It's hard to imagine a day worse than April's. 

Gaffney's 2nd favorite nurse powered through her shift after receiving the worst kind of news on  Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 15, breaking everybody's hearts in the process.

Her loss made the other cases seem near inconsequential, once again highlighting the need for Med to occasionally back off from the ensemble norm and instead focus on a single character or two.

It's not that I didn't like the other cases or thought that the rest of the cast sucked, nor did I think April's decision to keep working intensified the emotion around what was happening.

But abortion is a controversial decision, and late term abortion even more so.

Technically, 19 weeks is just under the deadline for "late term," but it seemed obvious that's where the writers were headed with this arc.

Having April's procedure take place so immediately and with very little notice about the financial, legal, or logistical hurdles that couples can face felt like a disservice to the heartbreaking real-life stories of women facing the same situation. 

It's hard to keep your mind from racing to that dark place.

April

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I want to give credit where credit is due, though, and applaud the Med team for taking a different approach to the abortion issue than is commonly seen on TV. Yaya DeCosta portrayed her character's quiet pain beautifully, and Maggie was (as always) the best friend we all need. 

Even so, technically, April didn't have an abortion since the fetus didn't have a heartbeat. But producers talked about the arc in terms of the issue, so I'm going with it.

Here's hoping that Tate and April get through this and happy days are ahead.

Distracting us from April's plight was Connor's ego getting smacked down by Sharon and a higher power. 

For me, the best part of this case was the reappearance of Dr. Abrams, who I would love to see as a full cast member. He's mean sometimes but in this tired kind of way that reflects how much he's seen compared to younger docs.

Maybe for Connor's third surgical specialty, he can pick up neuro, since apparently, he's some wunderkind how just goes from fellowship to fellowship &ndsh; I'm mostly kidding, but seriously, is he a trauma surgeon or cardiothoracic?

The writers need to decide!

All the king's horses and all the king's men... Guess they should have gone to you.

Dr. Abrams [to Connor]

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Abrams wasn't the only one giving Connor flak. Sharon's dress down was great. I love S. Epatha Merkerson, and she's sadly underutilized.

Of course, really, how often does an administrator of a whole (huge, research and teaching hospital) visit the ER to interact with residents or even attendings?

I've got my fingers crossed that the "publish or perish" issue comes up sometime soon at her urging. Will and April's patient would be a perfect study for her to push on Halstead the younger.

His "huh, that was weird, oh well, we'll never know why" attitude about Melody's recovery was hella frustrating. 

Sharon: What the hell was that?
Connor: My patient's doing well, I didn't see why the press shouldn't know
Sharon: Any interaction with the media goes through me. I wouldn't have let you come out here and grandstand like that. What if the patient dies? You gonna hold a press conference then?

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Of all the side case, Sarah's was the one I enjoyed the most. In addition to the delightful absurdity of a man in a cape carrying a woman through the doors of the ED, Reese handled that case on her own with minimal guidance from Dr. Charles. She's really coming into her own.

In fact, Charles lack of involvement with her case made me wonder why the hell he wasn't jumping in with Choi and Nat's patient.

I understood Choi's point about understanding the need to hope, but when your "hope" is actively harming you, it's time for a shrink to step in.

Seriously, there's a whole subsection of sex therapy and physical therapy focusing on intimate relations for paraplegics! Injecting god knows what into your spine in a sketchy "clinic" is a terrible idea; at least find a reputable institute in a country with regulations!

The upcoming Chicago Med Season 2 Episode 16 ("Prisoner's Dilemma") will hopefully have a more balanced feel to it. Tate and April will be facing the fallout from their loss, but with the critical part of their arc concluded, focusing on other cases won't feel so wrong.

Detective Lindsay will be stopping by to investigate who impregnated a coma patient.

At least that's the most obvious reason for her to visit, but with a mother and daughter collapsing on a flight out of Ecuador, there's always the possibility of drug smuggling. 

I'm hoping that tired trope doesn't trot out, but I'm also not holding my breath.

What I'm most interested in is Sarah's case (what else is new?) and how she handles it, and how Wheeler screws something up clearing the way for her return to the ED. 

If you can't remember the many, many ways Wheeler has shown himself to be simultaneously incompetent and forgettable, not to worry, you can watch Chicago Med online to refresh your memory!

It's also a good option if you want to binge to try and figure out how Connor suddenly regressed to Halstead like behavior. Halstead-like behavior. 

We love hearing from Chicago Med Fanatics, so join share your thoughts in the comments section below.

How did the writing team handle the "abortion" story line? What would you do if you were the one paralyzed? Should Sarah stick with psych or head back to the ED if given the chance? 

Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.