Meanwhile, Will and Sarah treat Walter, the ex-con who caused the crash. Chicago PD’s Sean Roman is on scene initially and tells Will how Walter car-jacked a woman at gun point before causing the crash. Walter’s arm is badly broken, and he refuses surgery, desperate to get out of the hospital. He doesn’t get much say though when he starts coughing up blood.
So, something isn’t adding up. Walter knows he’s going to prison, so why is he so desperate to get there? Things get even more bizarre when his wife shows up and tells the doctors how he’s turned his life around and is a great husband and father. When Detective Jay Halstead tells Walter’s wife that Walter caused the accident, she immediately resolves to leave him. After running some tests, Will knows something more is going on with Walter. Walter confirms he has cancer, and his wife doesn’t know. Walter doesn’t have health care and because health care is free in prison, reverts to his old life to get the help he needs, without bankrupting his family.
Will tells Jay, who is not happy. “He puts cop’s lives at risk and then he nearly gets that couple killed so he can get free health care? They should let the guy rot.” Jay wants Will to report it, and because of doctor-patient confidentiality, Jay can’t say anything. I can see both sides of this; there’s no easy answer. Much like the relationship between Fire’s Gabby and PD’s Dawson, this sibling dynamic is incredible. Even though it spans the two shows, I hope we see much more of them together.
Elsewhere…
Wow could Connor and Sam be any flirtier? These two seem to have gone from just sleeping together to some semblance of a relationship in no time. Normally, their struggles in the OR involve Connor not treating Sam like his boss. But now, they have trouble keeping their eyes off each other (in surgery, mind you). Later, Sam re-injures her elbow. Connor insists she get it looked at, and there are real feelings here, guys. Oh but later in the OR, they are back to their flirty bickering, followed by a conversation that seems to have ended the relationship or whatever it is they have. Oh don’t worry, though, they go back to being all flirty and couple-y by the end of the hour. Good. Lord. Make up your minds! This much back and forth in one hour was too much. I’m still not sold on these two, so I guess I just need to be patient for the end of the ride.
Sharon sees more of the spotlight this week (finally) while overseeing the bone marrow transplant of Christie Pearce, a longtime patient. Christie’s younger brother, Nick, has been working on a fundraiser to send the donor on a vacation as a thank you. But just as the bone marrow arrives, Sharon is told that the procedure is canceled. The hospital sees the fundraiser for the vacation as compensation, which is illegal. But without the transplant, Christie will die.While this was frustrating and sad to see, I like that we get to see this side of the job. There is a legal aspect to running a hospital that isn’t always shown in shows, and Sharon is the perfect window into that side of things. Ultimately, Sharon made a possibly career-ending decision to move forward with the transplant. Of course, she’s not in any trouble as the hospital decides in the end to go through with the procedure. A bit of a weak copout, but I’ll take it.
Maggie is the best person on this show, let’s just clear that up in case there was any confusion. Week after week she delivers and I love it. I’m here for it. While April and Sarah are puzzled by Will’s distance from Natalie, Maggie knows what’s up. Later in the hour, Maggie asks Will to take a gift basket up to Natalie. He tells her he doesn’t want to give anyone the wrong impression, and Maggie responds with the best line of the night (okay, Natalie’s “Don’t take down my Nick Carter poster” was also fantastic):
“It amazes me how dumb a doctor can be. Everybody knows you like Natalie.” Will’s face was priceless.
Natalie and Baby Owen are doing great! You know who’s not doing great? Helen. Natalie’s parents come to visit from Seattle, and Natalie nonchalantly says how she thinks about moving back after her fellowship. And so begins Helen’s covert (but not so covert) mission to keep Natalie and Owen in Chicago. While Natalie’s parents visit with her and the baby, Maggie finds Helen in the hall, on the verge of a breakdown. Helen tells Maggie that Jeff was her only child, and her ex-husband has been gone and remarried since Jeff was a kid. “They are all I have,” she cries referring to Natalie and Owen. I wasn’t crazy about Helen last week, but now it all makes sense.
Later, Helen walks in and sees Will talking with Natalie, and you can see the light bulb going on in her mind. She was not even close to his biggest fan last week, when she told him to stay away from Natalie. But this week, she’s desperate to keep the only family she has in Chicago.“You’re a Chicago boy, aren’t you, Will?”Oh Helen, bless you.
As Helen and Maggie wheel Natalie and Owen out of the hospital later, Helen remarks, “You know, I think that Will’s a very nice man.” As do I, Helen. As do I. Let’s just hope Helen and Maggie team up for the #KeepNatalieInChicago campaign because together, those two are unstoppable.
The episode closes with April realizing, thanks to Doctor Charles, that proof of kindness is all around us. We see flashes of the doctors and nurses caring for patients, and it was the perfect ending to the hour.
What did you think of the episode? Will Connor and Sam progress to a real relationship? Will Natalie stay in Chicago? Which character would you like to see featured more? Share your thoughts below!
