Chicago Med season 3: 3 moments we’d change

2. Will and Natalie’s “break”

We knew that when Chicago Med finally made Manstead official, that they weren’t going to stay happy forever. TV shows like drama in their romantic relationships, and One Chicago particularly enjoys making its ships complicated. But the speed bump for Manstead was a head-scratcher that we still don’t entirely understand.

Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) and Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) have always butted heads. The episode in which they had their first kiss was also one in which they had an argument. But neither of them looked good during Chicago Med season 3, when they had their biggest fight yet.

It all started with Will trying to take the fall for one of Natalie’s bad decisions—maybe he took a page from Connor’s playbook—which, while well-intentioned, he shouldn’t have done because he’s her supervisor. But Natalie overreacted, not only chiding Will for being overprotective but claiming he wouldn’t do the same thing for Choi or Noah because they’re men. The implied idea that Will thinks women can’t take care of themselves was staggering and totally unfounded.

Yet Chicago Med took things further downhill when, almost right after Natalie had told Will they were on a break, Will was so distraught and drunk he went home with Dr. Maya Frisch. He’s got every right to be upset, but if he loves Natalie so much, you’d think he would avoid other women. No matter how wasted he was. And his blunder with Frisch haunted him up to and through the season finale!

Making Manstead canon was a huge turning point for Chicago Med season 3, but by the end of the season, the show had made it a mess. There are reasons on either side for whether or not Natalie should say yes to Will’s marriage proposal.