Chicago Med - Ctrl Alt & Generation Gap - Double Review

“We cannot let them win.”

Though he left Sharon a while back, we finally meet the infamous Bert when his new girlfriend, Lilah, needs a hospital. Sharon doesn’t have too much time to deal with the initial fallout, as Chicago Med is hacked—no tablets, no computers, no MRIs, nothing. A ransom note is issued by culprits we never meet, and they want roughly 30 grand to restore the system. Sharon refuses to pay throughout the hour, and I can’t say I disagree with her. “These hackers are putting lives at risk…you can’t reward behavior like that. Besides, you pay them now, what stops them from doing it again or holding the hospital next door hostage?”

But back to Bert and his new girlfriend…she’s nice! You can’t help but like her. As likeable as she is, it’s obvious she’s hiding something from Will when he asks about her medical history. With the system down, Will can’t get his hands on her history. But, it doesn’t take long for Lilah to reveal the truth to Will—she’s dying. Lilah might only have a few years left to live, and Bert doesn’t know. Lilah does tell Sharon, which sparks a bit of peace between her and Bert.

Bert, Lilah, and Sharon aren’t the only ones dealing with relationship drama—clearly threatened by the platonic (debatable), comforting hug Natalie and Will shared in the previous episode, Nina works to make her presence in Will’s life known to Natalie. Instead of just putting Will’s hockey jersey in his locker that he checks every night before he leaves, she asks Natalie to give it to him and adds a personal note to it—she woke up in it that morning. Look, I like Nina. But I don’t enjoy territorial Nina. Maybe it’s because I know her relationship with Will is doomed, but I just don’t care about this jealous pettiness. Let’s end this relationship and move on already! But can we keep Nina?

“Don’t handle me!”

It was a particularly rough hour for those with the last name Charles. Robin has a somewhat aggressive response to the hack, which might have been brought on by the fact that her apartment has rats. She doesn’t have much time to lament—she’s needed for Natalie’s case. Natalie’s patient has valley fever, a highly infectious disease that sets Robin on the warpath to find the source. Thankfully they do find the source, but Robin’s behavior was a bit concerning. In the closing moments of the show, Connor finds Robin on a chair in his living room, ear pressed against the wall, obsessed with the nonexistent sound of rats in the wall. What is happening?

The other Dr. Charles struggles without his tablet. Between his anxiety over not having the tablet and Sarah’s anxiety over thinking Dr. Charles doesn’t want her as a psych resident, these two make quite the pair this hour. And is it just me or was that a breakup for Sarah and Joey?!

“You bring me to a place from the dark ages!”

Ethan and Noah treat a gunshot victim, which proves to be a bit more difficult than anticipated sans technology. Though it was a gunshot wound, this was surprisingly the lightest story of the hour. The victim and his friend were entertaining, but Noah took the cake. He’s come so far! When we first met him (and long after, honestly), he was unbearable. But recently, he’s been decent. If this hour was any indication, Noah could be a fun addition to the show.

“Pretty simple math, don’t you think?”

Dr. Latham has returned! Thank goodness. I really thought he’d be gone longer, so this was a most pleasant surprise. In the end, it was Dr. Latham who paid the ransom. My first guess was Dr. Charles, my second guess was Connor, and I didn’t have a third guess. I enjoyed the twist that it was Latham, but after hearing his explanation, it makes perfect sense.


What did you think of the episode? Is the end of Will and Nina finally in sight? What’s going on with Robin? Is Noah growing on you? Share your thoughts below!

“All we do is fight.”

After years of small tidbits on Papa Halstead, the man finally makes an appearance. After a frustrated Will hangs up with his brother, Connor offers Will his car to see his dad. Instead, Will takes Connor and his car. Papa H has serious heart issues, and it’s only because of Connor that he agrees to go to the hospital. Against both Will and Connor’s recommendation, Papa Halstead goes with the non-surgical option—the lesser option. I can’t say that I like Papa H. He’s condescending toward both sons and it clearly takes its toll.

After making yet another dig at his son, Papa Halstead is rushed into surgery with Connor—non-surgical is no longer an option. It seems, though, that Papa H is having open heart surgery in more than one way—when Connor insists Mr. Halstead must be proud of Will for all that he’s become on his own, Papa H replies, “That doesn’t even begin to say it. He made something of his life. He’s a better man than I am.” Fine! I like him. No, I’m not crying. I have…allergies…

This storyline was gold. Not only did we finally meet Papa Halstead, but we got a bit of the Halstead brothers dynamic as well. While most of the story is spent exploring Will’s relationship with his father, the beginning gave a bit of insight into Jay’s relationship with Papa Halstead. We know he doesn’t have the best relationship, and their interaction early on makes that clear. I hope we see a bit more of this on PD, as we’ve waited nearly four years for it.

Much like Chicago Fire is at its best when Casey and Severide share scenes, Chicago Med is at its best when Will and Connor interact. The animosity between the two is long gone, but the early friendship development we saw has been dormant for quite some time. I’d like to see more of these two together!

“I feel like there’s something off with her.”

One week and two exterminators later, Robin is still convinced she and Connor have rats. Perhaps not wanting to face the potential severity of Robin’s health, Dr. Charles brushes off Connor’s plea for help. Instead, he plans to handle it on his own. Robin’s not having it though. “Just because you are a head case, dad, doesn’t mean that I am!” Look, Dr. Charles absolutely has some issues of his own, but Robin has something serious going on. When Robin insists she collected rat droppings but opens the tissue to find nothing, Dr. Charles finally confronts her. “I’m saying this as a dad, not a shrink. I’d feel a whole lot better if we could get someone to take a look at you.”

“I deserved it.”

Ethan treats Elliot, a young boy with a peeping Tom tendency. He hates how he feels and after getting pummeled for looking in on the girls’ locker room, he asks for Ethan to castrate him. He definitely has psychological issues going on, but at the same time, he’s fully aware of it. He’s fearful of what he thinks and feels and has no desire to hurt anyone—hence, the request for castration. Dr. Charles recommends chemical castration, which is temporary and could keep Elliot from doing something he’ll regret forever.

Elliot’s parents refuse to agree to chemical castration, which causes Elliot to take matters into his own hands. When Elliot is missing from his bed, Ethan finds him looking in on a young, blonde, girl. He grabs scissors, locks himself in a bathroom, and attempts to castrate himself in what was possible the most horrifying scene this show has given us.

“Are you waiting for a thank you?”

Natalie works with Clark to treat a toddler, Troy. He has mild anemia, but there’s something more. They can’t quite figure out what else is going on, until Natalie learns that Troy’s mom is rarely home with him. She works long hours and can’t afford daycare, which leaves Troy with several babysitters who probably aren’t health-conscious. He’s deficient in vitamin C and has scurvy (yes, like the pirate disease). It comes with an unbalanced diet, and Natalie reams Troy’s mom for not monitoring her son’s diet. It comes from a place of concern and perhaps self-reflection, as she acknowledges that she doesn’t get to see much of her son either.

Meanwhile, Sarah heads up an exercise for high school students to learn the joys of parenting. These students get high-tech dolls—when I was in school it was a sack of flour! Anyway, the whole project has Sarah thinking about her maternal instincts, or lack thereof. Noah attempts to assist, and something tells me he has a thing for Sarah.


What did you think of the episode? Will something happen between Sarah and Noah? Is the end finally in sight for Nina and Will? Share your thoughts below!