Chicago Med 7×16 “May Your Choices Reflect Hope, Not Fear” was, in a lot of ways, spoiled by its own title: It was about choices—about our characters deciding whether or not the things that scared them were going to hold them back from things that, with maybe a little bit of hope, could be great for them.
Some of those decisions were…decidedly not good. But the others? They brought some real emotional impact to this episode and, with any luck in the continuity department, a few might drive some interesting things going forward.
Everybody wants that money
Oh, Will. It’s nice to be proud of you. It really is.
After so many years of making dumb, yet well-meaning decisions, Will Halstead appears to have learned the value of looking before he leaps. Ever since deciding not to donate the entirety of his prize money to the hospital, he’s apparently had people calling him left and right with ideas about what he should do with it. The problem, of course, is that these aren’t the right people to be taking advice from.
Why?
As Will tells Maggie Chicago Med 7×16, none of these people seemed to know him when he was crashing on Jay’s couch. Which, first of all: Thank you to this show for remembering that Dr. Halstead has a brother, in the same city, who he’s (used to be???) fairly close with. Now, we just need to have some kind of face-to-face interaction and—I don’t know, just guessing here—a conversation about how said brother got married a few months ago. Hm. Actually. Maybe Will should use some of his money on a late wedding gift??? No? Ok.
Now. More importantly.
All of those cousins, or old friends, or long-lost whatevers that suddenly stick their hands out when now that Will has a few spare coins but who couldn’t be bothered to be there for him when he needed a hand…are not his real family. They’re not even true friends. That’s not how it works. Sure, you can lose touch with people who care about you because life gets messy and all. But this isn’t that. Because even those people show up when times are tough—if they can’t help financially, there’s always moral support. What Will’s been experiencing is a bunch of trash vultures looking for their piece of something that’s not theirs. Send them back to the trash where they belong.
I’ve seen this far too often in real life, and Chicago Med 7×16 really nailed, with just that quick conversation with Maggie and Will, just how stupid and annoying that type of situation can be.
When Jay gave Will the idea of buying that building, though, that was different. Because he’s Jay. He’s actual family, and the offer didn’t come with a ton of pressure or even a question of Jay wanting a piece for himself. He thought it was a good idea for Will to do it for Will with Will‘s money.
Just to throw it out there one more time for good measure: Will.
What screams “character development,” though, was that Dr. Halstead didn’t just sign papers right away and throw himself into the business the second he saw and liked the building. At first, he decided against taking the gamble. But after giving himself time to think it through (and seeing how his patient took the scary, yet potentially more beneficial, treatment option), he decided to choose hope. Not fear.
Just as the episode title told him to. So nice.
But since he did buy the building, and Kevin Atwater has also made a recent purchase…they should get together soon. Maybe even…I don’t know…bring Will’s recently-married brother along. Just a random thought. Probably belongs in the final section. Oh well.
Let’s talk about family some more
If Chicago Med 7×16 didn’t have you in tears over baby Kayla’s story, I’d like to know if you have emotions at all.
It started off with two very young, very terrified, and very alone parents of a very sick 10-day-old baby. That, honestly, would have been gut-wrenching enough, especially when the mom started trying to find ways to blame herself for Kayla’s symptoms before even having a diagnosis. (Side note: Could we stop with the messaging to young mothers about how they suck at everything, including how they feed their children?)
But then, we threw in Mr. and Mrs. Price’s heartbreak. Because, if medical dramas know how to do anything, it’s lump angst on top of angst.
“They just lost their daughter and son-in-law. They’re not ready to accept the loss of their grandchild as well.”
The Prices had to make some of the most difficult decisions imaginable, and one of them involved trying to save their grandkid. But even after every possible intervention was made, they lost him, too. In their grief, they couldn’t even understand what they were being told and were clinging on to false hope that the baby, who they wanted to name Tyler, would get better. One person—or two, in this case—can only process so much loss, so much pain, at once after all.
But when it came down to it, the Prices chose to bring hope to another family by donating the baby’s organs. And yeah, Dr. Blake had a choice to make, too: Let Dr. Marcel take the lead on a very complicated surgery on an infant or pull rank. But, regardless of whatever messiness has occurred—and yeah, we’re still bitter here about the messy part—she trusts Crockett as her partner in the operating room. She has faith in his abilities, and just like any other good leader, she’s not afraid to let him prove himself when he says he’s got things handled. We could all use someone with that kind of unwavering belief in us, professionally or otherwise…doesn’t matter.
In the end, Dr. Marcel, Dr. Blake, and (most selflessly) the Prices were able to save baby Kayla’s life, when she might not otherwise have ever gotten the transplant she needed to survive. And then, of course…They might just have found their own, unconventional little family in the process. Nothing is ever going to give back what they lost. But seeing that young couple without their own parents, and the Prices who’d just lost their own children, maybe we can choose to have some hope.
Fiction, or at least the good kind, does that for us. Otherwise, what even is the point of crying through these stories?
The thoughts on Chicago Med 7×16 that reflect nonsense, not real analysis
- It was pretty rude to have so many promo pics with Sarah Rafferty in them that I was clowned into thinking this episode was going to be big for Blake, only for that to, ultimately, not be the case.
- And speaking of Sarah Rafferty—as I can, and will, do whenever given even the slimmest window of opportunity to do so: She was on a rooftop, doing shippy things. On my TV. The flashback to the Darvey war is real, painful, and just…Forget about Daylight Savings Time. It’s always Missing Them O’Clock in this house.
- Jack and Rose. So…Titanic stans? My heart will not go on after all this pain.
- Tyler would’ve been a terrible name, by the way…
- “Looks like a brand new family.” No, really. My eyes are leaking something fierce.
- …and did you catch Rafferty’s expression in that “new family” scene? Even as background, the camera loves her. (Give Dr. Blake a worthy storyline, I’m begging.)
- I’ve stayed away from the arranged marriage plot point here, mostly because it’s not my tradition to discuss. But that’s…kind of the point I think Chicago Med 7×16 was trying to make. Most Americans are not going to understand Kiran’s choice, much less Varsha’s. But it’s their tradition to either follow or not and not ours to dictate.
- Ummm. And even if you can’t relate to the arranged marriage of it all, there’s this: “…bottling up emotions so tightly that it’s literally attacking her.” HI, @ me next time.
- Hi. You there. Not wearing the mask. Rudy Hernandez, Will’s long COVID patient? He could be you, even if you don’t wind up in the ICU. Even a “mild” case of COVID can fuck you up. Longterm. Maybe permanently.
- Dr. Charles. Sir, you don’t need to be getting in on the Vanessa gossip, much less giving any relationship advice to anyone at all right now. I’m so disappointed. Still.
- I really want to hate Crockett Marcel for his manwhoring ways. But then…the “cry for me” and the coaxing Kayla along…I have feelings I don’t want.
- Plus, he’s pretty.
- Oh. We remember he had a daughter? And he’s sharing? This ship really is serious, huh?
- Mmm. That whole weakness/strength thing was giving Castle. It’s been enough years that I’m not mad about it.
- …the “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” that came out of me at the Dr. Asher reveal. I was listening to that whole conversation with Sharon and Dr. Archer like “they don’t mean…surely not…no…no…they wouldn’t…” Clowned again.
- The contrast between Marcel and Archer this whole episode, though. Oof. Feelings…For Crockett, apparently.
- Don’t worry. This is only a temporary Crockett Marcel stan account.
Got thoughts on Chicago Med 7×16? Drop us a comment!
Chicago Med airs returns on Wednesday, April 6 at 8/7c on NBC.
