SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 15.
Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 15 has a fantastic main story, as it resolves one of the NBC show’s recurring plotlines in the best way possible. But on the flip side, “The Cost of Living” has a subplot that should have been left in the writers’ room. And it also includes a few hints that audiences will find predictable.
Let’s start with the great stuff first: this episode welcomes back Jeremy and Esme, who were last seen in Season 11, Episode 7. Esme is about to deliver their baby—while unfortunately, Jeremy doesn’t have much time left. Chicago Med handles this as well as possible. The Night Agent alum Zach Appelman gives his best performance yet as Jeremy faces his mortality by recording videos for his daughter. Plus, the writers don’t put the audience through any unnecessary angst. There are complications with the baby, but they’re quickly resolved (albeit off-screen). And Jeremy is obviously unwell, but the show doesn’t force in a death scene to emphasize the tragedy. Instead, there’s a snippet of Ben Folds’ “The Luckiest.”
Jeremy and Esme’s story is so well-developed; they’re treated like main characters, and they stand on their own. At the same time, this plot is a wonderful opportunity for both Dr. Dean Archer and Dr. Hannah Asher, and actors Steven Weber and Jessy Schram seize on that accordingly. The best scene in “The Cost of Living” is at the end, when Dean has a frank discussion with Hannah about how he’ll be in his 80s when their daughter graduates high school. Weber is perfect and that scene is so good that it should have been the fade-to-black moment… but instead, Chicago Med has Dr. Jennifer Kingston show up so that the audience can be reminded there’s a quasi-love triangle going.
The B-story in this episode makes medical professionals look less like the heroes One Chicago celebrates, and more like opportunists. Gail Spinner, played by Mad TV alum Nicole Sullivan, arrives after having a bad acupuncture incident reminiscent of Beavis and Butt-Head. When it’s revealed that she has a rare condition, Gail offers the doctors $150 million dollars to guarantee a cure; it turns out that she won the lottery a few years ago. The viewers can see how impossible this is, and how it comes from a vulnerable place. So can Dr. Daniel Charles, as Oliver Platt is the stabilizing influence on this show.
But The Resident‘s Manish Dayal returns as Dr. Theo Rabari, to insist that the hospital should take Gail’s money because of course he can find a cure. Never mind that it won’t be in time for Gail. He tries to argue for the greater good, but it just sounds hollow. And even when they’re breaking the news to Gail, Theo is still trying to get her to give money to the hospital. It all comes across as selfish—but even worse is the behavior of the nurses once they learn about Gail’s wealth. Doris brags about a watch that a rich patient gave her. Kacy, who has never added much to this show since her introduction, decides to try and see what she can get out of Gail. This whole exchange makes the nurses seem shamelessly self-involved, and Chicago Med fans know they’re better than that. The whole show is better than that.
Then there are two smaller plots that point toward resolutions One Chicago fans have seen before. Dr. John Frost learns that his father doesn’t have multiple sclerosis; he actually has a mass on his spine, and what’s more, he’s known about it for months. Darren Barnet knocks it out of the park as Frost vents his upset and anger at his parents, in complete shock at this information. But viewers know how this goes: the parent of a One Chicago main character will be sick and/or die for dramatic effect. See: Pat Halstead.
The other one is that American Classic actor Mark Linn-Baker returns as Howie, simply to tell Dr. Charles that he’s recommended him to fill his teaching position. It’s hard to see this as a serious dilemma for Charles. For one, the show already had a fakeout on this exact topic earlier this season, when Charles took some time off, but the entire thing happened off-screen. For two, when Howie makes the comment about Charles having a protege—any Chicago Med fan will think “He did, and her name was Dr. Sarah Reese.” This plotline is an unintentional reminder of what could’ve been with Charles and Reese, if Rachel DiPillo hadn’t left the series. The writers want viewers to worry about Charles, but the problems they’re wanting fans to worry about are ones the show created itself.
“The Cost of Living” is worth the watch just for the Archer and Asher subplot alone. The performances by all involved, including the guest stars, is top-notch and the writing is so very well-rounded. Chicago Med has always been at its best when the patients are developed as much as the main characters. Everything else that’s packed into this episode, though, leaves something to be desired.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.
