Chicago Med - Withdrawal - Review

“Saving a life isn’t always the answer.”

Natalie panics when she realizes her wedding ring is missing, and Maggie turns the ER upside down to help find it. I know it’s a medical show, so the majority of screen time is spent in the hospital. But I love the friendship between Maggie and Natalie (and April, for that matter) and would love to see more of it outside the hospital.

While talking with Maggie, Natalie collapses. Will insists they run heart tests and finds Natalie has stress-induced cardio myopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome. It’s tough to read Natalie, but after her conversation with Helen (who tells her it might be time to move forward), I think it’s possible Natalie already knew that. This is just an opinion, of course, but I do think Natalie has feelings for Will, which is incredibly confusing for her. She will always love Jeff, and perhaps she feels that her feelings for Will are somehow a betrayal to Jeff. It could also explain why losing her wedding ring caused such a panicked response; Natalie realizes she’s moving on but doesn’t want to lose the tangible pieces of Jeff she still has left.

I think Natalie will always love Jeff, as it’s not something you just get over. You have good days and you have tough days missing the people you’ve lost. In Will’s mind, I think he believes Natalie isn’t ready to move forward and doesn’t have feelings for him, which is one reason he’s pursuing a job outside Chicago. Might we see these two in a rather cliché situation with Natalie asking Will to stay because she feels something for him?

Maggie to the rescue! She does find the ring, but Natalie’s response to receiving it is less than what I thought it would be. Perhaps she realizes that though it symbolizes so much, it is just a ring. At the end of the hour, Natalie lays the ring at Jeff’s gravestone, symbolizing her moving forward with her life. Might is also symbolically be her opening the door to someone new? Someone like…Will? (Hey, I’m also still pro Natalie and Connor if that miraculously turns into something.)

It’s not long after Sharon tells Will, “You can’t force a person to move on from something if they’re not ready,” that we see him potentially accepting that job offer in California.
Elsewhere…

Will and April treat Chuck Gleason, an alcoholic and ER “frequent flyer”. He’s in with severe symptoms of withdrawal, and April and Will have differing treatment opinions. It’s tough to watch, because Chuck is losing his battle with alcohol. He’s so far gone that not having alcohol actually seems to be killing him, literally.

With his recent legal issues, Will wants to do everything by the book. But as a nurse who sees DT patients on a regular basis, April doesn’t agree. She buys alcohol for Chuck, which is strictly against protocol, and Will catches her.

“It’s just a bandaid…he may thank you, but you’re not helping him…This man has a chance to get past his problem and make a new start.”

I believe Will’s dad was/is an alcoholic, which is why he feels so strongly about Chuck getting better. I can understand Will desperately wanting Chuck to overcome the disease, especially if his own father wasn’t able to. It’s similar to his desire to help Jennifer Baker battle her cancer because of his own mom.

Chuck mysteriously improves quickly, and Will is immediately suspicious of April. It wasn’t April, though she’s able to point Will in the right direction…Sharon. I understand why she did what she did. Chuck was likely going to die, so instead of helping him overcome the addiction, she kept him alive. But, I also understand Will’s frustration. I’m a bit confused with where Sharon stands on rules in general. When she’s the one breaking the rules, it’s allowed because it’s for the good of the patient. But when her doctors do the same thing, it’s inexcusable. As Will points out, “I’m pretty sure if that was me I’d be raked over the coals by you.”

Sarah and Daniel treat Ms. Wechsler, an elderly lady in from a local nursing home. Later, another woman (Wanda) from the same nursing home arrives at the ER with the same symptoms as Ms. Wechsler. Daniel asks Sarah to consider the symptoms, regardless of the patients’ old age, which results in Sarah’s diagnosis of gonorrhea.

At about that moment, a lovely gentlemen named Clyde shows up at the ER with flowers. Clyde is responsible for the gonorrhea with several different women, but you don’t dislike him for it (sure, Sarah judged him a bit).

“You make it sound tawdry, it’s not like that. At our age, there are very few men left and people need companionship…I love them, all of them. I think of it as assisted loving.”

Ethan, Connor, and Dr. Downey treat Frank, a man in need of a bypass surgery. There’s just one problem; he’s a Jehovah’s Witness, meaning he doesn’t believe in the administration of blood. It’s an impossible situation, as Frank needs the surgery to live. Dr. Downey suggests bloodless surgery, or operating on the still-beating heart. It’s incredibly risky, but Frank agrees to it (much to Connor’s chagrin).

The surgery doesn’t go as planned, and Frank’s wife is called in to make a decision: switch to bypass (accepting blood), or let Frank die. She chooses to give Frank a chance to survive, authorizing the surgery they are religiously against. Frank is understandably upset with his wife after surgery, but later reconciles and forgives her.

It was a case with a lot of gray area and a lot of questions, but it did contrast the wisdom and maturity of Dr. Downey with the somewhat hardheadedness and inexperience of Connor.

“It doesn’t have to make sense to us. If he believed he would live longer if his wounds were dressed in green bandages, then we give him green bandages…even if it kills him!”

Connor is a talented surgeon, but as Dr. Downey points out, it’s not always about saving a life. I think sometimes, it’s about saving the soul. And in Frank’s case, it was more important to him to save his soul.

It was touching to see Connor there when Dr. Downey woke up from his procedure to find himself dressed in green bandages. Hands down, this has been by favorite relationship of the season. And sadly, I think it’s about to end.


What did you think of the episode? Will Dr. Downey make it through the end of the season? Why will Will stay in Chicago (because he will, obviously)? Share your thoughts below!

About the Author - Meghan Reynolds

A Colorado native, Meghan was born a raised a Denver Broncos fan. Aside from football, she loves television and some might say watches too much of it. Some of her favorite shows of the past and present include Galavant, The Blacklist, The Office, Veronica Mars, The 100, and Gilmore Girls. She reviews Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med for SpoilerTV.