Chicago Med
Chicago Med Review – Halstead Proves He’s Incapable of Making a Good Decision to Save His Life (5×14)
Is Will Halstead capable of making good decisions?
One of the qualifications of being a doctor is making medically sound decisions on behalf of your patients, and despite Halstead’s best attempts, you have to question where his head’s at during that conversation with Dr. Asher.
Will started off on the right foot by clearing the air with Asher, encouraging her to “get clean,” and even suggesting he would meet her for a Narcotic’s Annonymous meeting in the morning.
My fear was that Asher would leave the clinic and try to score somewhere else, which didn’t happen, but she ditched the meeting and gave Will a mouthy response about stalking her. The mood swings are understandable, so we will forgive her.
Eventually, Will surmised that he cannot stand by and watch Asher take patients while suffering from addiction so he terminated his position at the safe injection site mainly to protect them from her retaliation and arranged a meeting with her.
So far, so good.
Here’s where things hit a bit of a snag when it came to Will’s decision making.
For starters, he offered to meet Asher at a bar. Who brings an addict to a bar? Really, Will?
He then proceeded to tell Asher his plan — you turn yourself in or I will — and let her know that he’s not with the clinic anymore (though, she said she would never actually report him).
Asher lied to Will before after promising that she’d meet him at a meeting, so what makes Will so confident she will hold up her end of the deal here and turn herself in the next morning? And even so, telling the truth doesn’t cure someone’s addiction — it’s a long road.
From here it just gets progressively worse. Asher seems to be trying to manipulate him by preying on his feelings and acting touched that he cares.
“I care,” Will flirtingly tells her. Hands touch, fingers collide, and she invites him back to her place to which Halstead smiles and nods. Lord…
In some ways, Asher is kind of a patient now that he’s agreeing to help. Halstead exhibited questionable judgment when he decided to get involved with someone in a fragile mental state and someone on the verge of losing her license because he’s pushing her into a corner.
There are a few outcomes here including Asher getting emotionally attached, Asher dragging him down with him, or Asher killing him. She seems nice, sure, but she could kill him to protect her secret. It may be extreme, but we’ve seen crazier things on this show.
So, I beg you, Halstead, do not accept that invitation. It’s incredibly reckless to start a relationship with someone you barely know, who has a drug problem and doesn’t seem to want to get help on her own. She also threatened his career.
It’s noble of him to want to help someone get clean, but that’s where he needs to draw the line. It sounds like a bad movie, and Halstead needs to know that you cannot change a person that doesn’t want to be changed.
April and Ethan dealt with a newlywed couple whose honeymoon phase even got them turned on in the ED.
It’s unclear why anyone would want to get it on in a place filled with bacteria, but more power to them.
Their love story took a wrong turn when it was revealed that the woman’s rash was being caused by an allergic reaction to her husband’s sperm. I didn’t know that was possible, but you learn something new every day.
The couple’s attractiveness towards each other made April realize that she and Ethan haven’t been spontaneously intimate at all through this IVF phase, and despite his best efforts, April’s guilt serving as a bit of a block.
April’s not over Crockett as evidenced in the elevator. She so badly wants to be over him, but she tenses up every time she’s near him because that sexual energy is too much to handle. I keep saying it, but I’ll say it again, April needs to be honest with herself, come clean about her feelings, and tell Ethan the truth. Stop torturing yourself, girl.
Crockett is quickly becoming my favorite character on the series next to Dr. Curry!
There is this airiness and easiness about him that’s almost foreign in the ED. He has never once wavered on his beliefs and has always suggested that the next of kin make the decision about a patient’s health.
He doesn’t let his personal beliefs or his wants and needs as a human or surgeon cloud his judgment. He looks at facts and makes morally sound decisions, and when things don’t’ go his way, he usually doesn’t have to make some lengthy argument about why they should have. He accepts what’s happening and then makes a simple, subtle comment that puts into perspective why his decision was his decision.
That happened when he went head-to-head with Natalie about whether or not to let Kim, a car crash victim, make a medical decision about her husband.
Natalie noticed Kim was a victim of abuse and didn’t want her to make a decision she would regret, but Crockett argued that despite what happened in their private life, she was still the next of kin and those rights belonged to her.
The most frustrating part about Natalie’s argument is that she had no confirmation Kim was an abuse victim. She had bruises that aligned with the symptoms of abuse, but nothing else to go off of. What if Kim was being abused by a lover?
Eventually, the Ethics Committee voted that Kim should be stripped of decision rights and that her husband should get his leg amputated.
Kim was already a mess when she came into the hospital but she really lost it after that as she basically melted down about what her husband would do to her if he woke up without a leg and it was all her fault.
Natalie offered to “help,” but Kim pulled the plug and murdered her husband when no one was around.
As Crockett put it: an abuse victim went to jail and that didn’t seem like the right outcome.
I’d have to agree. There’s what you should do based on the book and there’s what you should do based on the case.
Kim was making a decision for her safety, and when that was taken from her, she went to the extremes. When people are left without a choice, they’re willing to go far.
And I can’t fault her for what she did. No one understands the level of personal hell and fear you live in each day. For all we know, she crashed the car on purpose.
If Natalie had just left it alone, Kim would have been free from her demons.
Natalie has always had an ego complex that reared its ugly head mainly when she was with arguing with Will over who was right. With Crockett, she gets put in her place because she understands that her outcome may not have been the right one.
Curry is my second favorite because she’s gone from this book-heavy intern to someone who trusts her own medical judgment and is learning to speak up for herself.
She still makes plenty of missteps since she’s learning, but she’s a fun character to bring into Dr. Charles’ realm because she keeps him on his toes.
The case, in particular, was unlike anything we’ve ever seen since the young boy was suffering from a rare condition.
If not for Curry’s inquisitiveness, the boy’s parents would have never known he was misdiagnosed. They would go on thinking he was in a vegetative state when in reality he was suffering from catatonia, which put his body into a state of shock caused by the paralyzing fear of his father’s job.
It was a heartbreaking situation as the father wanted so badly to be with his son but knew he had to separate himself to give him his best chance, but at least they were on a path of healing.
That’s all anyone can really ask for after leaving a hospital.
What did you think of Chicago Med? Is Halstead making a mistake if he goes to Asher’s place and hooks up with her?
Are Natalie and Crockett going to become an item? Will we ever learn about his past?
Will April come clean to Ethan?
It’s the end of an era. The Chicago Med Season 8 finale saw Will Halstead saying his final goodbye to Gaffney Medical.
And the best part is that you don’t even have to wonder where he’s going!
After realizing that his time at the hospital had come to an end, Will thanked his colleagues and friends who have been like family for all these years and made a swift departure to Seattle to be with his one true love, Natalie Manning!
Chicago Med pulled off the ultimate surprise by bringing back Torrey Devito for a brief yet emotional cameo. She greeted Halstead outside of the airport along with her son, Owen, and they made it very clear that this time they were going to make things work. “I’m never letting you go,” Natalie told Halstead as they embarked on their new chapter together.
CHICAGO MED — “Does One Door Close and Another One Open?” Episode 822 — Pictured: (l-r) Ari Morgan as Owen, Torrey DeVitto as Natalie — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
While I usually wouldn’t recommend going back to a relationship that didn’t work in the past, in this case, it just makes sense. They both had a clean break to find themselves and figure things out and yet their paths crossed once again. Timing is everything, and without the setting of Gaffney, I think they may actually be able to work things out this time around.
And that’s a wrap on Will Halstead. Thank you so much to Nick Gehlfuss for bringing such an “irritating” yet “inspirational” character to life for eight seasons. Sharon Goodwin was right on the money with that comment.
He even went out in such Will style by going off the rails and doing something that only Will could ever justify as a good idea.
Halstead was very triggered by 2.0’s glitch, and when he realized no one was going to do anything about it, the took matters into his own hands without realizing the larger implications of his decision.
By reprogramming 2.0 to go completely haywire during Jack Dayton’s hernia resection, he not only destroyed the product by setting in plenty of doubt, but he also ensured that 2.0 would never see the light of day again as it tarnished Dayton’s reputation in the process.
Dayton could no longer go through with the IPO, which meant that he couldn’t secure the funding to make 2.0 a better and more reliable product, which in turn meant that Jack Dayton had to sell Med, putting everyone’s fate up in the air.
As much as I want to praise Halstead for trying to do the wrong thing, his decision was very costly, especially because, as Crockett pointed out, 2.0 did a lot of good. With the right improvements, it could be a very useful tool in the future, but Halstead ensured that said future would never happen.
However, on the other hand, maybe selling the hospital isn’t the worst idea as it will likely put the power back in the hands of someone who cares about the patients over profits. Turning Med into a for-profit hospital has not been a welcome change for the doctors as they are limited in who they can treat, and it’s also a terrible experience for patients who don’t have the best insurance and can’t pay exorbitant prices.
Turning away patients is never ideal, especially patients who need critical care. One of Archer’s patients, Rachel, was admitted to Med with terrible stomach pains, and by waiting for an ambo transfer to a hospital that would have accepted her insurance, she likely would’ve died in the process.
The doctors took it upon themselves to do the surgery under the radar so as to not put her in debt for life, but that was a risky move. If anyone from upper management found out, it would not be pretty. Though, it’s nice to see Archer coming around and doing what needs to be done to save lives.
CHICAGO MED — “Does One Door Close and Another One Open?” Episode 822 — Pictured: (l-r) Luigi Sottile as Sean Archer, Steven Weber as Dean Archer — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
During the surgery, which Hannah Asher assisted, Archer became very weak, and he realized he had another infection from his “DIY dialysis.” At this point, Asher insisted he start at a proper dialysis clinic, which he was against because of the time commitment, and when Sean suggested they just go through with the surgery as he was approved as his father’s donor, Archer and Asher had to inform him that he was no longer eligible after falling off the wagon.
It was honestly heartbreaking to see Sean come to terms with what his relapse meant. It was one misstep—that stemmed from a misunderstanding in the first place—and yet, it set back his plans to help his father for at least six months.
Hopefully, this doesn’t set Sean back even further because I can see how he’d deal with thinking that he’s a “disappointment” by turning to drugs and alcohol yet again.
CHICAGO MED — “Does One Door Close and Another One Open?” Episode 822 — Pictured: (l-r) Jessy Schram as Hannah Asher, Steven Weber as Dean Archer — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)
Archer, however, cannot blame himself for what happened, nor can he blame the fact that he allowed his son to be a donor as the relapse had nothing to do with the pressure of the situation. Sean was set off after seeing his father and Hannah getting “close,” and while there may have been some flirtation happening, when he finally addressed it with the two of them, they were both quite shocked.
I honestly think that Asher and Archer are good friends, and though there may be underlying feelings there, they’ve never considered them because they’ve never thought about going there. Could this be what convinces them to give things a try? Or did it cement them in the friend’s zone forever? I’m not surprised the romance hasn’t gotten the spotlight as Archer’s health is definitely a priority.
Hannah also seems pretty adamant about keeping her personal life and professional life separate, so I could see her shutting any possibility of a romance with either of the Archer men down.
Dr. Charles dealt with two patients that Dr. Loren Johsnton brought in via ambo. There was also a misunderstanding there as the wife, Janice, thought her husband Fred was trying to kill her, when in reality, Fred was fighting with his body impulsively doing things he couldn’t control. Turns out, he had a small stroke that resulted in a rare neurological called alien hand syndrome. With everything cleared up, the couple was back on track, and it put Charles’ relationship with Liliana in perspective. He realized that he had to clear up the misunderstanding by simply being vulnerable and honest with her about his feelings—he didn’t think of her as a charity case, and just because he has a fancy title doesn’t mean he doesn’t share the same insecurities as other people.
And Liliana, for her part, realized she’d put up a wall because she’s so used to being independent. Of course, there’s still the issue of her overbearing brother Pawel, who, quite frankly, needs to be told to get his own life. I understand siblings being there for each other and helping each other out, but he’s constantly bossing her around, talking down to her, and being kind of emotionally abusive.
Also, I truly hope Dr. Loren becomes a new addition to Med next season!
With Maggie interviewing at other hospitals, I was certain she’d be the person leaving Med at the end of the season, but Halstead’s problematic heroics make so much more sense.
I’m just glad it isn’t Crockett because I was just getting invested in the character, while Archer and Asher have been the best duo this season.
What did you think of the Chicago Med Season 8 finale? Are you pleased with how Halstead’s storyline ended?
What do you want to see next season?
Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 21 mostly focused on Jack Dayton’s continuing efforts to ruin Gaffney at every turn.
It’s starting to become a little exhausting to constantly write about Jack, but he’s the main focus this season, with the latest storyline focused on the impending 2.0 IPO launch that would propel Med into a destination hospital, naturally, at the cost of all the other patients needing healthcare services.
But even more concerning and daunting is the last-minute revelation that 2.0 may have been the reason for killing a man. Richard’s death in the prior episode was weighing heavily on Crockett and Halstead. Neither of them could truly understand what went wrong, and when they went to look for the data from 2.0, it was nowhere to be found. Once Crockett confronted Jack, he was given a flash drive that detailed a mistake he made during the procedure that ended up being deadly.
However, once Halstead gave the drive to Grace, she found that it wasn’t Crockett’s fault at all. 2.0 showed Crockett a phantom lesion that was never actually there, and if it wasn’t for that display, Crockett would’ve never operated and Richard would’ve still been alive. The machine is faulty, which isn’t something that looks good when you’re about to go public. As of now, it seems as though Jack wasn’t aware of the glitch on 2.0 and assumed he was genuinely protecting his star doctor, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was his cover to protect the integrity of the product. But if Jack really knew that 2.0 glitched, I don’t think he would entrust his life to it, especially on live television with the whole world watching.
At this point, it’s clear that while machines and AI can be great tools, they should complement doctors and their skills rather than replace them.
We’ll see what comes of this development.
One of the more intriguing plots included Sam Abrams, who found out he was going to be a father despite having a vasectomy years ago. Sam’s shocked reaction likely wasn’t what Michelle wanted, but for someone who is an empty nester and never expected to have more kids, it was genuine.
Hannah was able to intervene with a cervix surgery that assisted in Michelle’s pregnancy, but more importantly, the writers were able to humanize Sam a little bit, which is always nice to see. He pops in and out, but he’s always so blunt and stoic, so it was nice to see him get a little personality. Plus, we got to see a little heart-to-heart with Hannah, who, while encouraging Sam to embrace this opportunity life handed him, also decided to put herself out there in the dating world again. Can you believe she hasn’t dated anyone since Halstead?
Meanwhile, Archer learned that Sean was a donor match, much to his dismay, but any moment of happiness was fleeting as he also found out his son missed work and wasn’t picking up any calls. Naturally, his mind went to the worst-case scenario that Sean relapsed, and boy, I’m hoping that isn’t the case. Things were going so well for Sean and he was doing so well in his recovery. However, seeing his father cozying up to Hannah may have put him over the edge, or he simply decided to distance himself from his father’s world as he felt betrayed. Either or, I think we’re going to see Sean and Neil’s relationships with Hannah come to a head.
Elsewhere, Maggie interviewed for a new job spearheading the ED at a local hospital. While Sharon Goodwin wasn’t pleased as Maggie’s employer since she didn’t want to lose her best people due to Jack’s poor decisions, she was personally happy for her friend for putting herself first. I hope Maggie doesn’t end up leaving because she makes this whole place function!
As for Dr. Charles and Cuevas, they helped their patient, David, who has been a recurring guest on the series this season, navigate the normal fears and complexities of being a teenager, which was refreshing for a change. David thought he was hearing voices again, but it was simply his inner monologue and he needed to understand how to live with it and alongside it.
As for Charles’ relationship with Liliana, well, it’s not going in the right direction and that’s mostly because she has a very codependent and toxic relationship with her brother, Pawel, who we now know has a gambling problem that she’s going to pay off at the expense of buying her own house because “that’s her brother.” I feel like Charles needs to make a run for it before he’s dragged down too much, but I understand it isn’t that easy since he really loves Liliana and wants to help her. When he learned that she still needed to move out of her place, he asked her to move in with him, but it only backfired as she saw it as Charles thinking he needed to rescue her. The whole “charity case” mindset simply stems from the difference in their positions—if they don’t get over it, it’s always going to drive a wedge between them.
What did you think of the episode? Are you excited for the season finale next week?
Everyone is starting to feel the brunt of Jack Dayton’s decision to turn Gaffney into a for-profit hospital.
When the board voted to support Dayton’s money-hungry decision, the writing was on the wall, but Chicago Med Season 8 Episode 20 honed in on the aftermath revealing that everyone is suffering–from patients seeking treatment to doctors wanting to help.
Halstead couldn’t fathom seeing uninsured patients get turned away, so he found a loophole (classic Halstead), meanwhile, Crockett decided to act first and apologize later by booking 2.0 for a prior patient whose cancer metastasized. If I’m being honest, Richard should’ve been a VIP member since he was the first person to use 2.0 and, essentially, a test dummy for the program.
Crockett made up his mind, and he was backed by Goodwin, who agreed that Richard was going for a “necessary follow-up” and that they would forgive the bill. Unfortunately, it seems as though Dayton didn’t exactly agree because 2.0 glitched halfway through the procedure and Richard didn’t wake up from the anesthesia, falling victim to a stroke despite showing absolutely no signs of distress.
Goodwin assured Crockett that these things happen, but he wasn’t convinced, and based on the teaser trailer for the upcoming episode, we can’t exclude the possibility that Dayton retaliated and purposefully glitched 2.0 to put Crockett’s patient in danger. If that’s the case, we’re talking about a much larger issue than just turning non-paying patients away. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out how this will pan out and if Dayton brings a new meaning to the word “villain.”
Dr. Charles and Maggie teamed up to deal with a paranoid patient with a phobia of hospitals. Jan was spewing all of the conspiracy theories she’d read online verbatim, which prompted her to refuse the necessary care following her car wreck. The dynamic duo did their best to quell Jan’s concerns and prove to her that they didn’t mean her any harm, but in the end, they couldn’t get through to her and she refused to provide any bloodwork so they could check out why she was experiencing jaundice.
This wasn’t a straightforward case for psychology because Jan was simply gullible and fearful as she experienced a traumatic incident where her sister walked into a hospital as a healthy person and was diagnosed with cancer that took her life in less than a month. Jan is still processing all that trauma, so Charles had to believe that she’d deal with it when she was ready and on her own terms. There’s no forcing someone to seek out help when they don’t want it, especially if they seem to be of sound mind. Hopefully, her storyline will circle back around in the future and they will be able to give her the proper care she needs.
Meanwhile, the Archer boys and Hannah Asher once again found themselves rotating in each other’s orbit. Dean came around to the idea of Sean donating a kidney to him, though he definitely chewed out Hannah for clueing his son in on his waning health.
Dean dealt with a patient with a 6-foot-long tapeworm in his intestines—yeah, suddenly, we’re not hungry either—while Hannah and Sean assisted the patient’s wife, who shockingly went into labor without even knowing she was pregnant. The two scenes mirrored each other in that Dean was removing the tapeworm while Hannah was removing a baby. Gruesome and brilliant at the same time! And Sean fit in perfectly by stepping in for the father to help Pam during the delivery process, which also gave him a front-row seat to Hannah’s skilled labor and delivery.
He was in awe seeing her in action, which just confirmed that he has feelings for her, but when he told his father, Dean shut it down by suggesting that it was too early to get into a relationship as they are both focusing on their recovery. Of course, the admission threw Dean off, especially because we know he has a soft spot for Hannah, which was evident when she trolled him in the doctor’s lounge and helped him clean up his coffee off of his medical coat. Sean witnessed the moment, and though it definitely looked more romantic than it was, you can’t deny there’s chemistry there. I smell a love triangle brewing—not a first for Med. And while I want Sean to find someone, I think it’s written in the stars for Hannah and Dean!
Lastly, and I won’t say much about this, I’m genuinely disliking the storyline between Dr. Charles and Lilliana’s brother, Pawel. I get that he’s going through a tough time in terms of finding himself in a new country, but I continue to cringe at the way immigrants are being represented on this show. We’ll see how things escalate and if the storyline can be salvaged in my eyes.
What did you think of the episode? Is Maggie really considering leaving Med? Are we on the brink of a Crockett and Dayton face-off? How will Sharon figure this out to once again save Med?
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