'Chicago Med' Season 5: Is it time for Dr Will Halstead to leave the hospital and the show?
Most viewers would not be able to imagine 'Chicago Med' without Dr Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss). After all, the spinoff started with the man after he was introduced in 'Chicago PD' as Detective Jay Halstead's (Jesse Lee Soffer) brother.
'Chicago Med' is in its fifth season now and it looks like the show has run of stories for the character. In the first season, he ignored a patient's DNR and resuscitated her, almost getting sued. In the previous season, he began treating a mobster and then worked undercover for the FBI, putting his life and his relationship with Dr Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) in jeopardy.
The first half of the current season focused on Will trying to help Natalie get her memories back but in the most obnoxious way possible. He undermined her skills and ability as a doctor because he wanted her to doubt her judgments and extend that to Phillip whom she was dating at the time.
While he may have been right about Phillip and while Natalie may have gone back to Will after getting her memories back to ask him to be in a relationship again, it looks like the "Manstead" door will be closed for a while.
In the second half of this season, Will meets a patient he treated long ago. His prescription for pain medication then caused his patient to become a drug addict. In a tragic turn of events, after Natalie calls Child Protective Services for the patient's child, she overdoses and dies.
Then, Will got on a mission to save the world again. He tries to do it the proper way first by going to the hospital board and proposing a safe injection site -- a proposal that both administrator Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) and Dr Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) agree with. But the proposal is rejected -- partly fueled by Gwen Garrett's (Heather Headley) vendetta against Sharon.
He then goes on to help at his friend's unsanctioned safe injection site. Putting in double hours puts his work in jeopardy as well and Will momentarily considers leaving. However, seeing a patient come back to thank him for saving her life, he changes his mind. It is clear, however, that it won't be too long before his actions come to bite him in the ass. By continuing to work at the illegal safe injection site, he is putting his medical license at risk -- something that has already happened on the show to the same character.
Should Will manage a miraculous escape again or should he be forced to deal with proper consequences for his actions? Perhaps if Will Halstead does lose his medical license (a la Meredith Grey on 'Grey's Anatomy'), it could give 'Chicago Med' the shakeup it truly deserves.
Being an integral part of the cast and of the story, Will's absence could be a little while away. Colin Donnell left the show at the beginning of the current season, reportedly over "creative differences" over his character, Dr. Connor Rhodes.
Though we love Will and think he's a great part of the show, we hope he gets different plotlines -- ones that do not involve him risking his medical license now and then.
'Chicago Med' airs on NBC on Wednesday nights.