Chicago Med season 5 midseason report card: What worked, what didn’t

How has Chicago Med season 5 rated so far? Now that we’re through the first half, we grade it with our Chicago Med season 5 midseason report card.

The current season of Chicago Med has reached its halfway point, so how has it unfolded so far? What’s been successful and what’s fallen flat?

There’s no denying that Chicago Med season 5 has been a season of change for One Chicago’s medical drama. Three main characters were written out last season, with a new one being brought in during this season’s premiere. Couples have gotten back together, broken up, and there have been more outlandish plotlines.

We’ve picked out our favorite parts of Chicago Med season 5 to date, as well as the parts that we think could get better when the second half of the season begins in January. And we want you to grade the season yourself in the comments.

Here’s our Chicago Med midseason report card:

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What Worked

Connor and Ava’s goodbye: Fans were infuriated when producers announced that Colin Donnell and Norma Kuhling would not return this season, and then didn’t give them any closure in the season 4 finale. It was critical that both actors came back to get an actual sendoff in the season 5 premiere.

More screen time for Marlyne: It’s been wonderful to see more of Marlyne Barrett this season. In the past, her character Maggie Lockwood has often been in more of a supporting role, but she got another storyline of her own this season and we’re finally seeing much more of her.

Dominic Rains: While his character Dr. Crockett Marcel has been hit or miss thanks to some uneven writing, Dominic Rains deserves a hand for doing the best with what he’s been given. It’s clear he’s putting in a strong effort, even if Marcel wavers back and forth between being intriguing and being insufferable. We’re not sold on the character, but we do appreciate the actor.

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What Didn’t

All the romance: Chicago Med has always had some shipping, but in season 5 it feels like the only way the writers knew how to explore characters was through romantic relationships. Every single one of the main characters had some sort of ship-related story, and many of them were either unbelievable or just not interesting.

The unnecessary love triangle between Crockett and Chexton? Giving Maggie a love interest she falls head over heels for in 30 seconds, only to almost kill him off? Bringing back Dr. Daniel Charles’ (Oliver Platt) ex-wife only to actually kill her off? There’s too much about the characters’ romances and much of it feels overdramatic.

The end of Natalie’s engagement: Okay, we knew things between Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) and Phillip Davis (Ian Harding) weren’t going to work out. But the way it ended felt weird as heck. Phillip turned into a crazy person who was planting an engagement ring on Natalie’s hand and treating his infant daughter like a prop. Where did this Phillip come from? Couldn’t they just have broken up like normal people?

Weird cases: Maybe this was the show’s way of keeping the tension up, but some of the cases felt stranger than usual. Saying Maggie’s boyfriend Ben was going to die and then he makes a miracle recovery? Having a guy making medical decisions via social media? Psuedo-vampires? While these things are plausible, it often made us wish for simpler cases that allowed us to focus on the medicine rather than the latest quirk of the week.

What’s Next?

It’s hard to preview where Chicago Med season 5 is headed next. Everything is on a whole other level of drama, and everyone’s personal lives are a mess. All we can really do is state the obvious: Chexton will be on the rocks when Dr. Ethan Choi (Brian Tee) returns from his deployment, Caroline (Paula Newsome) will probably have died, and Natalie will still be anguished over being rejected.

But it’s kind of telling that the biggest plot points from the season so far are all about people’s personal lives, not medical cases or hospital issues. The show will have to decide: is it a medical show, or a soap opera that happens to take place in the world of medicine?

For the latest Chicago Med season 5 spoilers and news, plus more on the entire series, follow the Chicago Med category at One Chicago Center.