Chicago Med Fans Think S8's MRI Scene Was A Little Over The Top

While there may be a real neurosurgeon among the cast of "Chicago Med," viewers nevertheless take issue with the behavior of the show's doctors from time to time. For example, in a scene that arguably went too far, Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) forges another doctor's signature to discharge her significant other from the emergency department, forgoing the usual procedure and breaking a law intended to ensure patients' safety.

Fans were similarly critical of a key MRI plotline in Season 8, Episode 16, which premiered on March 22. Leading up to the MRI scene in question, a man named Quentin (Adam Stephenson) grows increasingly anxious while waiting for his wife to give birth to their child. Once the child is born and he's tasked with cutting its umbilical cord, he starts behaving erratically and threatens a nurse with a pair of scissors, at which point security guards attempt to apprehend him. He then flees into an MRI room, where its magnetic field pins him between it and a steel bed, and even lodges the pair of scissors in his neck. Supposedly, simply turning the machine off would dislodge the scissors in a manner that would kill him.

In a Reddit thread about this episode, user toomuchhoneydew described this MRI scene as both ridiculous and unnecessarily detailed. "I didn't mean to laugh but it was so over the top IMO," they wrote. As it turns out, they were far from the only viewer with such an opinion.

On Twitter too, a number of "Chicago Med" fans shared a few different reasons that they found the MRI storyline ridiculous. For instance, @AchtungBaby115 wrote, "Why was the MRI machine on if no one was in it?"

Similarly, @suzbronson argued that such an incident is not just unlikely but in defiance of hospital norms. "These kind of freak accidents don't happen because MRI aren't left running," they wrote. "That would be severe negligence on the part of the hospital because of this kind of thing. This is lazy writing. So disappointing."

Meanwhile, @the_squarrell wondered whether or not a pair of double doors is all that stand between a pedestrian hallway and an MRI machine in real hospitals, as they do in "Chicago Med" Season 8, Episode 16. User @MickDevo153 then replied that in their estimation, hospitals typically house their MRI machines in separate, off-limits areas. Given this purported inaccuracy on "Chicago Med," they then wondered if the show no longer actively employs a medical consultant.

Of course, for soap-y network shows like "Chicago Med," over-the-top drama isn't out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, for plenty of viewers, the MRI storyline in Episode 16 seems to have transcended routine melodrama and crossed over into pure ridiculousness.