Medical dramas are exceptionally popular with modern audiences, and Chicago Med is no different. By setting this drama in a bustling metropolitan city, both the audience and the doctors have no idea what’s going to walk through the door next. Plus, by combining this show with other parts of the One Chicago Universe, audiences are in for a really dramatic treat.
With 10 seasons under its belt, Chicago Med has no plans to slow down. Thus, fans have an abundance of fantastic scenes to fall in love with. Overall, it’s clear that Chicago Med is well on its way to defeating its larger competitors and remaining supreme in this vastly competitive sector.
10A Parent’s Worst Nightmare Throws Gaffney Medical Center Into a Frenzy
Season 3, Episode 14, “Lock It Down”
By the middle of its third season, the team at Gaffney Medical Center had seen it all. But, in Episode 14, a child abduction puts a major spanner in the works and forces the team to put the entire hospital on lockdown. Yet, Dr. Choi still has to care for a patient who needs urgent open-heart surgery, so he recruits Dr. Rhodes to help him open the OR.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Diane Frolov | Salli Richardson-Whitfield |
This is a very tense and touching scene because it’s a prime example of how these medical professionals are often pushed to break the rules in order to save their patients. Overall, “Lock It Down” is an incredibly layered episode, providing audiences with typical medical problems and a horrifying abduction scenario. In turn, fans certainly have a lot to sink their teeth into when it comes to the first scene on this list.
9Dr. Latham Pays the Price
Season 2, Episode 19, “Ctrl Alt”
Gone are the days when doctors and nurses would create patient reports on pen and paper. Like many modern hospitals, Gaffney Medical Center uses a superior computer system to help keep things running smoothly, but when that system is hacked, chaos ensues. These hackers continue to ask the team for a ransom payment that would certainly put a massive dent in the hospital’s funds.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Stephen Hoostein & Jason Cho | Valerie Weiss |
Unsurprisingly, the team is unwilling to bend over to the hackers’ demands. Yet, it’s revealed that Dr. Isidore Latham paid the ransom to help deter the hackers from taking any further action. Fans of this episode will note that this is an incredibly unexpected plot twist and works to showcase Dr. Latham as a kind and caring individual. This episode also works to break down the stereotypes surrounding his Autism diagnosis, making it surprisingly heartwarming.
8April and Will Treat a Cancer Patient With a Dark Secret
Season 3, Episode 12, “Born This Way”
“Born This Way” is a fantastic example of what makes Chicago Med so popular because it focuses on the moral dilemmas surrounding healthcare. April and Will are tasked with treating a cancer patient, who the latter believes is just suicidal. But, as the episode unfolds, it turns out that the patient no longer wants to receive treatment because he’s a pedophile and believes that he deserves to die.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Jeff Drayer & Daniel Sinclair | Lin Oeding |
There’s no denying that this is an incredibly hard-hitting subject and is likely to be very triggering to a large section of the audience. However, these types of discussions help to separate Chicago Med from other procedurals currently on air. While other shows enjoy ramping up the tension with countless life-or-death situations, Chicago Med forces its audience to ponder on more nuanced situations.
7Fans Say Goodbye to Dr. Rhodes
Season 5, Episode 1, “Never Going Back to Normal”
After the tumultuous events of the Season 4 finale, many Chicago Med fans believed that things couldn’t get any worse. Yet, they were forced to bid farewell to the fan-favorite character, Connor Rhodes. Though at this point there had been a plethora of character exits, Dr. Rhodes’ departure was incredibly tear-jerking.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Diana Frolov & Andrew Schnieder | Michael Pressman |
Before he strolled out of Gaffney Medical Center one last time, he said goodbye to Sharon Goodwin and stated that he had seen Dr. Latham as a true friend. Though this may not be the most dramatic moment in the show’s history, it proves that it can keep fans on the edge of their seats and bawling their eyes out at the same moment. As such, fans often regard this moment as incredibly bittersweet.
6A Child Patient Baffles Dr. Charles
Season 1, Episode 14, “Hearts”
This episode starts pretty simple, presenting the team with a small child, Bo, who has a broken wrist. Yet, when the team delves deeper into his history, they discover that he’s had a ton of injuries in the past and his mother looks pretty beat up. All signs initially point to a domestic violence case, so they consult fan-favorite Chicago Med character Dr. Charles for more information.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Liz Brixius | Donald Petrie |
Upon further investigation, Dr. Charles concludes that the boy is a psychopath and is forced to try and convince the parents of his unique condition. This episode drags viewers down a pretty intense rabbit hole, forcing them to confront the idea that innocent children can also suffer from immense mental health conditions. Arguably, the best part of this episode is when the young boy takes a button out of a pool of blood and sniffs it, showing that he’s a truly evil little boy.
5An Infection Spreads Across the One Chicago Universe
Season 5, Episode 4, “Infection, Part II”
The “Infection” arc in the One Chicago universe could be considered to be ahead of its time as it showcases how flesh-eating bacteria continue to ravage the people of Chicago. While the police department continues to investigate the possibility of bio-terrorism, the team at the Gaffney Medical Center is forced to save patients from a very vicious disease. The reason this episode sits at the halfway point on this list is because Dr. Halstead stumbles across one of the researchers destroying evidence of the disease, creating a whole new problem.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Dick Wolf | Michael Pressman |
Outbreaks are quite common in medical dramas, but this example stands out from the crowd because it successfully uses this concept to bring all the spin-off shows together. The cast gives incredibly convincing performances and fans can’t help but believe that these events are truly unfolding. All the doctors showcase inherent fear and confusion about this virus, ensuring that audiences enjoy a whole heap of dramatic tension.
The “Infection” arc in the One Chicago universe could be considered to be ahead of its time as it showcases how flesh-eating bacteria continue to ravage the people of Chicago. While the police department continues to investigate the possibility of bio-terrorism, the team at the Gaffney Medical Center is forced to save patients from a very vicious disease. The reason this episode sits at the halfway point on this list is because Dr. Halstead stumbles across one of the researchers destroying evidence of the disease, creating a whole new problem.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Dick Wolf | Michael Pressman |
4Dr. Charles Visits a Loved One
Season 5, Episode 10, “Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”
Despite his charming and mild-mannered persona, Dr. Daniel Charles has endured a pretty rocky love life. Caroline, better known as CeCe, was Daniel’s first and fourth wife, exemplifying their unbreakable bond. In Season 4, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Lymphoma and passed away during a trip to one of her favorite resorts.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Stephen Hoostein & Gabriel L. Feinberg | Mykelti Williamson |
But, in “Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”, the psychiatrist sits mournfully at his wife CeCe’s graveside and discusses the impact of his grief. This is a tragic scene because it reminds viewers that even though his job is to help others, Daniel suffers from his own mental health issues too.
3A Chemical Spill Leaves Dr. Choi in Danger
Season 4, Episode 7, “The Poison Inside Us”
Grief makes people do strange things and that is emphasized in “The Poison Inside Us”. After a grieving woman causes an immense chemical spill in the hospital, the entire institution is forced to go into lockdown. To top it all off, Dr. Choi comes in contact with the substance and is now running against the clock to help his patients as well as himself.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Jeff Drayer & Joseph Sousa | Milena Govich |
Chicago Med handles these emergency situations very well as it places the characters in an environment where they can’t escape. Thus, even as Dr. Choi is fighting for his life, the hospital is still dealing with its day-to-day duties, such as dealing with a patient with a DNR tattoo. As such, this episode just keeps on piling on the tension, making it a great example of what makes the show so popular.
2Maggie Receives a Shocking Diagnosis
Season 4, Episode 22, “With a Brave Heart”
Many fans regard Maggie Lockwood as the heart and soul of Gaffney Medical Center, mainly because her role as a Charge Nurse means that she meets almost everyone who walks through its doors. But, in “With a Brave Heart”, Lockwood is diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, a condition that shocked both the team and fans. Not only is this a tragic situation for Maggie, but it forces the audience to imagine how the hospital would cope without this integral character.
| Written By | Directed By |
|---|---|
| Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider | Michael Waxman |
