If it wasn’t clear from his time as Chicago Med‘s former ED Chief, Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) had a lot of empathy — especially after crossing paths with a feathered friend.
In between the high-stakes surgeries and medical crises on Chicago Med, Chi-Hards relish any snapshots into the staff’s personal lives. For fans of Choi, that included his relationship with a parrot he adopted, who gave him a heartwarming new outlook on life.
When did Ethan Choi adopt a parrot on Chicago Med?
Choi had only planned to do a ride along with EMTs at the top of Season 1, Episode 16 (“Disorder”), but fate had other ideas.
The ambulance was pretty quickly called to a home after a man with a hoarding disorder had received nasty burn while cooking and could no longer move. With the house nearly impenetrable because of the man’s possessions, Choi first heard a voice — and, upon getting to his patient, realized it was coming from a parrot loose in the apartment.
As the patient was whisked off to the hospital for further care, the parrot exclaimed, “Don’t touch that!”
In response, Choi tentatively held out his hand for the bird, and the parrot happily perched on his finger. It was love at first flight, prompting Choi to take his new feathered friend home.
What happened after Dr. Choi adopted a parrot on Chicago Med?
In the Season 1 finale (“Timing”), Choi was fostering the animal but struggled to understand the parrot’s insomnia, lack of flight, and aggressive behavior. Choi brought his bird concerns to Gaffney psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) in hopes he had some insight.
Choi noted that he believed that his bird had behavioral issues due to trauma from the neglect he experienced in his previous home. After hearing that Choi was having difficulties finding a new home for the parrot, Charles offered to make a house call.
Watching the parrot walk around Choi’s dining room table, Charles pondered the possibility that the bird had PTSD. Choi was initially dubious, but Charles reminded him that parrots are highly intelligent creatures — and told him about a program that matches up veterans with pet parrots who similarly struggle with PTSD.
Charles encouraged Choi, who was also a veteran with PTSD, to keep the parrot and try teaching it
Cue the hilariously endearing training montage between Choi and his new parrot, which included Choi encouraging his bird to fly. As the all-too-human doctor flapped his arms to inspire his pet to take flight, the bird just wouldn’t budge. Having given up and put the animal in his cage, Choi prepared to go to work and told his bird he’d be right back. To his surprise, the bird echoed, “Be back!”
While enjoying a few beers with Charles later, Choi did his best to get his pet to reenact the new phrase for an audience but the parrot refused. However, just as Choi gave up and walked away, the bird dutifully flew onto his shoulder, a massive mark of progress.
Choi was elated by the act, and Dr. Charles told him he was having more success with the parrot than he’d had with most of his psych patients.
When was the last time the Dr. Ethan Choi’s parrot appeared on Chicago Med?
Choi’s parrot made its last appearance in Season 2, Episode 2 (“Win Loss”).
Choi’s parrot also got a shout-out in Season 2, Episode 5 (“Extreme Measures”) when Choi revealed to his Med colleagues that he no longer ate chicken out of respect for his pet
Choi’s status as a bird dad was a humorous element to his character, with Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) teasing Choi about his parrot in Season 2, Episode 11 (“Graveyard Shift”). After a panda bear was admitted to Gaffney for surgery, Choi offered to assist however he could.
“One parrot and he thinks he’s Dr. Doolittle,” Dr. Rhodes teased.
Following Season 2, however, Choi didn’t make any more appearances with his beloved bird.
When asked if the parrot would return in Season 3, Tee acknowledged Chi-Hards’ love for his feathered friend.
“The most important question of all. [The parrot] might be the reason why the majority of fans come back and watch….” Tee joked in a 2017 chat with US Weekly. “The parrot was such a huge character in Ethan’s life.”
Watch Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
