Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 Review: Sink Or Swim

Critic’s Rating: 4.8 / 5.0

4.8

Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 wasted no time before throwing the hospital into chaos.

A mass casualty event happened at the worst possible time, but it was a great way to introduce the medical drama’s new era.

The medical cases were almost secondary to the character conflicts, and that’s how it has always been for Med. Hopefully, the rest of the season will be as strong as this opening.

Goodbye, Dr. Marcel… Hello, Dr. Frost

Med’s Newest Resident Helps Ease The Pain Of Losing Marcel

When Chicago Med announced Dominic Rains’s departure as Crockett Marcel, I didn’t think anything would ease the pain of losing my favorite character.

Marcel’s absence was explained in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment when Ripley mentioned a farewell party before Marcel went to Boston.

It’s irritating that Dick Wolf shows keep doing this (yes, FBI franchise, I’m looking at you!). People’s disappearances are all explained after the fact instead of preparing for the loss ahead of time.

This one worked better than most, however. Marcel’s last scenes made it so questionable that he would return to Med for Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 that it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t.

At least it sounds like he left on good terms rather than remaining as depressed as he was during the season 9 finale.

Newbie John Frost’s introduction helped heal my heart from Marcel’s loss. When I first saw him, I thought he looked like Marcel and his personality was similar to Marcel’s when he first arrived.

Frost: You’re an angel.

Maggie: And you’re annoying.

Frost: I hope it becomes more endearing as you get to know me.

Frost’s introduction during Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 made him seem like a younger, still-green version of Marcel. He had the same perfect blend of cockiness and passion for patient care but still has a lot to learn.

One of the first lessons for him will likely to be to stay on Maggie’s good side. Their banter was cute, but if he crossed the line to more annoying instead of less, she wouldn’t hesitate to let him have it.

He won over by the end of the hour, though, and with his hospital closing, the only logical place for him is at Gaffney.

I have a special interest in children with speech difficulties, so I found this case one of the most compelling of the hour.

The moment when Zoey woke up and initially couldn’t speak was equally frightening and tear-inducing. Thank goodness she got her medical miracle a minute later, even if these types of miracles are somewhat of a tired TV trope.

Frost’s consultation with Abrams provided some much-needed comic relief in an otherwise heavy episode.

Abrams: Dr. Frost? I’m Dr. Abrams.

Frost: Pleasure to meet you.

Abrams: I imagine so. Can we talk in private?

[They move over]

Abrams: I reviewed the MRI images you sent me, and you were right. The patient has a large glioma tumor on her Brocha’s area.

Frost: So that would explain the sudden speech issues.

Abrams: Yes. That’s why I said you were right. I can say it again, if you’d like.

Abrams was as delightfully arrogant as always, but when push came to shove, he did the surgery and took care of the patient, so who can complain about that?

Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 Introduced A New Power Struggle

Archer And Lenox Butted Heads The Whole Episode

Archer’s got a new enemy, and we’re here for it.

Parenthood‘s Sara Ramos played Caitlin Lenox perfectly. She’s young, energetic, and determined to reform the hospital.

In short, she’s everything Jack Dayton should have been when he was the new hospital owner: someone with new ideas who is going to turn everything upside down.

Unlike Dayton, though, Lenox is actually a doctor, so she understands something about medical care and how hospitals ought to be run.

I’m not sure how I feel about her firing Zach after knowing him for less than a day.

Zach has never had a major role, so I was excited that he finally got something substantial to do on Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1, only for him to lose his job by the end of the hour.

I was also surprised that Sharon signed off on it so easily, but she did say at the top of the hour that Gaffney would need to make major changes because of the influx of patients from Jackson closing.

Whether or not Zach is truly finished at Gaffney, Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 proved that Archer is a character desperately in need of therapy.

Archer: You’re military.

Lenox: Army. 

Archer: I guess that counts.

Lenox: You?

Archer: Navy.

Maggie: Okay… this has been fun, but I need a decision.

He can’t stand Lenox’s youth, energy, or insistence on running the ED her way, and things are only going to get worse for him as time goes on.

The Pawel Story Needs To Go

Now That We Know The Truth Let’s Wrap This One Up

The Pawel nonsense took a back seat, for the most part, and at the end of the hour, Ripley explained to Hannah what had happened.

It was a meta performance since he was catching the audience up, but it worked.

Unsurprisingly, Ripley’s innocent. Sully and his friends beat up Pawel, and Ripley arrived too late to stop them.

Great. Now that we know, let’s wrap this up so we can move on to better stories for Ripley. I enjoyed his work with patients and would hate for that to be interrupted by any legal nonsense.

Similarly, I’m not sad to see LiIliana go.

Her leaving over Charles’ refusal to believe Pawel’s lies is somewhat of a split for the sake of drama, but it wraps up a relationship that has been mostly annoying, so that’s fine.

Dr. Charles was one of the MVPs on Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1, and I’d rather there be more of him in a medical capacity and less relationship nonsense.

As usual, he knew how to get through to a scared patient when no one else could.

This woman was carrying a heavy burden because of the fear of losing her son and her anger at her husband’s non-involvement in rescuing the boy in the first place.

Charles’ typical ability to listen and talk non-judgmentally helped her see she was acting out of fear when she was refusing to allow her son to have surgery. Well done!

This Story Bodes Well For The Future

Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 Set Up High Expectations and Planted Story Seeds

Not every episode of Chicago Med can be a high-stakes, mass-casualty event. That would get exhausting after a while.

But Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1 had a lot of work to do, and a high-stakes story was the right way to do it. In one fell swoop, this episode:

Introduced new characters

Wrote out two characters (assuming Zach is really gone.)

Set up conflicts that will last throughout the season

Set up the overarching plot of the hospital being overwhelmed with patients and needing to make changes

New showrunner Allen MacDonald also demonstrated his understanding of the characters and the kind of stories Chicago Med fans love.

He hit it out of the park, proving that long-time fans can trust him to lead the series in the right direction.

Over to you, Chicago Med fanatics.

What did you think of Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 1? Did it meet your expectations?

Hit the comments with your thoughts.

Chicago Med airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 8/7c and on Peacock on Thursdays.

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