Written by John Edward Betancourt CHICAGO MED -- "The Book of Archer" Episode 1017 -- Pictured: (l-r) Steven Weber as Dr. Dean Archer, Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood -- (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 1017 of ‘Chicago Med’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
It is definitely safe to say that doctors are unique in nature. After all, they make a choice to save lives, and they see stunning surprises in their day to day lives. The kind that the majority of us might not be able to handle, all because of their training, their skills and knowledge and of course… their minds. For they truly understand how to separate the moment from emotion to keep people alive, and that is unique and that is why we look at them with awe. But it does leave one to wonder, how much a doctor can carry when it comes to the emotional burdens they experience, and the emotional separation they must impart upon themselves. For they are people, unique sure, but people none the less and death and suffering has an impact upon us. So, how then do they process that? And is there a breaking point for them when it comes to how much they can take? As it turns out, there is, as evidenced by this week’s episode of Chicago Med on NBC. For ‘The Book of Archer’ focused heavily on Dr. Dean Archer during a harrowing day in his life. For he learned right out of the gate that his ex-wife passed away due to her drinking, and an accident. Which really didn’t seem to bug him at first, since a man of his experience and stature knew how to process death, and that led him to comfort his son and head to work, on a day where the ER was short with Dr. Lenox taking some time to stay with a patient that meant something to her, and with Ripley still recovering upstairs. Which led to business as usual at first. Wherein the good doctor dealt with a patient that was jacked up on drugs, a couple that discovered that cancer was growing next to their baby and a child that firmly believed that his new heart was going to harm him. Because the donor wasn’t happy with him and her spirt was ready to end him. That brought forth… an understanding that doctors have a breaking point, and that they struggle to process the pain they see and when that happens… life gets rough. Since Archer was snappy with his patients and direct in a manner that was outright rude. Because he was struggling with his emotions, the emotions in the room and that left us wondering… how then do they find a way forward? Because clearly, the big issue for Dr. Archer was that he was overwhelmed by the emptiness of death. Of how sudden and quick it can be, and how it created such voids, and doctors do indeed see it differently. For there is no thoughts of God and the afterlife in the midst of trying to restart a heart via CPR. Just the moment, just the need to save a life, and well… this episode made it clear, that doctors need to find some meaning in death. To satiate what our minds require, which is closure, and Archer found that in some unique ways as this episode moved along. Since a wonderous gesture to help that heart patient informed him of the need to find more to death than just time of, and a moving of a body, since that can offer comfort to our minds. Not to mention, a grand talk with Lenox, who spoke to how loss and an understanding of the fragility of life and the moment, drove her to be no nonsense and to preserve life, reminded him to cherish every single second we are given. Of course, it also didn’t hurt that Hannah helped to reinforce that through some kindness. All of which seemed to give Archer a little more focus and calm and well, all of these elements made for a fascinating and thoughtful episode. One that was supremely grounded in humanity and served as a study, really. Of how we lose our way in any profession and how we need things to ground ourselves to maintain our sanity and to find meaning in what we do, and those are lessons we can all take away from this story. One that also finally solved the mystery of Lenox and gave us new perspective upon her, and also saw Dr. Frost continue to quietly deal with the fallout of his confrontation with Maggie. Who may embark on new journeys as well. But what matters most, is that this episode really did remind us that doctors eventually struggle like the rest of us do and require the same support and love to find their way, for after all… we are only human. Until next time. Watch ‘Chicago Med’
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2025
|
RSS Feed