Chicago Med season 1, episode 3 rewatch: Fallback
Look back at where Chicago Med began this summer. Read our retrospective on the third episode as we rewatch Chicago Med season 1, episode 3.
Over the One Chicago summer break, we’re looking back at where it all began by rewatching the first seasons of our shows—and today we’re revisiting Chicago Med season 1, episode 3.
If you want to rewatch this episode along with us, you can find Chicago Med season 1 on iTunes and DVD.
The third episode is called “Fallback” and it’s really a feature piece for Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell), both on its own and in that it introduces several characters who will play major roles in his story for a long time to come.
This is the episode that lays out Connor’s backstory, as we’re introduced to his sister Claire (guest star Christina Brucato, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) when her fiancee is impaled by a falling ornate chandelier at the family department store.
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Naturally, Connor is bound and determined to save him, since not only is he the man that Claire loves but he’s also a friend that Connor’s known for years.
However, his estranged father Cornelius (D.W. Moffett) makes his first appearance in “Fallback” as well. And he immediately puts himself on our list of One Chicago’s worst fathers when he begins to kvetch about the financial cost of the life-saving medical treatment.
As if that’s not enough, this episode also marks the debut of Connor’s first love interest, fellow trauma surgeon Dr. Samantha “Sam” Zanetti (Julie Berman, who’s now on Hulu‘s Casual).
In retrospect, when you look back at Sam, she’s not that much different from his current love interest Dr. Ava Bekker (Norma Kuhling). In both cases, they work together. In both cases, she’s got a bit of an attitude toward Connor on the job. And in both cases, professional ambition gets in the way. That’s part of the reason we’ve yet to warm to Ava in that way—the storyline feels too familiar.
But already you get a sense of why Connor is the way he is, because you can see the forces at play in his life both inside and outside the hospital, and now you know more about the family business. So if you’re a Dr. Rhodes fan, this one is a must-watch (or rewatch, as the case may be).
“Fallback” also has a subplot for Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto). Natalie treats a musician who is worried about having a life-saving surgery, because it could take away her hearing and thus her career.
This is how Chicago Med season 1 reveals that Natalie plays the violin, as she once again is able to empathize with her patients and get them to open up to her. Play the video above to see Natalie’s musical talent, which we’d also see come back in the third season.
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“Fallback” is an episode worth watching because it drops some important details about both her and Connor, and gives us more perspective on who they both are. A lot of shows struggle with the ability to weave backstory into present-day plots without making it terribly obvious, but this episode does so seamlessly as we see how Connor’s past colors his approach to the surgery and vice versa.
Not to mention, we have characters here that we’ll see again, for better and for worse (we’re looking at you, Cornelius). Watch it again on iTunes and DVD.
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Join us every Tuesday this summer for our Chicago Med season 1 review. For more Chicago Med related news, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.