Chicago Med season 5 finale recap: A Needle in the Heart

Crockett and Natalie

Crockett treats Billy, a patient of one of his old friends, Dr. Julian Moody. After the initial evaluation, Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) asks Crockett if he’s ever considered having kids; he says no because they’re “not my speed.”

Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of two New Orleans detectives, who want to talk to Crockett about a murder that took place there years earlier. Natalie is naturally suspicious; she watches as Crockett is interviewed, but she (and we) can’t hear what’s said.

Crockett emerges to find that Billy’s condition hasn’t gotten any better, and tells his mother that he’ll need to have his chest cleaned out surgically. He also fends off questioning from Natalie, telling her that “I get the impression [the cops] think I’m a suspect, because they claim to have gotten my DNA at the [crime] scene.”

Oops.

While he does the surgery, Natalie wanders into the detectives arguing with Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson). Natalie calls Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) from Chicago PD, who tells her that their DNA samples were taken when they were held hostage, and that’s how the New Orleans cops have a DNA match for Crockett.

She then walks into Moody, who’s been called by Billy’s mom after she saw the cops arguing with Goodwin. Natalie asks Moody about Crockett’s past. The other doctor says Crockett “was going through a lot back then,” and Natalie pushes until he admits that Crockett had a daughter, Harper, who died from leukemia after her first birthday.

Natalie does some research and finds out that DNA evidence is not all-conclusion. After finding out what happened with Will’s patient from Doris (who could not be more smarmy), she has an epiphany about matching bone marrow. She takes the blood for Billy’s surgery up herself and asks Crockett if he’s ever donated bone marrow. He confirms that he did and she runs off again.

She explains to the cops, as they arrest Crockett, that bone marrow recipients can sometimes acquire their DNA. Meaning that the presence of Crockett’s DNA doesn’t mean that he’s the killer; it means whoever he donated bone marrow to is the murderer! That’s some Clue-style stuff there.

Thus liberated, at least for now, Crockett says goodbye to a fine Billy and asks Natalie how she did all that. “I always said you were a good guy,” she replies, before explaining that she knows about Harper. Crockett blinks, clearly not happy about that, and asks her to keep it to herself. “People hear that sort of thing, they tend to look at you different,” he explains, and walks away, leaving Natalie to stare after him thoughtfully.

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