S04.E18: Tell Me The Truth

[WendyCR72]

An alarming phone call prompts Rhodes to rush out of an important surgery; Halstead comes to the aid of an FBI agent who is brought into the ED; Manning and Choi find themselves on opposite sides of a disagreement over doctor-patient confidentiality.

[wonderwoman]

i'm callling it now: ava was behind the robin scam. 

oh yes,: choi was beyond insufferable. 

[Ohwell]

Ava is one crazy bitch but the good thing is Rhodes suspects her.  I can't wait until he busts her. 

I was afraid that Choi's sister would be coming back.  April and Choi have enough issues without the sister complicating things, so maybe the baby will help calm things down.  Or make things worse.

[cathmed]

All I can say is that I hope Choi's sister storyline is short lived.  April had her own issues with Choi's sister initially.   Besides, it was a tension-filled seesaw, among the three of them, that may me nauseous--one minute supportive, next minute, not.   April continues to play games once again by "hiding" his sister.  I mean, it is Choi's sister and even with their differing viewpoints, he'd help.  And BTW, hate April's new hair; doesn't do anything for her!

Manning was wrong from the beginning.  The girl is a minor and parental consent was required.   After all that back and forth, the lawyers determine the same thing.  So, the dad - was he the step-parent or just  a dad that never knew his wife cheated on him (and didn't know that wasn't his daughter?)  Although when Choi mentioned uterus, I thought perhaps the dad then knew she was pregnant but as it ends up, he's just clueless and will never know the truth.

Mentioned last week that I thought it would be Robyn in danger; who would have thought it was a scam, and I believe perpetrated by Ava (and to undermine Connor?)?  Maybe the rich VIP will take Ava to his country/be his personal concierge doctor and she's out.   

Sorry it will be another 2 weeks for next episode *sigh*   Guess they want to finish up for May sweeps!

[doLLish]

Ava is so behind that scam and I can’t lie, I’m loving that they’ve made her unhinged because that fits the character way more than her and Connor being in any kind of romantic relationship. I also love that Connor is onto her. I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Edited April 4, 2019 by doLLish

[Ohwell]

I didn't even want to discuss Manning because, honestly, any talk about her gives me a headache.  She was clearly wrong since the girl was a minor, and the lawyers agreed.  But still, she tried to give Choi a hard time.   

Will dodged a bullet.  Also, I think that Maggie needs to mind her own business.  

[statsgirl]

And today's moral, children, was about telling the truth.

I understand that Ingrid was upset about how the raid right down but did she really think that not telling Will the real injury is

Jenny got perfect on her SATs. Which must be a lie because no one gets perfect on those.

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

I didn't even want to discuss Manning because, honestly, any talk about her gives me a headache.  She was clearly wrong since the girl was a minor, and the lawyers agreed.  But still, she tried to give Choi a hard time. 

That really depends on the jurisdiction. Where I live, 16 - 18 is a legal;l grey area and  I think here the doctors would not have had to tell her parents. Permission to do the D&C, yes, but not that why she needed it.

The one thing the show got right today was the dilemma of telling the (not-bio) father.  A parent's responsibility it to take care of their child  Both Jenny and her mother felt that he found out that she had attempted an abortion, he would reject her. This wasn't a case where Jenny lied for the sake of lying or to get an easy way out, she lied because she could not tell her father the truth.  If she had told him, it would have destroyed her family and likely have led to her being ejected from it. And that's on the father, not Jenny. If he had been even the slightest bit flexible, they could have told him.

I think Choi was very wrong. (Or operating at stage 4 in the Kohlberg's stages of moral development where it is important to obey laws because it's important to obey laws.)

taps foot waiting to find out that Bekker was the one who set up the fake kidnapping

ETA: the kid who got vaccinated against his parents wishes started show his mother scientific articles when he was 15. Sometimes parents aren't always right.

Edited April 4, 2019 by statsgirl

[rhys]

30 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Jenny got perfect on her SATs. Which must be a lie because no one gets perfect on those.

That's odd. Every year in our newspaper, there's always some high school kid or two who makes the news for a perfect score.

[statsgirl]

1 minute ago, rhys said:

That's odd. Every year in our newspaper, there's always some high school kid or two who makes the news for a perfect score.

I stand corrected. No one I've heard of got perfect but I shouldn't have ruled it out.

[rhys]

Well due to recent  news about college scandals, it did make me wonder!

Edited April 4, 2019 by rhys

[cathmed]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

Will dodged a bullet.  Also, I think that Maggie needs to mind her own business.  

Right.  She had been so supportive of Natalie and her relationship with Phillip; what has changed?   Maggie advised Will to move on/let it go and now she wants Nat to give "Big Red" another chance?   Made no sense!

[cathmed]

2 hours ago, doLLish said:

I also love that Connor is onto her. I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Keeping fingers crossed and certainly hope so but you never know with the writers.  Since Robyn (Mekia Cox) isn't returning permanently, they may twist this situation and accuse her of the scam.   I'm definitely hoping they don't go down that road and she simply returns to her life when her mom leaves the hospital.

[Rabithed]

26 minutes ago, cathmed said:

Right.  She had been so supportive of Natalie and her relationship with Phillip; what has changed?   Maggie advised Will to move on/let it go and now she wants Nat to give "BigRed" another chance?   Made no sense!

LOL @ “Big Red”. That always makes me snicker! 🙂 He is such an odd man. Being passive aggressive when the agent did not want to talk about the accident...though why she made up the car accident reason for her sick partner was really dumb. I forgave her when she told him what really happened.  I teared up and I would have been a big mess in that situation.  

[LittleIggy]

I think the lying mother was sleeping around back in the day. The guy that knocked her up wouldn’t marry her so she picked the next guy in line, told him he was the father, and got married. I feel sorry for the daughter since her mother thinks she is a “murderer.” 😡

Can’t wait until Becker gets busted. I knew that phone call was phony. Who would kidnap Robin and call her ex-boyfriend? Those scams usually involve calling a parent or grandparent.

[CoyoteBlue]

1 hour ago, LittleIggy said:

I knew that phone call was phony. Who would kidnap Robin and call her ex-boyfriend? Those scams usually involve calling a parent or grandparent.

Yeah, but Rhodes has the shitload of money. Mom had medical bills to pay.

You'd think they could pass the girl's issue off as a heavy period gone bad? How much would non-medical people know? I had no period for 5 years and then a 6-month-long period so severe that made me wonder if I would run out of blood eventually. Say her uterine lining didn't seem to completely shed during her last period and it was becoming septic and had to be cleaned out. A freak thing, but no big deal. 

[bourbon]

First time I EVER agreed with Manning. Go, Nat. Minor or not, her wishes should have been respected on this issue. Choi is insufferable. And the minute a doctor says to me, "Don't you think you should tell your husband?" is the minute I request a new doctor. Whether or not I tell my spouse is MY business. Just treat my child. 

That said...I get that they need tension, but the whole thing made no sense. Manning is oh-so-self-righteous and Choi a little more laid back. I expected their roles to be reversed on this. Honestly, I think the writers just flip a coin.

Why is Maggie of all people, who gave  near complete stranger her freaking kidney, giving side-eye to Natalie for dating the widower with the baby? Halstead is a gross, whiny man-baby. Why is he pressuring Ingrid to give him the story of the meth lab? She told you what you need to know to treat the agent. Leave her alone. She owes you nothing. 

The Bekker story is bizarre. If I cared, I'd call it character assassination. There has never been any indication that she was unhinged. *She* was the one who was aloof and seemed not to care about Rhodes, and now she's a stalker? The intentional cutting? The "kidnapping?" It's so weird. I sincerely hope it turns out that she is NOT unhinged, otherwise it's just really bizarre writing. But why am i surprised. 

[BooksRule]

I know I haven't missed any episodes, but I felt like I had when I watched this one.  When the female FBI agent showed up, I couldn't figure out who she was and why I was supposed to know her.  I still wouldn't have known if 'Big Red' (ha!) hadn't mentioned the dog park.  It just seemed like I should have seen her somewhere between the scene where he met her and now.  Also, when did Choi and April start making plans to get together?  That scene where she kept putting him off made it look like they had started seeing each other again (even just 'as friends'), but it came out of the blue to me.  

I also think Ava is behind the scam (and I still wonder if she faked the whole injury thing somehow).  I never liked her character, but I'm beginning to like her a little more--she's more interesting as a person who might soon become unhinged.

Edited April 4, 2019 by BooksRule
'thing' not 'think'

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, statsgirl said:

That really depends on the jurisdiction. Where I live, 16 - 18 is a legal;l grey area and  I think here the doctors would not have had to tell her parents. Permission to do the D&C, yes, but not that why she needed it.

But certainly the lawyers discussed jurisdiction.

[Guildford]

Why does Colin Donnell's beard look like a merkin that's been glued to his face?

[spunky]

I'm 99.9% positive Ava was behind that scam. Ethan needs to stop being so judgemental of his sister and be more supportive. The fact that she reached out to his ex for help instead of him says a lot. He was also pretty annoying with trying to find out if April had a new man. 

Shut up Natalie. While the patient did decide she didn't want her parents to know, Natalie was being her overly self righteous self again. 

Will and Ingrid (agent Lee) had more chemistry in 5 minutes than he and Natalie had their entire relationship. Let's hope the writers keep her around for a while. 

[VinceW]

10 hours ago, bourbon said:

.....The Bekker story is bizarre. If I cared, I'd call it character assassination. There has never been any indication that she was unhinged. *She* was the one who was aloof and seemed not to care about Rhodes, and now she's a stalker? The intentional cutting? The "kidnapping?" It's so weird. I sincerely hope it turns out that she is NOT unhinged, otherwise it's just really bizarre writing. But why am i surprised. 

Agree. The Ava implications are bizarre especially the stalking and kidnap hoax. There is no evidence she is behind anything, but she is just doing her job for the most part. Connor is the one acting as a control freak as usual and he is scary as a surgeon on edge all the time. I don't think Ava lies especially about the father issue. Just silly writing to keep the angst going between them until the finale or someone is out to sabotage the surgery department.

Edited April 4, 2019 by VinceW

[spunky]

11 hours ago, cathmed said:

Right.  She had been so supportive of Natalie and her relationship with Phillip; what has changed?   Maggie advised Will to move on/let it go and now she wants Nat to give "Big Red" another chance?   Made no sense!

Maybe she's sensing that something is off with Phillip. Just something about him seems creepy.

[Chick2Chic]

Count me in as one who thinks Ava was behind the call about Robin. The timing was just too coincidental and Ava was able to swoop in to save the day after replacing Latham on the surgery. (How sway??). The way she's been watching Connor & Robin and her reaction to them, she has to know that Robin is a huge weakness in Connor's armor. I appreciated Sharon commenting on how everything worked out well for Ava at the end of the ep. Connor and Sharon are aware and on alert now. 

Ava has always rubbed me wrong. I have found her off-putting from jump though her behavior IMO was exacerbated by that failed whatever she had with Connor. I remember Ava trying to flirt with Connor when he was still with Robin. Connor would look annoyed by Ava's attempts at that too. It's been downhill since then for her in my eyes. Connor broke up with Ava not just cause of the dad thing but because of her "ends justifying the means" belief bothered him greatly as she seemed too ruthless / cold /  emotionally void regarding things as long as the end result was relatively positive. I can totally buy her doing all this to punish Connor and I think seeing Robin again just ups that anger / vengeance in her. I noticed she took time yet again to remind him about her HIV meds... and I'm still suspicious that she set that situation up so that he would cut her. 

I usually am fine with Ethan though he annoyed me with last week's ep but man was the self-righteousness off the charts in this ep. Ick.

I didn't mind April's haircut. It's a bit off but I'm fine with it. 

Will & Ingrid have decent chemistry but it needs not to be rushed.

I enjoy the Charles family. I need the show to find a way to keep Robin and CC around for S5.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Chick2Chic
fixed something.

[izabella]

I did not know doctors could take random calls from unknown numbers when they are in the middle of a major surgery, and can just run out with the patient on the table. 

Connor needs to calm the fuck down.  I am sick of him being such an overly dramatic drama queen every episode.

Ethan needs to take several seats.  He is as bad as Natalie now with the insufferable know-it-all insistence on HIS way. 

[atiyah9369]

17 hours ago, wonderwoman said:

i'm callling it now: ava was behind the robin scam. 

oh yes,: choi was beyond insufferable. 

Yep, I don't trust that psychotic heffa.

[preeya]

3 hours ago, spunky said:

Ethan needs to stop being so judgemental of his sister and be more supportive

Ethan is judgemental about EVERYTHING.

[Ohwell]

Ethan has already been through hell dealing with his sister, so I can understand him being cautious around her.  Sure, he'll warm up to his nephew but he'll probably never trust his sister and I don't blame him. 

And I'm pretty sure April enjoyed being coy with him, making him think that there was another guy. 

[ECM1231]

I've missed a few episodes here and there. What was the outcome of Rhodes' dad's accusations that Ava slept with him in order to get the money for the special state of the art operating facility at Chicago Med?  Isn't that why Connor stopped seeing Ava?  Do we know definitively if she did sleep with Connor's dad just so she could get the funding?

[Quark]

I couldn't help but laugh at all the Natalie/Ethan stuff. It was just so easy for Natalie to lie to everyone.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, ECM1231 said:

I've missed a few episodes here and there. What was the outcome of Rhodes' dad's accusations that Ava slept with him in order to get the money for the special state of the art operating facility at Chicago Med?  Isn't that why Connor stopped seeing Ava?  Do we know definitively if she did sleep with Connor's dad just so she could get the funding?

I don't think we know yet.  The writers like to keep us in suspense and we probably won't know the truth until the season finale, when we find out if she cut herself or made the kidnap call. 

[statsgirl]

I find the question of "should/shouldn't they tell Jenny's parents" an interesting one. I think that the whole idea of "you have to tell a child's parents what's going on" is based on the assumption that the parent has the child's best interests at heart and will make the decision that is best for the child. In the case of this father, that wasn't true. By not telling him that Jenny had attempted to have an abortion, Nat, Choi and the mum were actually the ones protecting Jenny.

9 hours ago, bourbon said:

The Bekker story is bizarre. If I cared, I'd call it character assassination. There has never been any indication that she was unhinged. *She* was the one who was aloof and seemed not to care about Rhodes, and now she's a stalker? The intentional cutting? The "kidnapping?" It's so weird. I sincerely hope it turns out that she is NOT unhinged, otherwise it's just really bizarre writing. But why am i surprised. 

No, they've been flirting with putting her into the bunny-boiler category for over two seasons now. She's alternated between being a ruthless competitor of Connor to flirting with him to cutting him out of surgeries when he broke up with her. She started putting the moves on Connor when he was still with Robyn and it's strongly suspected that she slept with his father to get the money for the ED OR so that Connor wouldn't go to the Mayo clinic. After he broke up with her, she may have faked getting a cut from a patient who was HIV positive to get his sympathy and she was clearly jealous of Robyn when she showed up a few episodes ago.

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

And I'm pretty sure April enjoyed being coy with him, making him think that there was another guy. 

Yeah, that's April all right. My  opinion of Choi has gone down so much, I'm beginning to think that they deserve each other.

[spunky]

3 hours ago, preeya said:

Ethan is judgemental about EVERYTHING.

If this isn't the truth. He's becoming super annoying.

[weathered1]

For what it's worth, I'm hoping Ava isn't behind all of this stuff; not because I have any great fondness for the character, but because the writers have made it so incredibly obvious. It would be one thing if all of these things happened to Connor and maybe he began to grow a little suspicious, but last night, they practically had her twirling a cartoon mustache. And now even Sharon suspects her. These writers wouldn't know subtlety if it smacked them in the face, but it would be infinitely more interesting if this were all a giant red herring and perhaps someone like Robin is the real culprit. 

I don't dislike Robin, but her relationship with Connor did grow tiresome for me. Plus, I'm not sure what it was, but something about the exchange where she told her father that he knew that she goes swimming every day during lunch and he denied knowing that seemed kind of odd to me. Ultimately, I think it's a bit much for Connor's last two major love interests to both have extreme mental disorders. And if this is about getting rid of Ava, I can't imagine that when she's officially accused of doing these things, she'll want to stick around anyway. Basically, I just want the show to actually make this a relatively interesting story, though I realize the odds of that are about on par with them making these doctors not be entirely insufferable every single week.

[Guildford]

14 minutes ago, weathered1 said:

For what it's worth, I'm hoping Ava isn't behind all of this stuff; not because I have any great fondness for the character, but because the writers have made it so incredibly obvious. It would be one thing if all of these things happened to Connor and maybe he began to grow a little suspicious, but last night, they practically had her twirling a cartoon mustache. And now even Sharon suspects her. These writers wouldn't know subtlety if it smacked them in the face, but it would be infinitely more interesting if this were all a giant red herring and perhaps someone like Robin is the real culprit. 

I don't dislike Robin, but her relationship with Connor did grow tiresome for me. Plus, I'm not sure what it was, but something about the exchange where she told her father that he knew that she goes swimming every day during lunch and he denied knowing that seemed kind of odd to me. Ultimately, I think it's a bit much for Connor's last two major love interests to both have extreme mental disorders. And if this is about getting rid of Ava, I can't imagine that when she's officially accused of doing these things, she'll want to stick around anyway. Basically, I just want the show to actually make this a relatively interesting story, though I realize the odds of that are about on par with them making these doctors not be entirely insufferable every single week.

Couldn't have said it better myself. 

If the writer's are setting up Ava to be this psychopathic bunny boiler then it is incredibly insulting to the audience how blatantly obvious they are making it. It's over the top and cringeworthy and not compelling TV. There has to be some big pay off coming and having Ava be the villian is too easy. I don't like her as a character and wouldn't miss her if she goes, but this level of crazy is nauseatingly bad.

Connor on the other hand has more issues than I've had hot dinners. Yikes, his over reacting to everything is tiresome. He's now firmly in the annoying character bucket with Nat, Will, Ethan, & April. (So basically all of them.)

[statsgirl]

The way that new manager practically crowned Ava in front of the rich patient, it wouldn't be surprised if this is a plot to get rid of both of them at the end of the season.

Does anyone else find the idea of a concierge hospital wing for the rich revolting?

Edited April 4, 2019 by statsgirl

[preeya]

51 minutes ago, statsgirl said:

Does anyone else find the idea of a concierge hospital wing for the rich revolting?

Yes! They have the same setup, only more elaborate, on The Resident and it truly is revolting.

Edited April 5, 2019 by preeya

[VinceW]

2 hours ago, statsgirl said:

The way that new manager practically crowned Ava in front of the rich patient, it wouldn't be surprised if this is a plot to get rid of both of them at the end of the season.

Does anyone else find the idea of a concierge hospital wing for the rich revolting?

It seems more likely that the new manager is pandering to Connor's father (Cornelius) on the board. It is well known among board members that Ava was instrumental in getting the father to fund the new ER surgery wing. This attention to Ava helps the father in his need to leverage her competitiveness against Connor to further undermine their working relationship and keep them apart.

Edited April 5, 2019 by VinceW

[memememe76]

I am so sick of everyone loving Connor and demanding only him to perform some surgery, I am cheering Ava on. If she actually did it. I suspect we will find out it is someone else.

Found Choi annoying. I was no Natalie's side. 

[alexvillage]

11 hours ago, weathered1 said:

I don't dislike Robin, but her relationship with Connor did grow tiresome for me

To me it is not only that , but the air of "untouchable" surrounding the character. I can't explain it better, she seems like a perfect doll, always so helpful, understanding, smiling, anywhere she is needed. Not real.

The writers really prove that they can be worst than I even imagined. Connor leaving the surgery when he has a patient's chest open, to run like a super hero because of a random phone call with a "scream" as proof of kidnap, knocking people down to get to the ban and demanding whatever amount of money RIGHT NOW... 

Bekker being behind it is even weird. Maybe the writers for a hospital/soap opera drama were unavailable and they had to call in some FBI show writers? Or War show writers? It was so over the top, the actor puffing as if he had just avoided the end of the world.

The story about the teen pregnancy could have be done in an interesting way. Again, the writers managed to confuse everything. Maybe they wanted to send a "message" about choice, then decided that "both sides" should have a say, ended up with a mess of annoyance. Then they just throw a parent who is pro-life and who lied to the husband, also pro-life, while both apparently know about the daughter's pregnancy but prefer to live in denial. Like I said, a mess that didn't really tell a story, just little snippets of boring looks, bickering among doctors for no real reason.

I can't stand the FBI agent, I can't stand Will, so they are good together to make get in another sting and be gone forever.

Is Dr. Charles having memory problems? What was that about? Another weird thing they just threw in there to se it it would stick. 

Choi is a stalker. The way he was pressuring April to go out was creepy and I even sympathized with Big Lashes.

[preeya]

3 hours ago, alexvillage said:

The story about the teen pregnancy could have be done in an interesting way. Again, the writers managed to confuse everything. Maybe they wanted to send a "message" about choice, then decided that "both sides" should have a say, ended up with a mess of annoyance. Then they just throw a parent who is pro-life and who lied to the husband, also pro-life, while both apparently know about the daughter's pregnancy but prefer to live in denial. Like I said, a mess that didn't really tell a story, just little snippets of boring looks, bickering among doctors for no real reason.

At first, I thought the daughter was a victim of incest with the father. Perhaps that might have been a better storyline.

[Chick2Chic]

16 hours ago, weathered1 said:

These writers wouldn't know subtlety if it smacked them in the face, but it would be infinitely more interesting if this were all a giant red herring and perhaps someone like Robin is the real culprit. 

I'm not sure this works for me cause even if Robin was behind the fake kidnapping - and why would she be? she has no animus towards Connor and she's not ever been shown to be coldblooded like that so I'm not sure what she'd gain or how it would make the story more interesting. Sure, it could be a momentary shock but that doesn't make it interesting or sensical IMO - what about all the other things that are specific to Ava's onscreen behavior like the cut, the jealous looks, the hybrid OR situation with Connor's father... what would Robin have to do with those things? I like twists if it makes sense but sometimes things are obvious because the conclusion to the narrative is linear. Obviously mileage varies. 

I mean, I like Robin and I like that Chicago Med has shown that Connor is still love with her, which makes sense considering how deeply he spiraled after she left. I would love for Mekia Cox to stay around for S5 because I like Robin and I like how Connor lights up around her. I like the Charles family interactions as well. Now that Robin is healthy again, I'd like the show to revisit things between them. 

[weathered1]

11 hours ago, alexvillage said:

To me it is not only that , but the air of "untouchable" surrounding the character. I can't explain it better, she seems like a perfect doll, always so helpful, understanding, smiling, anywhere she is needed. Not real.

4

That's a good point, and it certainly ties into how she's being portrayed now: all of a sudden, even with as extreme as her downward spiral was. 

As to the question of why Robin would do these things, I suppose the writers could say that at some point, she became fixated on Connor, and either decided that she wanted to hurt him or that she wanted to frame Ava (who had been his bed buddy for a while) to get her out of the picture or even both. In addition to the odd moment with her father, I did also find it somewhat peculiar that she didn't seem more bothered by the fact that someone had claimed to have kidnapped her, which caused Connor and her father to experience so much panic, anxiety, etc. etc. 

This is all probably just grasping at straws, but I can't help but feel like, as thoroughly unlikable as Ava has been written since literally her very first scene, we've never seen a hint that she was unhinged enough to do these things. She's been a myriad of negative things - obnoxious, arrogant, antagonistic, argumentative, cold, manipulative, petulant, and the list goes on - but her mental health has never been called into question, yet now there's all of this. 

Eh. I'm probably spending far too much time thinking about something that will most likely simply be yet another mind-bogglingly poorly written story.

Edited April 5, 2019 by weathered1
edited to remove references to Robin's recovery as I'd momentarily blocked out how that part of the storyline was eventually resolved

[Chick2Chic]

1 minute ago, weathered1 said:

This is all probably just grasping at straws, but I can't help but feel like, as thoroughly unlikable as Ava has been written since literally her very first scene, we've never seen a hint that she was unhinged enough to do these things. She's been a myriad of negative things - obnoxious, arrogant, antagonistic, argumentative, cold, manipulative, petulant, and the list goes on - but her mental health has never been called into question, yet now there's all of this. 

So the way to make it make sense is to make Robin be unhinged or fixated on Connor even though it's very obvious that he'd run back to her if she simply asked? That doesn't work for me.

IMO the writers have shown Ava's trajectory pretty clearly to win by any means necessary and if she can't have Connor then she'll beat Connor, so all these things that point to her being off her trolley aren't a far jump for her. Who knows where this will go but it leaves a sour  taste in my mouth on levels to make Robin be the bad one in this when it would be completely out of character for her on top of ignoring the build up of behavior in Ava to lash out like this. 

[weathered1]

7 minutes ago, Chick2Chic said:

So the way to make it make sense is to make Robin be unhinged or fixated on Connor even though it's very obvious that he'd run back to her if she simply asked? That doesn't work for me.

IMO the writers have shown Ava's trajectory pretty clearly to win by any means necessary and if she can't have Connor then she'll beat Connor, so all these things that point to her being off her trolley aren't a far jump for her. Who knows where this will go but it leaves a sour  taste in my mouth on levels to make Robin be the bad one in this when it would be completely out of character for her on top of ignoring the build up of behavior in Ava to lash out like this. 

Robin was just an example. Would it make sense for her to act like this? No. Does it make sense for the always competitive and driven Ava to suddenly take that to such extremes (and again, for Connor to have back-to-back love interests with extreme mental disorders)? I don't think so. Being ambitious to a highly unpleasant extent doesn't equate to someone suddenly deciding to give Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction a run for her money (imo).

That said, a case could also be made for, say, the dark-haired ED/surgeon guy with whom Connor keeps butting heads. He seems to only show up to act like a dirtbag, so his involvement in some of these things wouldn't surprise me, but would that make a lot of sense either? Nope. Then there's the exceedingly unlikable hospital exec who has always had it out for Connor, his hybrid OR, and Sharon. Could she go to extremes just to oust Connor (and perhaps also Sharon) who has always been a thorn in her side? Who knows.

The point I'm trying to make is that the writing for this arc has been unsurprisingly awful. I'm just throwing out ideas trying to find a way that the writers won't be treating the viewers like utter simpletons by choosing to craft such an obvious resolution to this story. 

[Ailianna]

56 minutes ago, weathered1 said:

That's a good point, and it certainly ties into how she's being portrayed now: all of a sudden, even with as extreme as her downward spiral was, there isn't even the merest hint that anything was ever wrong with her. I know that medications and therapy can be immeasurably helpful, of course, but it's like nothing ever happened. And her mother being so very sick isn't giving Robin any bad moments at all? I don't know. Something feels a little off about this to me. Then again, I could just be reaching because I don't want the writers to have chosen an obnoxiously obvious route with this story. 

As to the question of why Robin would do these things, I suppose the writers could say that at some point, she became fixated on Connor, and either decided that she wanted to hurt him or that she wanted to frame Ava (who had been his bed buddy for a while) to get her out of the picture or even both. In addition to the odd moment with her father, I did also find it somewhat peculiar that she didn't seem more bothered by the fact that someone had claimed to have kidnapped her, which caused Connor and her father to experience so much panic, anxiety, etc. etc. 

This is all probably just grasping at straws, but I can't help but feel like, as thoroughly unlikable as Ava has been written since literally her very first scene, we've never seen a hint that she was unhinged enough to do these things. She's been a myriad of negative things - obnoxious, arrogant, antagonistic, argumentative, cold, manipulative, petulant, and the list goes on - but her mental health has never been called into question, yet now there's all of this. 

Eh. I'm probably spending far too much time thinking about something that will most likely simply be yet another mind-bogglingly poorly written story.

Quote

Does it make sense for the always competitive and driven Ava to suddenly take that to such extremes (and again, for Connor to have back-to-back love interests with extreme mental disorders)? 

Robin didn't have a mental health condition.  She was exposed to a virus which affected her *similarly* to some mental health problems, but it was clear she basically needed antibiotics and would be fine with a bit of time.  Enormous difference.  Mental health is a lifelong issue, like diabetes.  She had a virus--like a cold.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Ailianna

[weathered1]

21 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

Robin didn't have a mental health condition.  She was exposed to a virus which affected her *similarly* to some mental health problems, but it was clear she basically needed antibiotics and would be fine with a bit of time.  Enormous difference.  Mental health is a lifelong issue, like diabetes.  She had a virus--like a cold.

I only characterized it that way since so much time had been spent describing her behavior as being the product of a mental disorder/illness before they finally found the root cause. Of course, there is a marked difference between the two things, and your overall point regarding her recovery is well taken. 

Edited April 5, 2019 by weathered1

[statsgirl]

I thought Robyn had a tumor, a benign mediastinal teratoma that caused her to appear to have the signs of schizophrenia but it was a physical illness.

3 hours ago, weathered1 said:

Does it make sense for the always competitive and driven Ava to suddenly take that to such extremes (and again, for Connor to have back-to-back love interests with extreme mental disorders)? I don't think so. Being ambitious to a highly unpleasant extent doesn't equate to someone suddenly deciding to give Glenn Close's character in Fatal Attraction a run for her money (imo).

Ava has always been like that though. From when she first appeared, she was determined to beat Connor even though he wasn't competitive with her, while at the same time blatantly flirting with him even though he was with Robyn at the time. 

It's possible that they have been laying a series of red herrings since last season, the sketchiness between her and Rhodes Sr since last season, the nurse conveniently saying that she thought Ava deliberately cut herself, how Latham was scheduled to do the rich guy's surgery (I was really hoping to see him) and Ava appeared instead. But I don't give the writers that much credit. There is no other person really who would spend the time and energy to do this.

Whoever did the kidnapping scam on Connor put in a lot of effort to discredit him. The new ER chief doesn't like Connor but he doesn't benefit if Connor is kicked out of his position running the ED OR or discredited as Dr.. Downey's heir.  Ava does.

3 hours ago, weathered1 said:

The point I'm trying to make is that the writing for this arc has been unsurprisingly awful. I'm just throwing out ideas trying to find a way that the writers won't be treating the viewers like utter simpletons by choosing to craft such an obvious resolution to this story. 

Unsurprisingly awful writing is SOP on this show. Treating viewers like utter simpletons is its middle name.

Edited April 6, 2019 by statsgirl

[preeya]

4 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

There is little doubt that the minor's mother is a dirt bag.  If her husband really thinks he is the minor's father when he really isn't that is pretty horrible.

1

This is getting to be pretty much the norm on medical and cop shows where paternity becomes an issue.

[starri]

On 4/4/2019 at 7:38 PM, statsgirl said:

Does anyone else find the idea of a concierge hospital wing for the rich revolting?

And sadly, they're real.  I interviewed for residency at a hospital that had a floor that was just for orthopedic surgery VIPs.

I actually don't think it's Ava.  They're just telegraphing it too much.

[Lyanna19]

Ava is a B----, no doubt about it and personally I think she would or could be psychotic even to cut herself deliberately and all she's been doing to get into those surgeries. And yes, even set up that fake kidnapping. But... 

I think that's what the writers want us to think, and they'll have someone else that did all that, although for the life of me, I can't figure out who. 

Dr. Charles.... 🤔 Maybe we are gonna get a storyline about dementia or Alzheimer's? It isn't like him to forget... Just saying.