Chicago Med season 4, episode 8 takeaways: Play By My Rules

What should One Chicago fans learn from this week’s Chicago Med? Look closer at last night’s episode with our Chicago Med season 4, episode 8 takeaways.

What did One Chicago fans learn from this week’s Chicago Med episode? Here’s what we took away from this week’s installment, “Play By My Rules.”

“Play By My Rules” featured Dr. Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss) and Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) butting heads over their case of the week, but not over Will’s side job working for the FBI, which he botched anyway. But they were about the only couple not getting romantic in the hospital.

If you missed any of this week’s episode or just want a refresher on the events that we’re about to discuss, you can catch up with our Chicago Med recap.

Below are our takeaways from this week’s episode:

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1) Are Will and Natalie doomed?

Another season, another huge Manstead blowout. And just like the one from last season, it was pretty well justified.

This is an issue we’ve discussed on this site before, but “Play By My Rules” featured Natalie doing what she deemed necessary—regardless of the effect her actions had elsewhere.

Once she came up with the idea of Abigail as an organ donor, that was her bottom line. She tried to convince Will to agree with her, and when he didn’t, she went behind his back to Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson). Will had every right to be furious with her.

The issue isn’t whether or not she was right about the DNR—she probably was. The issue is that she was willing to manipulate the situation to get the ending she thought was best. If the situation was reversed, would she be willing to make the same choice? Or would she be fighting for the life of her patient?

The logic doesn’t make sense. Last season Will does something to try and protect her, and she gets so angry she needs a break from their relationship. This season she does something behind Will’s back, and he “forced her hand.” It feels like a double standard.

And if these two keep having these huge fights (which they will, because Natalie still doesn’t know what Will is hiding), is their marriage doomed? Will they be that couple that fights all the time until everyone gets sick of it? Let’s hope not, because Manstead is here to stay.

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2) We’ve got another love triangle

Unfortunately, Chicago Med confirmed our suspicions from last week when Vicki Glass (returning guest star Cynthia Addai-Robinson) agreed to go out for a run with her ex-boyfriend Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) in this episode. She’s back to be a hurdle for the Chexton ship.

The way the show went about it was pretty heavy-handed, too. April was conveniently right in the line of sight and/or earshot whenever Choi interacted with Vicki, and her comment about “the only hospital in Chicago” came off pretty sassy. If she’d phrased it as a question, then it would’ve been less of a dig, but she sounded downright angry about it.

Especially since the show has made clear that she and Choi aren’t together, why is she venting to him about Vicki? And if she’s going to do that, why not tell him when he asks instead of pretending she’s not trying to tell him something? April is a strong, mature woman and one of the great parts of Chexton was how the two were able to communicate. Instead, the week after she risked her life for Choi, April’s acting like a teenager. She, Choi and Vicki all deserve more.

3) What happened to Connor and Ava?

Okay, so Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) and Dr. Ava Bekker (Norma Kuhling) are hooking up again. Every Chicago Med fan knew that would happen. But does anyone feel like they skipped a few steps?

The show built that great tension in the season premiere with Ava going behind Connor’s back, then brushed it all aside last week with a kiss. Apparently between episodes they rekindled things because they were back to being flirty this week, and ended the episode having a fling at the hospital.

It would’ve been nice to see more drama in the relationship, and them actually working toward getting back together, especially since there’s so much that was left unsaid in that relationship. It feels like they didn’t earn the reconciliation.

Plus, Ava’s method of trying to calm Connor down is offering him spontaneous fooling around? It might be entertaining, but why is that the default? She could support him, talk it out or even say hey, I’ll help you fight this battle because I agree with you. Or even try to show him why it’s not worth it. He’d clearly listen to her. But instead of a meaningful reaction, they just sleep together again.

It’s a wasted opportunity, and it’s not even common to this show. It also happened on Chicago PD where Hailey Upton’s method of coping with the stress of almost losing her partner was to get drunk and sleep with Adam Ruzek. Or on Law & Order: SVU, where Peter Stone dealt with losing his sister by getting drunk and having a threesome.

Maybe this feels more sensational, but it’s not the best option. The most romantic thing Ava could’ve done for Connor was help him, not pull him into a room and start making out with him.

For the latest Chicago Med season 4 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.