SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago Med Season 12, Episode 2.
Chicago Med Season 12, Episode 2 is the TV equivalent of one of those days where you just don’t want to be at work. “Third Rails” is an unpleasant experience for several characters, and it’s not the most joyous watch for NBC viewers, either. That’s not to dismiss it as a bad episode; it’s simply not one people will necessarily want to watch again.
The episode takes its title from the third rail on a subway line, after a trio of teenagers are gravely injured while they’re trying to “surf” on top of subway cars. As Nurse Trini points out, this is something they should probably know not to do. It’s also no big surprise that it ends badly for one of them, given that many Med episodes usually have a mix of outcomes.
In this case, one brother dies and the other lives, while Dr. Hannah Asher has to convince their friend that her life has value so that the young woman will consent to life-saving surgery. Over in the subplot, Dr. Mitch Ripley treats a mother who reminds him a little too much of his own mom. Oh, and hospital bureaucracy is still infuriatingly terrible.
The main story has enough emotion in it to carry the audience through the hour, even if seasoned viewers can predict the general beats. Of course the brother who almost died once already will end up dying later on. And when Dr. John Frost warns their father not to inform Christian of his brother Nolan’s passing—so as not to send his heart rate skyrocketing—fans know Dad is going to have a hard time following directions.
The best of the three stories is actually between Hannah and Samara, because Hannah gets to use her own personal history to help Samara. Jessy Schram is wonderful in that scene, and it’s also always nice to stop and recall how remarkably far Hannah has come from the character viewers originally met. The writers have never forgotten her past nor missed opportunities to highlight her growth, and this is another one.
Tangentially, this is some uncomfortable deja vu for Frost. After not telling one patient about someone’s death in the Season 12 premiere, now he has to lie and not tell another patient that his brother has died. On top of that, this is how viewers find out that Frost and Naomi Howard’s romance is kiboshed. It’s still hilariously fun that Frost and Ripley are roommates, but a true letdown when Ripley says that Naomi took an internship in Portland and dumped Frost. Why did Chicago Med abandon a relationship it spent all that time building up at the end of last season, not to mention the character of Naomi?
This is disappointing on two levels. One is because Frost’s romantic life has turned into a revolving door (remember that his prior relationship with Chicago Fire‘s Lizzie Novak was also relatively brief, as Med moved quickly on to set him up with Naomi). But second, and more importantly, that short-changes Naomi, who looked like she was going to be a bigger part of the series between dating Frost and the professional storyline she had with Dr. Caitlin Lenox.
Her increased presence also gave the show another doctor of color. Unless actor Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut became unavailable, this seems like a wrong turn, trading an established storyline for Frost having a random fling—apparently one of several, according to Ripley.
Speaking of Ripley, obviously Chicago Med isn’t going to give a huge update on him in Episode 2, since it needs to let other characters have the spotlight. And as with Hannah, it’s lovely to see that the writers use his tragic history for constructive purposes, plus that they have him team up with Dr. Daniel Charles again. Luke Mitchell and Oliver Platt really are a great combination, and the scene of Ripley with his patient’s five-year-old son is adorable even with its angsty undertone. All that being said: the show nearly kills Ripley with a car, and now it has to remind him of his drug-addicted mom? The writers are not letting up on him emotionally, and it won’t be surprising if he breaks.
And then there’s the hospital merry-go-round. Let’s give a hat tip to Rebecca Breeds for nailing the perfect tone with Mallory: she doesn’t come across as obviously condescending, but there’s just enough for viewers to love to hate her. Mallory decides to “think outside the box” and creates an “overflow room” to move ED patients to, as if they’re extra inventory at Hot Topic.
One gets the sense that she’s genuinely trying to be helpful, but only if it fits within her specific paradigm. This is a woman who probably loves a good PowerPoint slideshow. However, writers Andrew Gettens and Lauren MacKenzie use her to tie up the Sharon Goodwin story in a really fun and exciting way.
Doris plans to confess to leaking Dr. Theo Rabari’s medical information—which, let’s not forget, she actually did do—so that Sharon can have her job back. This is the most obvious answer, and the more practical; it’s hard to believe that Goodwin would sacrifice so much for one nurse’s career, unless that nurse was her old friend Maggie Lockwood. However, Archer (the wily fox that he is) uses Mallory’s comment about hiring a new telemetry nurse to Goodwin’s advantage. Anyone who remembers Chicago Med history will not be shocked by this, but it’s still really cool to think of Goodwin returning to work as a nurse.
The rare occasions where she’s helped out in the ED have always been fun, and ostensibly, this will lead to some increased screen time for the iconic S. Epatha Merkerson, since Goodwin won’t be limited to waiting for someone to walk into her office. The question becomes how long Chicago Med will run with this idea, but even if it’s only for a little while, it opens up a dimension to Goodwin’s character that hasn’t been thoroughly explored before. Which is a pretty significant thing to say about a character who’s been on a show for 14 seasons.
And last but certainly not least, there is another appearance by baby Mabel. Obviously Med can’t have her around all the time, but Gettens and MacKenzie establish where she’s going to be when she’s off-screen, so fans don’t have to worry about her. “Third Rails” is a hard episode for a couple of characters, and it’s a bitter pill to swallow in a couple of ways. The happiest part of the episode is that scene of Hannah holding Mabel. But it keeps the season moving, and it sets the table for future stories.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.
