan aren't sure what to make of Elsa, the new third year medical student.

[Reality police]

Can I just be the first to say I want to bitch slap April? Arguing about calling the PD on that dad! 

I'm back, really, PD intelligence squad for a dad? 

[Laurie4H]

Did they say where the kidnapped child’s mom or any other family member was?

What is the big drama with Halstead and guy who is letting use the hall?  Just get a different ball.

And why would Dr Charles be monitoring the blonde intern?  His isn’t in the same field of medicine.  

Edited October 11, 2018 by Laurie4H

[mysticalflute]

Whoever that blonde is that was working with Natalie? I want her gone. What she did is beyond fucked up. Worse than anything Sarah did, imo. Can I get an exchange and get Sarah back?

Also the hospital COO needs to leave too. Cold hearted bitch.

[watcher1006]

Does this show have a real part for Norma Kuhling's Ava Bekker character other than being a foil to superhero surgeon Connor Rhodes? The whole plotline was improbable, Bekker crashing in on an emergency operation to harangue Rhodes while the patient's chest is open, and Rhodes telling his highly experienced cardiac surgery colleague to get lost when she offered to help. Where is Dr. Latham when we need him? Please stay where you are, Maggie, don't get sucked into the mess.

Edited October 11, 2018 by watcher1006
Addition

[cathmed]

Where do I begin?   Can this show be more of a trainwreck?   Why is the CEO so unlikable?  What is up with the obnoxious and arrogant Intern/Resident Curry (please tell me she's not Reese's "replacement")?    Halstead coercing his friend's dad to give them the reception hall –after he was even reluctant to do a house call--for their wedding only to find out he’s a mobster?  Manning just doesn't seem to be into this wedding; wonder if it will actually happen??   BTW, was that Reese's ex boyfriend, Joe, Halstead “convinced” into running the bloodwork?    

Anyway, onto the “meh” episode with all the unnecessary angst/risks taken, i.e., the supreme sacrifice by the father who commits suicide because Chief of ED/CEO won't allow a kidney transplant; Curry lying about dead fetus (saw that coming) but glad Dr. Charles called her on it; although, clearly, it was evident with that look on her face that she has some deep, dark secret that will eventually come out; the mother willing to risk her baby’s life and her own because of her devout religious beliefs; Rhodes going off the rails taking an unrealistic chance with a patient and using Maggie to assist?  Naturally, the operation was successful, though.   Interesting if Maggie returns to the or maybe her character will be a bit more valuable/useful other than her directives as to which room someone needs to be in.    

And who is this new Chief of ED; what happened to Dr. Stohl?  Exactly why is the new CEO there usurping Sharon’s authority/responsibility as well as being so condescending to her?  I don’t see the point of her character; just unnecessary opposition, strain and friction which doesn’t make for a good or worthwhile/fascinating storyline.

And, not that I really care, but what’s going on between Bekker (who I abhor anyway) and Rhodes?  Is he “punishing” her because she doesn't want to be in a relationship with him?  Talk about passive-aggressive with the freeze out in the OR, apology and then wants to extend a peace offering (drinks)?  Please, just stop; these two just don’t work, are boring and there’s no type of romantic tension to make it appealing, imo.   Just get her gone from this show.  Lastly, Choi and April - they don’t need to be together either (no chemistry) but if they're going to break up, please don't use someone else (Emily) as the excuse--just state they've grown apart as they've done with other couples.    I believe he’s very caring/empathetic with the patients and tries to balance the hospital rules.  April is non-supportive, ineffectual and pathetic with her mixed signals to him on everything from his personal  life (sister, Emily) and hospital decisions which are reasons why the relationship doesn’t work and needs to cease asap!

Do the writers and showrunner deliberately want a quick demise to this once stellar show (Season 1)?  Since I don’t watch the other Chicago shows, the crossovers are not intriguing enough for me to watch, but I’m sure a ploy to get viewers to watch all 3 shows.  It seems like a cheap and lazy way to get viewers to watch with these lackluster storylines; I'd rather the shows stand on their own merit with a VERY RARE crossover but even next week hs Chicago PD characters.  I don't remember that so much in the earlier seasons.   If this Chicago Med season doesn’t turn around quickly, I’ll be through with this season of the franchise.

48 minutes ago, Laurie4H said:

Did they say where the kidnapped child’s mom or any other family member was?

What is the big drama with Halstead and guy who is letting use the hall?  Just get a different ball.

And why would Dr Charles be monitoring the blonde intern?  His isn’t in the same field of medicine.  

All good points of which there was no real resolution.   Exactly - the father kidnaps the boy and yet the mother reports nothing (guess she still doesn't know).   Agree - let Halstead get another reception hall but guess this show needs some "drama" and another way to crossover to one of the other franchise shows.   Agree again - as mentioned in my post, is Curry the "new Reese replacement".  Makes no sense!

[VinceW]

7 hours ago, watcher1006 said:

Does this show have a real part for Norma Kuhling's Ava Bekker character other than being a foil to superhero surgeon Connor Rhodes? The whole plotline was improbable, Bekker crashing in on an emergency operation to harangue Rhodes while the patient's chest is open, and Rhodes telling his highly experienced cardiac surgery colleague to get lost when she offered to help. Where is Dr. Latham when we need him? Please stay where you are, Maggie, don't get sucked into the mess.

 

How many episodes before Connor finds out that daddy funded the OR? Ava's harsh reaction to Connor's apology over the makeshift operation suggests that she probably does have something personal invested in their relationship after all which is unfortunate if she did sleep with creepy daddy Cornelius to seal the deal.

Edited October 11, 2018 by VinceW

[Ohwell]

And here we go again with that judgmental look from April.  Choi needs to end it with her.  He's got enough problems with his sister, he doesn't need to see "the look" from April every damn day at the hospital.

I'm guessing Ava really did sleep with creepy daddy and I can't wait for Connor to find out.

I don't care about the Halstead brothers.  Definitely don't care about the wedding that probably won't take place anyway.

I miss Dr. Latham.

[preeya]

Just rename the hospital to:

CONTRARIAN MEDICAL (ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK)

This show is going off the rails, really fast.

April & Choi, Dr. Charles, Halstadt, The COO, The Nerdy Intern, Drs Ava & Connor, The new guy in charge of ED, what a cast of unbelievable characters. Did I miss anyone?

[Chick2Chic]

Meh ep.

I like Chexton but I need the writers to be better with the writing for them cause it seems like at this point most of their "stories" are Ethan feeling one way and April feeling the opposite way in order to create tension. That's tired.

Will seems so much more interested in getting married than Natalie does.

Maggie and Connor working together was entertaining. 

Blonde intern needs to hit the road and take Ava with her. I can't stand either of them. 

[starri]

22 hours ago, cathmed said:

Exactly why is the new CEO there usurping Sharon’s authority/responsibility as well as being so condescending to her?  I don’t see the point of her character; just unnecessary opposition, strain and friction which doesn’t make for a good or worthwhile/fascinating storyline.

I'd even forgive them making an unnecessary antagonist for Sharon if the character was played by a better actress.  Maybe it's just bad writing, but I don't think so.  I actually cringed in at least one of their scenes.

I guess I'm the minority here.  While I don't like Bekker, this was the first episode where I was on her side.

Speaking of, it's really, REALLY rich of Natalie to tell the obnoxious med student not to inject her personal opinions into caring for the patient.  Has Natalie ever watched this show?

[limecoke]

Ok, this show is ridiculous.  Who writes this stuff??   Apparently April runs the entire ED, injecting her personal disdain for the doctors making medical decisions she doesn’t agree with.  She seems to think she’s everyone’s moral conscience too. The new COO is a joke.  I can’t even get into Rhodes.  He’s about as realistic as a unicorn.  Where was the kidney boy’s mom?  Did they forget to call her?

This episode had one highlight:  Sarah’s cute ex. That’s it.

Edited October 12, 2018 by limecoke

[Netfoot]

Obnoxious Med Student: "Dr. Charles, if you ever talk to me that way again, I will kick you in your shriveled balls so hard, I swear they will pop out your nose. And that pain will be minor compared to what you will feel when gangs of 3rd-wave Feminists are done with you on Social Media!"

Rhodes: "Come here, Maggie, and inexpertly squeeze this patient's heart!  That way, if he dies due to my ill-advised attempt to perform surgery with nothing more in the way of instruments than a broken bottle, a buck-knife and a grapefruit spoon, an avalanche of shit will fall on your head, when the lawsuits start to fly!"

Manning: "Ok, God-Girl, when you come here looking for help, the policy is this: If you refuse treatment, then you can go to fuck home, because we don't want the blame for your death, when you wouldn't let us try to save you.  Shall I call you a cab?  Or do you want to arrange your own transportation?"

Edited October 12, 2018 by Netfoot

[sweetandsour]

Welp, the only thing I have to say about Brothers Halstead and Ray Burke is that during the final car conversation between Jay and Will, I was chanting to myself, "Please make Ray Burke a mobster, please make Ray Burke a mobster," because Jesse Lee Soffer was the brother of a mob doctor (though she was his sister) on "The Mob Doctor" a few years ago.  And they didn't disappoint me there!  I have to believe the show writers know this about Jesse's acting history and it wasn't a coincidence.

One of the things that annoys me the most about April's judginess is that she rejects anyone's judgment of her enabling of her brother because she knows best and other people don't understand.  But when it comes to other people's relationships with their siblings (when it comes to anything, really), she disapproves of everything.  Sure, Noah is an ER doctor and Emily is a habitual screw-up, but Noah has a lot of shortcomings, too, and April is Queen of Coddle City when it comes to him.

Curry is going to end up killing someone(s) because she approaches medicine and treating patients like she's a robot.  I don't think she'll necessarily learn from it (she will say in monotone, "but the science says that should have worked").  Maybe no one can prove what she did with the ultrasound machine, but she needs it on her record and her (robot) conscience that she is not a good doctor - see all of these cases.

Actually, the only thing that the Monster CEO is good for is getting pissed off at something Curry does that threatens the hospital.  Then Monster CEO can boot her and then hopefully the next episode, get fired herself.

[izabella]

1 hour ago, sweetandsour said:

Curry is going to end up killing someone(s) because she approaches medicine and treating patients like she's a robot.  I don't think she'll necessarily learn from it (she will say in monotone, "but the science says that should have worked").  Maybe no one can prove what she did with the ultrasound machine, but she needs it on her record and her (robot) conscience that she is not a good doctor - see all of these cases.

I think I heard her say she planned to go into research as soon as she was done with her rotation, which seems like a much better career choice for her.

[dogdays2]

I was confused as to who was making decisions for the boy.  It should be the parent with custody, which was obviously the mother.  Who wasn't there.  Absent that, I believe they need to get a court order.  It seemed like the hospital was making decisions for a minor child and that seems incorrect.

The actress playing Ava talks like she has marbles in her mouth.  I have no issue with her accent but I can't understand her diction. 

I can't BEGIN to imagine the (figurative) mess that would have hit the hospital after the suicide of the dad.  Issues with the policeman allowing someone to get his gun.  The impact on the other ED patients, who would sue saying they were traumatized (even if they hadn't actually seen it).  The press coverage -- can you even imagine in this day and age of social media!!!  The responsibility of hospital personnel.  The impact on the kid.  And yet, after we see someone cleaning up the (literal) mess and Choi's long face, that's the end of it. 

Finally, I am sick and tired of this show treating people with religious beliefs as some kind of nuts who always seem to do stupid things in the name of religion.  Most religions include a few people go to an extreme -- in various ways.  That doesn't mean the average religious person with deep-seated and deeply felt beliefs is a wacko.  It would be nice to see a more thoughtful treatment of religion and its interplay with medicine.  Then again, this is Hollywood. :(

[Emma9]

Unlike the other parts of the triad, there aren't even one or two characters in this mess I genuinely like. (One of those likable characters from PD is Burgess, so once it became clear he was going to commit suicide with a cop's gun, I was relieved she was no longer involved.)

Without question, what the med student did was wretched, but if so much time weren't spent on her part of the storyline, maybe someone could have at least considered other ways to resolve it.

At least from everything I've ever read, transplanting an ectopic fetus to the uterus has been frequently tried and never successful, but the woman in this case would no doubt believe she'd be the exception - almost assuredly with the same sad result, but without the patient being lied to and allowing her to believe she'd tried everything possible to save her child.

[Laurie4H]

30 minutes ago, dogdays2 said:

 

 

32 minutes ago, dogdays2 said:

Finally, I am sick and tired of this show treating people with religious beliefs as some kind of nuts who always seem to do stupid things in the name of religion.  Most religions include a few people go to an extreme -- in various ways.  That doesn't mean the average religious person with deep-seated and deeply felt beliefs is a wacko.  It would be nice to see a more thoughtful treatment of religion and its interplay with medicine.  Then again, this is Hollywood. :(

I agree.   I am not even remotely religious nor do I even feel comfortable around it but I respect it.  I feel like there is an agenda when they portray religious people as wackos.  

[Netfoot]

28 minutes ago, Laurie4H said:

I feel like there is an agenda when they portray religious people as wackos.  

There are many agendas in Hollywood. Few of them good.

Now, as a non-religious person myself, I do have respect for people of faith - whatever faith that may be.  But when your faith leads you to make illogical and ridiculous decisions, I quickly lose patience with you.

For instance, coming to a hospital, refusing treatment, and expecting that you can just lay about, tying up a bed and other resources (which might comfort another sick person) while you wait for your miracle to occur.  As far as I'm concerned, if you go to the hospital and refuse treatment (for whatever reason), they should put you out.  Otherwise you're just wasting other people's time and energy. 

[statsgirl]

First, the most annoying part of the episode:  what is that dead rodent on Colin Donnell's face?  The man is gorgeous, even if he is too bulked up to be a believable fellow, but that beard is awful.

I couldn't understand why the boy's mother didn't rush to the hospital since she's not only the custodial parent, she's the one who has been dealing with all this stuff.  Did Med forget to call her and tell her they found her kid?  And why the new COO didn't think about the potential bad publicity if the boy died after they refused to let his father be the donor.

Re the ectopic pregnancy woman:  There's a reason large hospitals have chaplains on call.  Or at least get someone down from psych to talk to her.  There was a way to talk to her other than Natalie's and Curry's.

On 10/10/2018 at 9:03 PM, Laurie4H said:

And why would Dr Charles be monitoring the blonde intern?  His isn’t in the same field of medicine.  

He was the one who found out that she had fudged the ultrasound so that the mother would think that her baby had died and agree to the operation.  In other words, she was already playing God with the patients.  He's monitoring her as a second chance so that she doesn't get (deservedly) kicked out of med school.

On 10/11/2018 at 8:48 PM, starri said:

I guess I'm the minority here.  While I don't like Bekker, this was the first episode where I was on her side.

I still loathe Bekker and think that she and Connor and not only dysfunctional, they lack any chemistry but she was right about being careful not to blow the whole program by jumping the gun. And even though Connor didn't agree with her, he still should have let her stick around and  help him.  Arrogance belongs to Natalie and April.

22 hours ago, sweetandsour said:

One of the things that annoys me the most about April's judginess is that she rejects anyone's judgment of her enabling of her brother because she knows best and other people don't understand.  But when it comes to other people's relationships with their siblings (when it comes to anything, really), she disapproves of everything.  Sure, Noah is an ER doctor and Emily is a habitual screw-up, but Noah has a lot of shortcomings, too, and April is Queen of Coddle City when it comes to him.

The only good thing I can say about April is that at least she's consistent across seasons.  I have no idea why Choi is still with her. The sex must be amazing.

[Court]

I haven't finished watching but Splendorkable!!!!! I'm glad to see he's still there.

 

April has officially moved to the top of my most hated character on this show. She's a bitch and so self righteous. 

[Court]

I'm pretty sure that having a suicide in your ER and refusing a transplant with zero medical reason is worse than having a donor die within 30 days. The negative media would be all over them.

[limecoke]

Quote

Finally, I am sick and tired of this show treating people with religious beliefs as some kind of nuts who always seem to do stupid things in the name of religion.  Most religions include a few people go to an extreme -- in various ways.  That doesn't mean the average religious person with deep-seated and deeply felt beliefs is a wacko.  It would be nice to see a more thoughtful treatment of religion and its interplay with medicine.  Then again, this is Hollywood. :(

Thank you.  Unfortunately, Med isn’t alone in this silly stereotype.  Grey’s Anatomy does it all the time.  The majority of people of faith, myself included, are thankful for our God-given brains and use them to navigate the world making hopefully wise medical decisions for ourselves and the people we love.  I don’t know one like-minded person who would make such a whackdoodle decision as the one the ectopic woman made.  The people who reject medical intervention are in the minority and associated with one particular group.  Hardly in the mainstream.  (No disrespect intended to anyone.)

Chicago Med is going downhill fast and someone needs to reel in the outlandish storylines.  

Couldn’t agree more about the beard on Rhodes.  Horrific.   

Choi....free yourself.  You deserve better than Nurse McJudgypants..

[Happy Belly]

I am a bit confused. I am aware Dr. Manning works in the E.R., but if a pregnant patient comes in, wouldn’t an OB/GYN doctor be called in to consult?  It is amazing all the specialties these E.R. doctors hold with little schooling in that specialty.

[Lyanna19]

Well I'm glad there are more ppl speaking up about the way these shows portray religion. It's actually ridiculous.  If and when religion is brought into a storyline it's always in a go overboard kinda way. 

 

Why don't we ever hear about the negative perspectives of gblt? 

 

Oh wait Hollywood is trying to say something here.

 

As for the waving aside of rules and regulations on this show its unbelievable .

 

It was actually funny the way Dr. Manning got upset with the blond. (Don't know her name n frankly don't care enough to check) how many times has she gone of the rails when pushing her agenda?

 

Connor, just waiting on the explosion here. Get away from the chick with the bad accent.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Lyanna19

[VinceW]

On 10/14/2018 at 2:42 PM, Lyanna19 said:

.....Connor, just waiting on the explosion here. Get away from the chick with the bad accent.

Agree. Something drastic has to happen between them soon or Ava is on a path to just leave the show. IMO.

Spoiler

S04.E07  Nov. 7, 2018  - 'The Poison Inside Us'   ".......Dr. Rhodes discovers a secret that Dr. Bekker has been holding from him."

Edited October 17, 2018 by VinceW

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

On 10/13/2018 at 4:15 PM, limecoke said:

Chicago Med is still going downhill fast, the same trajectory its been on for quite some time ....

Fixed that for you.

[watcher1006]

On 10/11/2018 at 8:48 PM, starri said:

Speaking of, it's really, REALLY rich of Natalie to tell the obnoxious med student not to inject her personal opinions into caring for the patient.  Has Natalie ever watched this show?

Natalie being who she is I wondered if she would try to suggest other options to the patient. If the patient couldn't carry a pregnancy might she be a candidate for in-vitro fertilization with the embryo being implanted into a surrogate? Not that anything like that is easy or cheap but if the couple wanted a child of their own that badly... nothing is more difficult or costly than losing a life.

[RedbirdNelly]

the best part was Splendorkable showing up again (Reese's old boyfriend)

it was bizarre that we're apparently supposed to be torn by this tense storyline involving a wedding reception hall. Get another hall.

the part where Rhodes dramatically decides to use his unopened surgical suite was hilarious; who saw that coming? I was glad Maggie got to do something besides look at her little phone thing.

[statsgirl]

33 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

I was glad Maggie got to do something besides look at her little phone thing.

Me too. She and Sharon are the only female characters on this show that I like.

I want more Maggie, but she does have a point about Connor's offer; going from Charge Nurse to OR nurse is stepping downwards.

[RedbirdNelly]

17 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Me too. She and Sharon are the only female characters on this show that I like.

I want more Maggie, but she does have a point about Connor's offer; going from Charge Nurse to OR nurse is stepping downwards.

when she mentioned the step down--I got it but felt like calling out "yeah, in real life, but as far as the show goes, you might actually get to do something/be involved in a storyline."

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/10/2018 at 9:07 PM, mysticalflute said:

Whoever that blonde is that was working with Natalie? I want her gone. What she did is beyond fucked up. Worse than anything Sarah did, imo. Can I get an exchange and get Sarah back?

All I kept thinking was, poor student who has to be trained and advised by Natalie...she's not exactly Chicago's best doctor...

[Emma9]

On 10/15/2018 at 9:54 AM, watcher1006 said:

Natalie being who she is I wondered if she would try to suggest other options to the patient. If the patient couldn't carry a pregnancy might she be a candidate for in-vitro fertilization with the embryo being implanted into a surrogate? Not that anything like that is easy or cheap but if the couple wanted a child of their own that badly... nothing is more difficult or costly than losing a life.

Whether it's seen as rational or not (and, despite being an atheist, I can empathize), I would guess that from the perspective of the patient, by the time the episode took place, it was less about being able to have a child and more about wanting to protect the one that she was carrying.

The time for alternate fertility counseling would have been when the problems with her reproductive system were first discovered - yes, it's quite possible that those methods were suggested to her at that point and she turned them down because she preferred to rely on faith, but neither she nor the husband, at the beginning of the storyline, acted like they'd previously been told about her high likelihood of having an ectopic pregnancy even if she did manage to conceive.

[Chas411]

On 15 October 2018 at 2:54 PM, watcher1006 said:

Speaking of, it's really, REALLY rich of Natalie to tell the obnoxious med student not to inject her personal opinions into caring for the patient.  Has Natalie ever watched this show?

I think Natalie's sudden understanding of what a patient wants rather the what she wants for them was more a it point then anything else. They needed the student to be the bullish and ignorant doctor in the situation rather then her as they were planning to address the fact that it's an appalling way to approach medicine. When Natalie does stupid things she's usually praised and applauded.

April is currently surpassing her though as the most frustrating character ever. What a wench. Nothing Ethan does is good enough. She's a judgemental ass.