Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 15 Review: Those Times You Have to Cross the Line

Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 15, “Those Times You Have to Cross the Line,” is a bit of a mess overall. This episode has a vision. Unfortunately, the story does not always come together. 

Fragments of stories on this episode would be worth exploring individually. It’s a shame that not everything comes together in the end. 

The fight for workers’ rights at Gaffney is more than worth exploring. Like many medical dramas, Chicago Med focuses almost exclusively on doctors rather than other hospital staff. 

This episode provides the opportunity to reflect on the fact that, as in real life, janitors and other professionals are the ones who keep hospitals running every single day.

This episode also does an excellent job of exploring the real consequences of not having janitorial staff who are being well-paid. Patient safety and patient care are on the line. 

There is a moment when Sharon and Dr. Charles’s friendship seems in trouble. Thankfully, this episode proves their friendship is strong enough to withstand this type of disagreement. 

Chicago Med misses many opportunities when diving into this fight for workers’ rights. Mainly, this story is told from the wrong perspective. 

From the beginning, the story should have centered on the janitors and other unionized staff. By exploring the story from this perspective, viewers would have gotten insight into the lived experiences of those working in these roles.

It would have been a welcome change of perspective to get to know a new character, who would mostly be overlooked.

Watching the upstairs suits debate the ultimate fate of the hospital’s workers feels more than a little bit out of touch. 

Ultimately, the storyline about the hospital protests isn’t given the time and attention that is due. Anyone who has either been a part of a strike or witnessed one in action will know that the process is rarely this simple.

Stories like these have a lot of nuances, and Chicago Med ultimately misses the mark in constructing an authentic narrative. 

This could have been a compelling story about workers coming together and demanding their rights. Instead, the story mainly falls flat when such a simple resolution is presented.

There is also little sense of doom, as Chicago Med makes it seem that the janitors won’t stay on strike for long. 

Thankfully, Dr. Charles is the highlight of the episode yet again. There’s never any doubt that he is the hero that this show has always deserved.

While his patient’s story may be recycled straight from New Amsterdam, Dr. Charles still gets a chance to shine. 

This patient is the perfect venue for Dr. Charles to prove that he is both a mentor and a fantastic physician in his own right. 

His compassion and bedside manner remains aspirational. He is the professional you would want if you or your loved ones are in a mental health crisis.

Allowing Dr. Charles to show his solidarity with workers speaks well of his character. There’s a sense that he is there not just for Liliana’s sake but because he knows that the janitors’ cause is a just one. 

Speaking of Liliana, she and Dr. Charles can officially set sail as Chicago Med‘s latest ship. The mutual understanding and respect they show each other at this stressful time is a good sign.

If they can come together now, they are in a good position for the future. Sometimes this dynamic is more romantic than angst and drawn-out mutual pining. 

Chicago Med gives fans a mixed bag of an episode. This is all the more disappointing since so many promising stories are only given brief moments.

Ideally, the last episodes of the season will focus on bringing these stories to a satisfying conclusion.  

 

Stray Thoughts:

-Props to the show for showing ECT to remove this treatment’s stigma. While this may not be exactly what the procedure looks like, it is still good that the show portrays this with compassion and understanding. 

-Poor Will, getting regulated to mundane medical cases. Then again, it is a nice break from always having him front and center. He could have such an interesting dynamic with Dr. Grace Song. The show doesn’t seem interested in exploring this at this point.

–ER is the standard for reviving a centuries-old deadly disease. Chicago Med needs to get on that level. Otherwise, stories like these are best left alone. 

-Dean Archer re-connecting with his son isn’t working. There needs to be more screen time devoted to this storyline to make it compelling. His son seems like an interesting enough character. 

-Shoutout to Dr. Nellie Cuevas, who continues to come into her own. She has two patients on this episode and knows exactly where to turn for support when needed. She has the makings of a phenomenal psychiatrist. 

-Crockett is so laughably out of line in calling child services on the farmers’ daughter. It defies the belief that this character wouldn’t seek more facts and confirmation before taking such a drastic step. 

 

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Med? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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