Two years ago, Chicago Med changed Connor Rhodes’ career in Chicago Med season 1, episode 8. Look back at the episode in our February Flashback.
With Chicago Med taking most of February off for the Winter Olympics, we’re rolling back the clock and revisiting the Chicago Med episodes that previously aired this month.
Two years ago today, Chicago Med premiered “Reunion,” an episode that’s best known for totally changing the direction of one character’s career (and possibly his life).
That seems strange to say considering it was only the show’s eighth episode, but it’s true!
“Reunion” introduced the eccentric yet talented Dr. David Downey (recurring guest star Gregg Henry), when he was called in to perform surgery on a Saudi prince who insisted that only Dr. Downey was good enough for him.
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Downey crossed paths with Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell), and would take a liking to his work, starting to mentor him and ultimately convincing Connor to change his specialty from trauma surgery to cardiothoracic surgery—where Dr. Rhodes remains today.
The career move also contributed to the demise of Connor’s relationship with fellow trauma surgeon Dr. Sam Zanetti (recurring player Julie Berman).
And as if that wasn’t enough, Downey’s death at the end of Chicago Med season 1 would prove to be one of the most formative moments of Connor’s whole life, in part because he was involved in it. But that’s for another retrospective!
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“Reunion” set all of those storylines up in one episode. Looking back at it, you also realize how international the hospital gets, from treating a Saudi prince here to Chinese diplomats wanting to help a panda in the following season. Obviously Gaffney Chicago Medical Center has one heck of a reputation!
Aside from Connor’s storyline, this was also a good episode for our various shippers. It’s the episode where Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) came back to work after giving birth, so there were cute Manstead moments throughout that only reaffirmed they had to end up together.
And there was also the development of the romance between Dr. Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo) and lab tech Joey (recurring actor Peter Mark Kendall). The two broke up before the end of season 2, so it didn’t last, but it’s still cute to watch them awkwardly stumble their way into being together.
“Reunion” was an early episode that showed promise for Chicago Med. We saw great work from Colin Donnell as Connor was as confused yet intrigued as we were, while the show also laid a bit of a foundation for several relationships outside of the OR. It’s still well worth watching, if only as we know where it all leads!
Next: Chicago Med schedule for Winter Olympics
You can re-watch Chicago Med season 1, episode 8 on DVD or iTunes. Check back all month long as we revisit the episodes that aired throughout February!