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Chicago Med’s Will and Natalie: Should they stay or split?

By Brittany Frederick

CHICAGO MED -- "All The Lonely People" Episode 410 -- Pictured: (l-r) Nick Gehlfuss as Will Halstead, Torrey DeVitto as Natalie Manning -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
CHICAGO MED -- "All The Lonely People" Episode 410 -- Pictured: (l-r) Nick Gehlfuss as Will Halstead, Torrey DeVitto as Natalie Manning -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC) /
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Chicago Med
CHICAGO MED — “Can’t Unring That Bell” Episode 414 — Pictured: Torrey DeVitto as Natalie Manning — (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC) /

Why they should break up

Chicago Med season 4 has demonstrated that Manstead never really goes anywhere. The status of their relationship may have changed, but their actual dynamic goes in circles. They’re attracted to each other, then they’re pulled apart, then they get back together. If they were a real life couple you’d get sick of the back and forth.

For two people who supposedly deeply love each other, they spend the majority of their time in one argument or another, and it’s getting tiresome to watch. Audiences can predict them now: it’s Will being jealous or reactionary, Natalie being self-righteous or wanting Will to open up to her. It feels like they spend more time disagreeing than they do getting to be happy.

And this is a couple who have serious issues to work through: remember that last season, their “break” was caused by Natalie essentially calling Will a sexist. Plus, both of them jump the gun on a lot of things. It’s not a healthy relationship right now, and hasn’t been for a while.

This season has also felt like the writing for them has gotten stale. What we’re seeing now—the love triangle (or potential square)—is very similar to what we saw in Chicago Med season 2 when both were in other relationships. And most of the episodes since the midseason premiere have all been some variation of “Will has issues.”

Neither character is moving forward anymore. They are usually in the same storylines together, in the hospital and out of it, and they’re just repeating the same kinds of problems. A breakup would hopefully enable both characters to grow and do other things, and not be constantly attached to one another.

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