SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 4.
The Chicago Med Halloween episode doesn’t air until next week—but Season 11, Episode 4 is creepy enough. “Found Family” delves into some truly uncomfortable plotlines, including one that’s more graphic than usual. The one strength in all this is that the episode gives actor Darren Barnet a well-deserved spotlight as Dr. John Frost.
Barnet has flown somewhat under the radar since joining Chicago Med, since most of Frost’s storylines have had to do with his past as a child actor, which was played out fairly quickly. The extension of that—revealing that he had been in a romantic relationship with his much older co-star—was a questionable plot. But Barnet has been remarkable even when the material hasn’t been there, and “Found Family” gives him something to sink his teeth into. Frost’s ten-year-old patient Cora needs a stem cell transplant, but testing reveals Cora’s mother Vivienne is not her biological mother; there was a mix-up at the in vitro fertilization clinic.
What follows is a conflict between Vivienne and the biological mother Lily Parker, with Cora in the middle and even more unsure about what’s happening to her. The scenes between Frost and Cora are quietly touching, and Frost gets to give a speech to Lily that reminds Chicago Med viewers how strong an advocate Frost is for the kids in his care. Barnet and Luke Mitchell even salvage the show’s one attempt at humor. A nurse jumping to the conclusion that Frost must be on drugs is not as funny as the show thinks it is, but the elevator scene in which Dr. Mitch Ripley tells that to Frost is deadpan hilarious. Barnet’s reaction when Ripley drops that bombshell is perfect, and the two actors deliver their subsequent lines with great mock seriousness.
Dr. Mitch Ripley: Just no meth in the apartment.
Dr. John Frost: I’ll just keep doing it in the hospital.
Jokes aside, the idea of Frost and Ripley as roommates is actually a pretty good one, because Barnet and Mitchell are two talented actors who don’t get a ton of screen time together. They could build a solid friendship between their characters, which would also be a boon for the show—Chicago Med can always use more friendships. Aside from the ongoing bond between Sharon Goodwin and Dr. Daniel Charles, friendships haven’t gotten as much focus as romantic relationships. Ripley and Frost could end up being a great double act, similar to Dr. Connor Rhodes and Dr. Isidore Latham so many seasons ago.
Elsewhere, though, parts of “Found Family” fail to launch. Chicago Med greets viewers with an up-close shot of a severed hand to tell the story of a craftsman who cut off his own appendage out of fear that he’d hurt someone. This results in a few uncomfortable shots of said hand, but also the plotline feels uneven, because it’s one-part Charles connecting with a patient, and one-part Charles having a conflict with new research. For medical drama fans, it’s fun to see The Resident alum Manish Dayal appear as Dr. Rabari. But by the end of this plotline, it feels like it was less about the patient and more about Charles and Rabari getting on the same page. Plus, any time a new trial or a new technology comes into the hospital, it usually doesn’t go well.
And Dr. Caitlin Lenox deals with an abusive husband (played by How to Get Away with Murder alum Jack Falahee). It seems like this plotline might be continued in a future episode, as it ends with the husband and Lenox having a tense if brief conversation before she watches him walk away. But there’s nothing in this plot that’s different from any other domestic abuse storyline presented in a medical drama. It does remind viewers that Lenox is a lot brasher since her Prion disease diagnosis, but the audience already knew that.
Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 4 is mostly forgettable—but it gets some points for giving Darren Barnet the extra screen time that he’s earned.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
