February flashback: Chicago Med season 1, episode 9
By Deb Foster
Two years ago, Chicago Med started Dr. Will Halstead’s legal issues in Chicago Med season 1, episode 9. Look back on 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, “Choices” was an appropriate title as Chicago Med season 1, episode 9 was all about characters making decisions that changed their lives.
Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) had to confront his own personal demons after treating a woman suffering a seizure suddenly took a whole new direction when she had a psychotic episode in the ED.
After it was discovered that her seizure was caused by complications from the lithium used to treat her underlying bipolar disorder, Dr. Choi angrily disagreed with Dr. Daniel Charles’ (Oliver Platt) and the patient’s choice to continue taking the drug. Choi believed her psychiatric illness was not a medical issue but a personal choice, a weakness.
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But later in a powerful scene, an uncharacteristically vulnerable Choi reached out to Dr. Charles sharing that he was unable to sleep, suffering from nightmares and flashbacks over the death of a child he witnessed while on active duty.
A visibly stunned Charles recognized Choi was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and let his colleague know he was there to help however possible.
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“Choices” was also another tough episode for Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss). Conflicted over the loss of his own mother to cancer, Halstead was challenged by a patient with end-stage lymphoma who had a Do Not Resuscitate order.
She had made the decision to die on her own terms; a decision that Halstead refused to accept. Against the patient’s wishes, Dr. Manning’s instructions and the DNR, he not only resuscitated and intubated her but also set up a new, experimental treatment for the underlying cancer.
All of those choices led to the patient filing suit against the hospital and left Halstead on the verge of termination—and would continue to be an issue for him in the second season when he tried to sort out his insurance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) had a big choice of his own to make. After being introduced in the previous episode, visiting cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. David Downey (guest star Gregg Henry) was singling Rhodes out for attention and pulling strings to get him to assist in his surgeries.
Connor was uneasy with the attention, thinking Downey was “just a pothead” looking for ego strokes. But when we found out Downey was dying from liver cancer, his real motivation was clear: he recognized Rhodes’ potential and simply wanted to teach him everything he could before he passed.
Connor’s choice to change from trauma surgery to cardiothoracic surgery changed him, and some could say the course of Chicago Med, forever.
Next: What Chicago Med fans can watch during the Olympics
You can re-watch Chicago Med season 1, episode 9 on DVD or iTunes. Check back all month long as we revisit the episodes that aired throughout February!