Chicago Med 7×04 “Status Quo, aka The Mess We’re In” is about systems, and people. In many ways, that’s a little what One Chicago in general is about, too. The police system, the medical system, the first responders …and then, the people who inhabit those systems.
Perhaps Chicago Fire is the more well adjusted of the shows because even though that system has its issues, it works better than the police system or the medical system do. We all know the issues with the police system, but the issues with the medical system often go unnoticed, though they are, in many ways, just as insidious. Because the medical system is so much about profit, when it should be about people.
On Chicago Med 7×04 “Status Quo, aka The Mess We’re In” we see that good people aren’t enough to change the system – but the system also cannot be changed without good people. It’s a very weird dichotomy, and yet it holds true. There’s no shortage of good people in the medical field, if we’ve learned something from the past year and a half, it’s this. It’s however, not enough for the individuals who treat us to be the kind of people who want to change, the people who have access to the gears of the entire thing have to be willing to change too.
Just like with the police. Early during this episode, we see Dr. Scott step between a patient, someone he knows, and a potential bullet. That patient didn’t need a cop, he needed a doctor. And that’s exactly what proponents of police reform have been talking about. This episode isn’t sending a political message, not really, but also, in many ways, it is. Because the answers are simple – and they should not be political.
They should be about doing what’s best for people.
More often than not, that’s obvious, no matter what your political affiliation is. The rest is just …trying to win fictional points in a fictional war.
Going into season 7 I didn’t really expect Chicago Med to be the show to send these messages as effectively as they are, but the more I think about it, the more they are exactly the show that should be doing it – particularly with brothers Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. to reinforce the idea.
But the show needed a compelling character or two outside of the ones we already knew, and a compelling dynamic or two, to replaces the ones we were losing with the departures of April and Natalie. Did I expect it to work as well as it has? I can’t say I did. Am I happy at the results? I can’t say I’m not.
Used to be I wasn’t invested in anyone, not really. Now I’m getting to the point where there are no storylines I want to turn away from – no, not even Archer’s. And in season 7, that’s not just a great sign, it’s something akin to a miracle.
- I like Dylan seeing straight through Maggie.
- I also like Dylan helping.
- Fine, I just like Dylan.
- Maggie and Stevie agreeing about Vanessa and Crockett is basically us.
- Dr. Charles is just a calming presence, I swear.
- Archer isn’t even helpful when he’s actually being helpful, lol.
- Stevie and Vanessa working together is something I didn’t know I wanted, and now I can’t stop thinking about.
- Treating patients with a checklist is the worst way to treat a patient.
- Where’s this Crockett storyline going? I cannot imagine it’s heading towards him wanting to become …a specialist, but I also have no idea where it’s actually going.
- Just the fact that Will is having a crisis of conscience is more growth than we’ve seen from him in the past six years.
- Ugh, the Vanessa and Crockett thing is worrying me MORE now. Hopefully they leave it as just as a crush, and a reason for Stevie and Vanessa to bond. If it’s that, then I’m game.
- Oh, Stevie was married. The plot thickens.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago Med 7×04 “Status Quo, aka The Mess We’re In”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.
