#Chicago Med Season 7 Episode 1 Review: You Can’t Always Trust What You See

Out with the old, in with the new!

Chicago Med Season 7 Episode 1 introduced two new doctors after allowing Natalie a brief goodbye scene, and then life moved on.

The stories were as fast-paced and exciting as ever, which is no small feat considering that Med is going into its seventh season and just lost two major characters.

I knew from spoilers that the two new doctors would jump right into a case, but I didn’t expect Scott to start in the middle of one!

His first scene with the little boy who had a rattlesnake bite established his character strongly, but it was confusing, too.

If I hadn’t read enough Chicago Med news to know who this guy was, I wouldn’t have had any clue what was going on and would have been distracted trying to figure it out.

It’s also unusual for a doctor to have two storylines in one episode, and this story ended up disappearing and coming back. Not a great look, though I understand what Med was going for here.

It seemed like the kid served more as a bookend for this hour than a bona fide case. He mainly established Scott’s backstory as an ex-cop who cared a lot about his community and switched over to medicine to make more of a difference.

Of course, this kid’s story might not end here.

Scott advised him to stay away from gang members and warned him that a cop would be watching. But getting away from a gang once you’re on their radar isn’t that easy.

Could this kid end up back at Med, this time a victim of gang violence? You can’t just do a gang initiation and then disappear without consequences, after all.

Scott’s other story gave Chicago Med another chance to explore inequities in the health care system, racial and otherwise, which is one of the things it does best.

Hammer: How did this happen?

Scott: Where did you work before this?

Hammer: Gross Point. Beaumont.

Scott: Right. Well, this happens a lot with kids with sickle cell. Less than 50% get screened. Kids with cystic fibrosis, on the other hand… well, they get treatment, a case manager…

Hammer: Because most CF patients are white.

Hammer was upset to learn that a disease that primarily affects Black kids doesn’t get the same level of treatment as one that affects White kids. I’m wondering how this will influence her going forward.

And while this wasn’t an explicit part of the storyline, there was also the implied message about the intersection of race and class.

Jasmine and her mother were already at a disadvantage because of racial discrimination, but they were also homeless and likely went to a free or low-cost clinic where they were given this sub-standard medical care.

And apparently, the poverty aspect is one that Hammer has first-hand experience with, too!

Who else was surprised that Hammer’s mother lives in a tent in a homeless encampment?

I have to admit, at first, I thought it would turn out that Stevie lived there, and that’s why she knew about people sleeping in cars.

That might have been a better twist. While I empathize with Stevie and her mother, this felt like a redux of other Med stories. And with Stevie promising to get her mom more meds, I’m expecting this to be Natalie and the trial meds all over.

Speaking of which, Will’s storyline post-debacle is one of the most compelling he’s had yet.

Will dealt with a lot during Med’s premiere. The consequences for his part in Natalie’s deception include being forced to spy on Cooper, Archer blaming him for Kender pulling the trial, and probably mixed emotions from other doctors on staff.

However, it was odd that he told Goodwin that he hates being suspicious of people and lying.

Didn’t he work undercover to try to catch a mob boss for a good six months? And didn’t he lie over and over during the trial, both to protect Natalie and try to give patients effective care?

This whole thing could be short-lived if he’d get with the program now. Cooper is already pushing for Marcel to use the VAS-COM monitor, after all.

If WIll gets Marcel on board with the cloak-and-dagger operation (no pun intended!), this could be over quickly. But I suspect it’ll drag on until at least midseason.

Elsewhere, Archer was just as obnoxious in the Chief of Staff position as I expected him to be.

Archer: Ethan’s physical therapy is going well?

Charles: That’s why I hear.

Archer: That’s good. And he doesn’t hold a grudge?

Charles: A grudge?

Archer: If the shooter, what’s his name… Neal? had been put on a psych hold, he wouldn’t have shot Ethan. Ever think about that?

Charles: No, never. But you know what has crossed my mind? If any of this would have happened if you hadn’t taken his appendix out against his will.

So far, he’s butted heads with Will and Charles for no reason whatsoever and gotten no satisfaction from either of them.

I didn’t understand what the big deal was with the twins, though. People elect to have healthy ovaries removed for a variety of reasons, and the surgery wasn’t dangerous.

If Emma wanted the surgery and it would get Jemma to consent to it too, what was so terrible about giving it to her? Her reasons were irrational, but she wasn’t incompetent to make medical decisions on her own behalf.

That aside, Archer’s continued contempt for Charles, psychiatry in general, and the idea that he can’t just override patient wishes to impose his treatment plan doesn’t bode well for the future.

As much as I used to dislike Ethan, I hope he gets well soon so we can knock Archer off his throne!

There wasn’t too much of Maggie and Vanessa, but the scene they did have was easily one of the most emotional.

Dealing with a patient’s death for the first time is hard for any aspiring doctor, and Maggie’s longing to comfort her daughter in a more than professional capacity added to the pain.

Maggie won’t be able to keep her distance forever, either, and then what? 

I can’t wait for more of this!

Your turn, Chicago Med fanatics! What did you think of the premiere and the new additions to the cast?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!

Miss an episode? No problem. Just watch Chicago Med online right here on TV Fanatic to catch up.

Chicago Med airs on NBC on Wednesdays 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.