Chicago Med season 5, episode 15 recap: I Will Do No Harm

Marcel and Choi

Dr. Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains) and Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) treat a prisoner being transferred from Indiana. Marcel quickly deduces that Walter must have compartment syndrome, and Choi asks the guards how that could have happened. It turns out that Walter was in the middle of being executed, and he didn’t die.

The duo call Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) for guidance, especially since they have no idea what was in the lethal injection. Goodwin tells them they’re expected to treat the guy and transfer him back to prison for another execution. Marcel finds this counter-intuitive; Choi says it’s not their problem.

But before they can ship Walter out of Chicago Med, his condition worsens. Choi declares that the patient’s arm is lost and needs to be amputated in the hybrid OR. Marcel asks what the point is of taking his arm if he’s going to die anyway. He suggests just making Walter comfortable and letting the issues run their course. “We’re doctors, not executioners,” Choi replies, and Marcel backs down, though it’s clear he’s not happy about it.

He performs the amputation yet while doing so, notices that the necrosis affecting the arm has spread to Walter’s chest and his shoulders. “We’ve got to keep going,” Marcel says, and we all cringe again for an entirely different reason. Choi and Marcel get into a glaring contest while Marcel tries to do something, anything, but Walter goes into cardiac arrest and they let him die. The prison guards complain about this, but they have no choice except to leave empty-handed.

Goodwin asks her doctors if there’s anything she needs to know, but Choi assures her that he and Marcel did everything they could. Goodwin is pretty aware that she’s being lied to, and the whole situation is such a downer that Choi tells April they should go have a drink with Crockett.  “Why don’t you go ahead?” April suggests, which is enough for Choi to immediately drop the nice gesture toward his colleague and decide that a date with his fiancee is more important. Well, maybe it’s the thought that counts?

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