“I won’t stand by and let her die.”
Natalie initially begins treatment for an Alzheimer’s patient, but when she realizes the patient is Dr. Bella Rowan, she immediately pages Will. Dr. Rowan was Will’s professor, and we’ve met her before—Will has an incredible amount of respect and admiration for Dr. Rowan, who he frequently visits at her nursing home. Dr. Rowan has pneumonia, and sadly, it was a late catch. So who messed up? Will takes his anger out on the nursing home representative, who likely, deserves it. How was this not caught sooner?
Will has always cared deeply for his patients—that’s never been the issue. His biggest battle is learning to separate the personal from the professional and since the early days of the Baker case, he’s come a long way. As Will watches a video of Dr. Rowan’s commencement speech at Will’s graduation, it’s clear he took her short but simple words to heart, “Treat the patient, not the disease.” This actually gives us a great deal of insight into how and why Will has always approached the job the way he has.
In the end, Will heeds Dr. Rowan’s words from her commencement speech all those years ago. He considers her quality of life and decides to let her go. Of course, what would a Will/Natalie case be without a little romantic drama, right? Honestly, there really wasn’t much of anything. Natalie naturally comforted Will after Dr. Rowan’s death, and Nina just happened to walk in the lounge as the two hugged. While I believe Nina and Will’s relationship is doomed, I don’t think either Natalie or Will had anything romantic in mind this hour.
Sharon also has a connection to Dr. Rowan. She was an OR nurse under Rowan and nearly quit, but thanks to her, stuck with it. In her early days, Sharon made a minor mistake in the OR and though a resident reamed her for it, Dr. Rowan chastised, “Everyone in the ER deserves civility.”
“Everyone in the ER deserves civility.”
There’s a new nurse at Chicago Med, and it’s not Anna from Chicago Fire. Monique begins her training under Maggie, and she’s clearly got a lot to learn. Thanks to Monique’s need for a tour, we finally learn what Baghdad is! It’s where the gunshot victims are treated. It was a small detail, but if you’re like me, you’ve wondered from the beginning what Maggie means every time she says it.
Maggie and Doris are frustrated with Monique at first, but after Sharon shares Dr. Rowan’s words with her, Maggie takes a new approach. Everyone was just starting out at some point, and that might be the most important thing to remember when training someone—especially for a job that deals with life and death on a daily basis.
“I know the type.”
But before we get into Connor’s case, we have to talk about Leah, who finally gets a name (or if we knew before, I forgot it). Leah has always a stalker vibe when it comes to Connor, and I’m wondering what the long-term plan is here for her. Anyway, the two treat Brandon, who is in for a heart surgery. Brandon’s father, Mitch, isn’t crazy about the life his son leads and hopes the surgery will change that—it’s a stereotypical situation where Brandon prefers supernatural fan fiction while his father wants a football player.
After surgical complications, Brandon’s only option, as far as his father knows, is to lose his arm to save his life. Leah wants Connor to pursue the riskier option, but Connor refuses to even present the option because he knows (or thinks he knows) what the father will pick. Connor is no stranger to a disappointed father and assumes Mitch will choose the riskier option in hopes of having a son he always wanted. He eventually tells him the truth, and while I wish I could say Connor was proved wrong, he wasn’t. But thankfully, Brandon does make it through. And as an added bonus, Robin changed her mind on the whole meet the sister thing! All in all, a good hour for Connor.
“Was there any moment of regret?”
But their contemplation time is cut short when Sean Adams, a pilot, comes into the hospital. He’s treated by Ethan, Sarah, and Dr. Charles. Sarah is quick to assume a depression diagnosis for Sean, overcompensating for missing the signs with Wheeler. Sean has anemia and needs a transfusion, but chooses to leave against medical advice. He doesn’t even make it to the door before collapsing and vomiting blood, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Eventually, Dr. Charles diagnoses Sean with a compulsion disorder—he ingests gasoline.
What did you think of the episode? What is Leah’s purpose on the show? Will we see more of Monique? How long until the inevitable Nina/Will breakup? Share your thoughts below!
