#Chicago Med Season 6 Episode 8 Review: Fathers and Mothers, Sons and Daughters

The only constant is change.

Most of the Chicago Med staff learned that the hard way on  Chicago Med Season 6 Episode 8.

It was an emotional hour, even though some of the outcomes were foregone conclusions.

The Will/Natalie/Marcel triangle was the most predictable, except I didn’t expect Nat to make the decision she did.

I knew from the moment Will hugged Nat that Marcel would be jealous, and I didn’t know what took Will so long to offer Carol the clinical trial. As soon as Marcel said she was in heart failure, that was a no-brainer.

I didn’t expect Carol to go back and forth between the LVAD procedure and the clinical trial, though. I thought Will and Marcel would butt heads a lot more before she made any decision at all.

It was annoying that Carol’s discussions with Will and Nat about this were all off-screen. That cheapened the drama somewhat and made the story into little more than a catalyst for Marcel’s jealousy of Will.

This is supposed to be a medical drama, so how about some more emphasis on Carol’s medical treatment and less on the love triangle?

The whole issue could have been solved by having Dr. Veroni talk to Carol.

That would have removed the Will factor altogether and put the decision squarely in Carol’s hands, where it belonged.

It irked me that Marcel went on and on about how Nat was gambling with her mom’s life, and Nat should be aware that the clinical trial was not the best course of treatment.

Carol was in heart failure, not late-stage Alzheimers. She was entirely competent to make her own decisions. Marcel and Will should have been talking to her.

Nat did not belong in the middle of this. She should only have given her mother her medical opinion when asked; she should not have made any decisions for her.

Also, if Will really was acting just as a “concerned friend,” then he’s the most oblivious guy in the world.

He came into Carol’s room with flowers while Marcel was there and reminisced with her about old times. How could he not realize the optics of this?

Again, the best thing to do would have been introducing Carol to Veroni, letting Veroni pitch the heart failure trial, and taking it from the ere.

But instead, we got Marcel’s insecurity versus Will’s obliviousness. Not a good basis for medical decisions, Chicago Med!

Meanwhile, Ethan proved that there was something worse than his overcontrolling butt in the driver’s seat.

Hiring Dean was like having to spend time with TWO Ethans. Dean had the same rigidity, a belief he was always right, and refusal to take no for an answer that Ethan did.

Ethan: I need to make one thing clear. In this ED, I’m in charge.

Dean: Of course. To tell the truth, I was just eager to make a good impression.

Ethan: It’s gonna be a big adjustment for both of us.

Dean: Lead, follow, or get out of the way. And it’s my turn to follow.

Ethan seemed reluctant to stand up to him, which was a marked departure from the norm for him, but Dean filled that vacuum with a ton of unsolicited advice.

And gloating about making April view pus when she has a thing about that was just cruel.

I don’t believe that Dean is done trying to be the boss for one minute no matter what he said.

I’m waiting for him and Ethan to have some major falling out. One has to be coming because they’ve got the same mentality that they know best and unwillingness to consider other ideas.

I was hoping Ethan would realize this isn’t working out and cut Dean loose, but no chance.

According to the trailer for Chicago Med Season 6 Episode 9, Dean will put his nose in Nat and Marcel’s relationship and demand they report it to HR.

I want to know who thought that bringing on a new character with all of Ethan’s worst qualities was a good idea. The idea of double the Ethan annoyance does not appeal to me, that’s for sure.

As for Maggie and Ben’s decision about Auggie, that was heartbreaking.

I was wondering if there was some type of joint custody arrangement they could work out. Auggie was thrilled to play with his new brother, but he’s pretty attached to Maggie and Ben too and even started calling them Mom and Dad recently.

I can’t imagine it’ll be that easy for him to live full time with another set of parents. A permanent living situation is different than just spending time with his brother, after all.

Or maybe that’s just me wishing he could stay in Maggie and Ben’s life somehow.

Speaking of custody decisions, Anna should be old enough to, at least, be asked to speak at a custody hearing.

It seemed like Susan and Daniel were busy arguing among themselves over what was best for Anna, and no one had consulted her at all.

Under Illinois law, children over the age of 14 can tell the judge which parent they prefer to live with. Since Anna clearly preferred to live with Charles, that should have been taken into account at the custody hearing.

In any case, Susan’s tantrum when Charles told her about Anna’s issues made me angry that any judge would have deemed her the better caretaker.

She seemed way too narcissistic to be a good parent, and then the second things didn’t work out, she dumped Anna at Charles’ house and ran away.

None of this was a healthy way to handle the conflict. It probably is in Anna’s best interest to stay with Charles if only one parent is in town, but now she’s going to wonder if either of her parents really wants her.

Charles is often too busy to pay attention to his teenage daughter, which may have been a big factor in the judge’s original decision, and Anna has a love-hate relationship with him. How this is going to play out now is anyone’s guess.

Charles also dealt with one of the more bizarre cases Chicago Med has had recently, though I guessed right away that the mother had lost a real baby sometime in the past and replaced it with a doll.

I’m glad Charles’ plan to help her grieve the loss properly worked. But what would have happened if she’d consented to the surgery?

I guess Charles would have waited a few hours, brought her the doll, and said the baby died, but it seemed like a risky plan anyway.

Your turn, Chicago Med fanatics!

Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know what you thought.

Want to refresh your memory first? Just watch Chicago Med online right here on TV Fanatic.

Chicago Med airs on Wednesdays on NBC at 8 PM EST/PST.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.