Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 1 Review: We All Fall Down

The question that was on everyone’s minds all summer is answered immediately on Chicago Med Season 11 Episode 1, “We All Fall Down.”

Picking up where we left off on Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 22, Hannah tells Dean that she’s pregnant, and more importantly, that he’s the father. It’s a scene that’s loaded with nuance as he processes the information, makes sure he understands what Hannah wants, and then makes it clear that he’s all in. But when Hannah comments, “just two friends having a baby,” it’s obvious he feels otherwise.

After that, we see some time has passed, and the news slowly starts to come out that Hannah is pregnant. It’s such unique storytelling because there are several layers to unpack here. There’s no scandal, but it would also seem to most people (including a nurse who puts her foot just right into her mouth) that Mitch would be the father. 

So, it’s awkward and emotional when he learns that’s not the case, although it makes him have his own realization about what he wants out of life. 

For Hannah, there were plenty of reasons to hold off on sharing the news with anyone. She says she’s terrified because she’s afraid she’ll lose respect at work, because she’s an addict, and because of her relationship with her sister, but also because she worries about making it work with Dean. At this point, their plan is to co-parent as friends.

Dean is also very aware of his age being a factor, something he notes more than once in the episode. And as much as he wants to be able to tell everyone the truth, he sees Hannah’s concerns and ultimately tells her to take her time — that it will be more fun to watch everyone try to figure out the situation.

There’s such an honesty between these two characters that makes all of this even more compelling. This storyline has incredible potential.

I also greatly appreciate that we get the answer right at the beginning of the episode, and that the subtle cliffhanger with Hannah showing up at Dean’s door instead of Mitch’s wasn’t any kind of “gotcha” moment. It easily could have been a misdirect, but it’s so much better that it’s not.

Meanwhile, Lenox is coping with the news that she tested positive for GSS, which directly affects how she speaks with her patients on this episode. Already, she was never one to sugarcoat things, but this is a different level.

The patients she’s working with are two sisters who are injured in a catastrophic building collapse — a major crisis that the hospital deals with for much of this episode. It’s deeply emotional, and Lenox is blunt about their odds of survival. However, she’s blunt because she does have a sense of what they’re going through — just in a different way. 

Abrams encourages her to see a therapist, but she insists that she has her own ways of coping for now. Sarah Ramos plays all of this incredibly well, and at this point, it’s impossible not to be invested in her character. 

Thankfully, the two sisters both survive, and thanks to Lenox as well, who pushes to continue working on one of them even when time of death has already been called.

It’s a save that was highly unlikely, but her own personal struggles right now, combined with the type of doctor she is (and maybe a little guilt over how she spoke to the patients), drive her to keep trying, even when she’s told to stop. And it works. It’s a really powerful moment.

There are two other powerful storylines involving the patients on the season premiere, and both are great examples of what Chicago Med can do when it’s at its best. As much as we’re invested in the main characters, these stories show what the series is at its core. 

Dr. Charles works with another victim of the building collapse who insists he wants to die, and it’s because he girl who helped saved him died because of it. It’s horrifying, but Dr. Charles’s words seem to resonate with him — and could honestly be relatable to a lot of people. 

There are also three burn victims that have arrived from a house fire. Is it a missed opportunity to not have characters from Chicago Fire involved in this? You bet. But that aside, it’s a deeply emotional storyline that takes a surprising turn when the woman who dies is revealed to be someone other than the wife and mother in this family. 

Where the story becomes more powerful, though, is when the wife realizes her husband was having an affair and ultimately chooses to keep that information from her son as an act of grace.

Overall, this is a solid start to the season, and it sets up some interesting possibilities for the characters moving forward.

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Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/9c on NBC.

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