‘Chicago Med’ season 2, episode 11 review: Save the panda!
There was not really a whole lot that we could do in order to mentally prepare for what transpired over the course of tonight’s “Chicago Med” episode, otherwise known as the episode where THERE WAS A PANDA IN THE OPERATING ROOM.
We’re going to be honest — there are some reviews where we try to concentrate equally on every single storyline that we see over the course of an hour. Yet, that’s really hard when ONE OF THE PATIENTS IS A PANDA. We promise that we’ll stop using all-caps at some point in this review … maybe.
The panda problem – Dr. Rhodes knew that things were awry the moment that he was called in on a night when he and Robyn were going to a charity event, only to have an important dignitary and also a zoo official there waiting for him. Sooner after that he realized that his patient was none other than the aforementioned panda, and the reaction on his face was pretty priceless.
Ultimately, to call this an important case is an understatement and then some, given that pandas are highly endangered, and there is a select number of them in the United States. Given how many people were watching Rhodes (who did not spend the entire episode in the tux), the pressure was really on now. Luckily, he did pull this off — this would be one of the most depressing episodes of the whole series otherwise.
Aside from the operation alone, there were some pretty good character moments that came out of this. Specifically, we learned that Dr. Choice does some volunteering at the zoo, which we’ve also done in the past. It’s a pretty rewarding experience! It was nice seeing him in the closing seconds check up on the former patient back in their habitat.
Bad nights everywhere else – She’s had it hard enough as of late, but tonight, she bore the responsibility of having to tell multiple families that their loved ones died — even ones that were not her responsibility. This is the sort of night that would break almost anyone, and at the end of it, she started to question if this particular job was right for her. She was disappointed that she would let Dr. Charles down, and for now, he did his best to comfort her.
Some of the nurses called her in on one occasion instead of Dr. Latham, feeling as though he as emotionless and would not know how to handle it. This sent him down a tailspin, and left him scrambling for some support. Eventually, he found some in the form of a new form of therapy with the help of Dr. Charles.
It was slighter better this week for Jeff Clarke and Dr. Halstead, at least in that they made it through the night without any sort of major crisis. Tate and April struggled, as well, as to whether or not she should stay at work as long as possible. He apologized to her for an earlier conflict at the end of the hour, and the two look to be now on better footing.
Overall – THE PANDA IS OKAY. This was a great ending to a particularly strong episode of the show, especially since we got to see so many characters out of their element. Not everyone had an easy time, but the most important thing is that they are now getting a chance to move forward. Hopefully, they’ll all be able to. Grade: A-.