Chicago Med Review: Backed Against the Wall (Season 4 Episode 4)
As far as aptly titled episodes go, Chicago Med Season 4 Episode 4, “Backed Against The Wall,” is pretty up there.
This installment does a really good job with something the series doesn’t manage to achieve often: doling out engaging stories for almost all of the characters taking the spotlight, from Manning’s patient and her brother, to Ethan’s struggles with his sister and his patient of the week.
Ethan meets the infamous Bernie, and though he puts on a good front, April continues to face the brunt of his displeasure at the situation. But there’s something about his reaction to his sister’s pregnancy that just feels like a little much. It’s an interesting character choice, considering that it seems like he would pride himself on being a mature person.
April is totally right when she calls Ethan out for acting like a 12 year-old.
But it’s Ethan’s patient that causes the most trouble and becomes the epitome of absolute ignorance. The moment she reacts to his med student, you get the feeling she’s gonna be one of those women.
This suspicion is proven true the moment she opens her mouth about the altercation she sees between the husband of Manning’s patient Linda and her undocumented brother, Manny.
The minute she says the word “hombre” with that sense of entitlement that only an ignorant racist really can, rage about what’s happening in real-life current events rises. It serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the reality we’re living in.
As Manny is taken away by ICE, his sister Linda and her husband are living with the fact that they may never see him again and that his pregnant wife may be deported. This only adds to the frightening heaviness of their story.
Considering what we now know about Will’s deal with that family friend, Ray Burke, from the end of Chicago Med Season 4 Episode 3, “Heavy Is The Head,” it’s no surprise that after his brother pays him a visit, Voight drops by.
Will is truly backed against the wall in this situation. At the same time, it is kind of his own fault, considering how he really wanted that venue and was willing to sneak in blood work as a favor. So it makes sense that he’s going to have to end up helping Jay and the Feds bring down Ray.
The only question now is whether things will go smoothly. (And since this is TV, it probably won’t.)
Random Thoughts:
- Gwen continues to be the worst, and so does her ED lackey. I understand protocol and procedure, but when there is a question of ethical treatment (especially as a hospital administrator) shouldn’t there be more compassion?
- The tension between Connor and Ava is a little bit on the uneven side, and I definitely have questions about where this is all going. How long before Connor finds out?
So, what did you think of this episode of Chicago Med? Anyone else fly into a rage at that lawyer and how Linda and Manny’s story ended? How about Ethan’s behavior?
Let us know what you thought in the comments below!
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Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.
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Brianna Martinez
Brianna spends her time away from briefs, legal research, and pleadings, watching TV and writing about it. She generally has a lot of feelings about TV, which you can read about here and on Twitter.