Chicago Med season 4 character preview: Will Halstead

What should happen

Will’s outlook in Chicago Med season 4 depends entirely on whether or not Natalie says yes to his proposal. So much of his character arc is built around Manstead, and when he isn’t around Natalie, the writers give him about as much common sense as Chicago Fire‘s Kelly Severide.

For that reason alone, we want Natalie to say yes. Not necessarily because the two are ready to get married (they just started dating about a year ago in show time!) but because we’re concerned about how the show would write him if she said no. Would Will just get drunk again and go home with someone else? Or mope for a few episodes until Natalie reconsidered? Whatever happened, it wouldn’t be good, and we want something good for Will after what he’s been through.

That said, an engaged Will is still going to have a lot to learn—both personally and professionally. He has not at all learned how to balance his relationship with his role as chief resident, and he has to do that in Chicago Med season 4. It was incredibly frustrating to see him not discipline Natalie when he should, and relatively speaking, Will doesn’t have as strong a voice in the ED as Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee).

One of the interesting things about Will is his professional awkwardness. He started the show as a reckless doctor who almost lost his job, and now he’s in a position of authority, and he clearly isn’t used to that. The fourth season would do well to explore that, and how his new rank has changed him, similar to what happened with Matthew Casey on Chicago Fire. Can Will rise to the position, or is he just not cut out to be a supervisor?