“Choice Words” was another great episode for the medical drama with the staff dealing with the aftermath of a plane crash. It was slow in terms of bringing the plot forward, but still incredibly entertaining.
After Devon relieves a drunk airline pilot from the ER and doesn’t report him to the board, a plane with the pilot’s same route crashes. For the majority of the episode, Devon feels bad about this, feels responsible. He blames himself for not reacting; he could have avoided the crash. He could have saved the passengers who died in the crash, and it clouds how he deals with other patients. In the end though, after having thought it through and when confronted by Conrad, he comes to the conclusion that he had made the right call, even if it caused harm to dozens of people. It seemed very bait and switch, a statement made only to disagree with Conrad.
The exchanges between Devon and Conrad continue to be tense. Devon thinks that patients should be able to come to them for help whatever the issue, he believes that they should never get in trouble for consulting, but Conrad tells him to make the call to Hipaa. Devon believes that patient doctor confidentiality extends to these types of situations while Conrad disagrees. Conrad believes that if a patient is a threat to others, he should be reported, which I would tend to agree on. Instead of listening to Conrad, Devon encourages the pilot to attend an AA meeting, which does not seem to make a huge impact on the pilot, as he throws the information in the trash on his way out. It is the crash of another plane that brings the pilot to his senses.
“The thing is, I didn’t make one. I was right not to report that pilot.” –Devon
When Devon tells Conrad he does not want to be the doctor he is, doesn’t want Conrad as a role model, Conrad seemed hurt, but did not want to show it. A few episodes back, Conrad tortured a serial murderer to locate a hostage, and Devon still has not gotten over it. In my opinion, the war between Devon and Conrad has stretched on long enough, as Devon seems to bring it up at random moments. Can Devon just get over it already, or at least just stop arguing with Conrad about it? It’s making me despise his character all over again.
Conrad’s conversation with Devon only seemed to reignite his desire to break the glass about patient confidentiality. Happening in the background in this week’s episode, Nic and Conrad try to understand what happened to Jessie and other patients who died of a pulmonary embolism after having dialysis. During a sleepless night, going over some patient records, Conrad discovered one medication that did not have a long history of safety records and they believe it might be the culprit. Upon further digging around the hospital, they come to learn that it’s standard for anemic patients at Chastain, but the doctors had not witnessed any adverse reactions to the medication. To get more information about the 200+ patients on the medication, they will need to complete tons of paperwork and navigate complex and slow channels. It will take months, if not longer. Nick completed the paperwork, and thinks they should wait, but Conrad seems trigger happy, but does he want this hanging over his head for the rest of his career?
Bell, sitting in coach, was on the plane when it crashed, but managed to get out without too many injuries. Passengers in first class were in worst shape than the ones in coach so Bell is grateful for Grayson’s mistake, but never again. He helped the others out of the plane, and assisted the injured. H was selfless, very unlike Bell. In the end, he offered his seat neighbor, who had been badly injured in the plane crash, the VIP suite at the hospital. He did this without expecting anything in return. If that isn’t a proof that Bell has at least changed a little bit, I don’t know what is. He seemed genuinely interested in the outcome of the man who was seated next to him on the plane, and there was nothing in it for him. He tried calling his wife, and was very sweet with her when she arrived. He was there during the x-rays, and there when he woke up. He seemed genuinely concerned.
Bell doesn’t come out of the plane crash completely uninjured. After falling to the ground in pain several hours after the crash, Bell is told he has a herniated disk. This seemed to ignite once more the tension between Cain and Vaus, who have opposite approaches on how to treat it. I feel like the neurosurgeon is jealous of the relationship between Bell and Vaus. Bell thinks highly of her, which Cain dismisses. She thinks that Bell need physical therapy, but Cain believes surgery is the way to go and it’s up to Bell to decide what he wants to do.
Then, in the operating room, the surgeons butt heads, Vaus not happy that Cain is leaving his surgery in the hands of a third year resident, and she is not afraid to voice her concerns. He does not appreciate it, he thinks he is so much better than everyone else because he bills 80 million. He’s starting to seriously get on my nerves. I can’t deal with people who think they are better than everyone else.
Mina spends most of the episode touring the labor & delivery ward of the hospital with her friend, helping her navigate the medical choices surrounding the birth of her child. Mid-day, Adaku springs on Mina that she would like her to be her baby’s godmother. She wants Mina to take care of the baby in the event of her death, which have chances significantly higher than average. Taken off guard, Mina simply lists off the reasons why it would not be a good idea for her to become the baby’s guardian. She will do everything in her power to make sure her friend does not die, but taking care of a kid is not in her wheelhouse. After talking with Austin though, Mina changes her mind and accepts. Family is family. I loved that in their time of need for validation, both Austin and Mina went to each other for comfort.
“Listen, you won’t know what you’ll find when you walk through their door, but you will know exactly what you’ll find when you walk back through ours. No matter what, we will always be there for you.” –Austin’s mama
Austin was also dealing with some family issues. He talked to his parents about meeting his birth father a few episodes back. He tells them what happened, how he operated on him, but does not want to know him, how he does not want to meet his birth mother. It was a touching moment with Austin, I love that we get to see this side of him this season. We get to see not only The Raptor, not only the surgeon, but also the man, the son, the human being. His parents are the sweetest most genuine people, so understanding. His mother told him when he is ready, he should meet his birth mother, and she will welcome him back with open arms.
I really enjoyed most of the episode, particularly everything surrounding Bell and Austin with his family. I give it a 7/10.
