After-Take: CHICAGO MED “Bound”
Name of the Episode: Bound
Beware – the follow contains spoilers!!!
A man and women come crashing into Chicago Med, two Mexican immigrants being stowed away in an airplane. The man, Miguel, suffers massive blood loss and broken bones; the woman is suffering from hypothermia from hiding in the airplane’s wheel well. Although Dr. Halstead and Rhodes still do not get along well, they work together to save their patients lives. Dr. Rhodes finds out the hypothermia patient, Maria and Miguel, are brother and sister who were fleeing from their abusive father. Miguel is alive, but he does not have a clear prognosis.
Dr. Manning is in the third trimester of her pregnancy and having trouble getting any sleep. Maggie keeps noticing the small flirtations between Natalie and Dr. Halstead. Neither of them wants to admit there is anything else going on. But Natalie has patients to tend to; she sees a young boy who broke his clavicle bone, but unexpectedly has a seizure. Two officers from Homeland security come to the hospital to inquire about and to the two immigrants. Unfortunately, Miguel does not make it past his injuries.
In another room, Maria is having extreme leg pain, compartment syndrome something she endured when she was passed out in the airplane. Dr. Rhodes goes into four sections of her leg to release the pressure using a fascia tear. A risky move but necessary because the emergency room was too busy. Dr. Halstead continued to questions what Dr. Rhodes planned but Maggie informs Will that Conner has not always had an easy life. With Cornelius Rhodes donating a large sum of money to the hospital in memory of his late wife, Will believes it just goes along with Conner and his family using money to get what they want. Not the case, twenty years ago, Conner’s mom committed suicide by jumping from the roof of their three-story home. Not such an easy life after all.
After going through multiple tests it is discovered the young boy, Parker is suffering from a rare terminal motor functioning disease. Dr. Reese will have to deliver the news to the family because Natalie’s water breaks. Maggie is the birthing coach, but enlists Will to help with the process. Natalie’s mother in law, Helen comes to the hospital, excited for the arrival of her grandson. Dr. Reese does not have the experience necessary to deliver the news and visits Dr. Charles for advice. He encourages her to be direct, but to show compassion towards the situation. Although the news is heart breaking, Dr. Reese, accompanied by Dr. Charles, delivers the news to the parents. They will also need to test their younger son Seth, to see if he carries the terminal gene as well.
Homeland officer’s consent Maria is stable enough to travel back to her homeland. Despite Dr. Rhodes pleas that it is not safe for her to travel, she is taken from the hospital. Since she was an undocumented individual, the hospital is sending her back. Dr. Rhodes is not happy with the decision and storms out of the room. Natalie is well on her way to having her baby, and Helen sees Will helping Natalie. She questions why he is helping her and maybe preying on her vulnerability. Her son only died seven months ago and she feels Natalie is not in the right mindset. Will feels uncomfortable and is not present in the delivery room.
During the delivery, the obstetrician sees the baby wants to come out head up and wants to perform a c-section. Maggie insists she can flip the baby before they have to cut Natalie open. The baby’s heart rate is decreasing, but Maggie was able to flip him the correct way for delivery. With a few more big pushes, the baby comes out with the umbilical cord around his neck and fluid in his airway. The nurses work quickly and the baby begins to cry. A beautiful baby boy is given to Natalie as tears fill the room. Parker keeps an optimistic attitude about his diagnosis and makes instructional videos so his younger brother can learn from him; in case Parker isn’t able to do it in person. Thankfully, Seth does not have the degenerative gene and is expected to live a long life.
Helen goes in to see her new grandson and is beaming with pride. Natalie decides to name the baby Owen, Irish for “Little Fighter”.
Conner attended the ceremony for the dedication of the new Psychiatric ward in memory of his mother. But he confronts his dad and says a mental illness wasn’t why his mother killed herself. A secret that will hopefully unfold further in the season. The episode ends with everyone visiting Natalie and Owen and cheering for the new life they’ve welcomed.
On next week’s episode: Dr. Halstead will have to decide if he will obey doctor/patient confidentiality or let a patient get away with murder after hearing his confession. Stay tuned for the gripping stories of Chicago.