Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 03, “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades,” fires on all cylinders as Will’s (Nick Gehlfuss) return brings a tragedy. Meanwhile, the ED receives two patients involved in a horrible car accident.
The patients are Julian Wheeler and Corey Graham (A.J. Shively), a gay couple who got rammed into by an 18-wheeler. The former is in a worse condition than the latter.
So bad in fact that they learn Julian is brain dead and his partner — who he wasn’t married to yet — must make a decision.
Corey agrees to let Julian off life support and, as a decent thing to do, informs his partner’s estranged parents.
The couple had been living together for seven years, so when Corey agrees, the doctors oblige. I mean, who knows Julian better than Corey?
He is devastated about the entire thing, but brain death is not something people come back from, and he doesn’t want to remember Julian in this state — hooked up to machines with doctors surrounding him.
‘Chicago Med’ Tackles a Complicated Issue of Medical Proxies for Gay Couples
The problem arises when Julian’s parents show up, demanding that they are the ones who should be making this decision since they’re his parents.
Apparently, Julian had a will that gave them the right.
It’s more than okay for parents to be involved in such decisions, but it later becomes clear that Julian’s parents do not care.
They had destroyed their relationship with their son and this latest attempt is one in a long line of seeking to control Julian’s life.
Not only do they want to keep his body on life support, but they also want his sperm extracted for artificial insemination.
What a violation!
Photo: George Burns Jr/NBCSadly, many parents are just like Julian’s. They view their children as a means to an end, usually some sentimental nonsense end that does not make the child’s life better.
A lot of people have children for selfish reasons. It usually boils down to fitting into society or as an insurance plan.
Julian’s parents wanted to fit into society by being called parents and grandparents. When they realized that Julian might not give them biological grandchildren, the fantasy was destroyed, and suddenly, he became of no use to them.
Julian reported cases of abuse to Corey, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his parents had tried to “cure him.”
This attempt to violate him by forcibly using his sperm to reproduce, they view as their chance to achieve their goal without any pushback.
Too bad for them because Julian found someone to advocate for him.
Dr. Frost Is Once Again Reminded of His Past
John (Darren Barnet) has been working hard to move past his abusive childhood, but like with Liam’s case in Chicago Med Season 10, Episode 16, “Poster Child,” life won’t let him off the hook that easily.
The show seems to be building toward exploring Frost’s parents, and with Julian, he sees just how greedy and abusive parents can be.
When Corey talks about his attempt to reconcile the parties, Frost learns that some wounds are too deep to heal, and maybe he might never reconcile with his own parents.
As Corey’s doctor, John gets a front-row seat to the whole show, and anyone would be disgusted by the Wheeler parents’ plan.
John: You know as well as I do that these parents, the Wheelers, all right, they’re no good. The privilege, the sense of entitlement, the way that they trample over everything that gets in their way. I mean, doing this for their son right now? They’ve never done anything for anyone in their…
John’s monologue above is an accurate description of the Wheelers, but it also feels a little pointed — like he’s talking about someone specific.
Caitlin (Sarah Ramos) cautions that it’s not their job to judge patients and families.
However, even the best of us have our limits, and watching Deirdre (Tina Alexis Allen) speak with glee about violating Julian breaks Caitlin, and she gives them a piece of her mind.
And Whip (Joe Chapleau)? What a pushover!
The case does not get a resolution as the Wheelers get their sperm, but the court needs to weigh in on using it for reproduction.
Sharon informs them that the Wheelers might not win this. Comforting, but not reassuring.
Speaking of Dr. Frost, he and Ripley looked so good in this episode. I still think the show should make them a couple.
These cases were commonplace when gay people could not get legally married. Couples would build a life together, and when tragedy strikes, parents pull out the “I birthed you card.’
It feels even more timely given the current administration’s attempt to roll back progress that has been fought for.
If marriage equality is repealed, hospitals could be seeing more of these cases.
Chicago Med Season 11, Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
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