We Don’t Really Need to Talk About ‘Chicago Med’ — But Let’s Talk About Manstead

I really didn’t think we’d be here again. In fact, I was so sure we would never get it, that I’d honestly convinced myself I was fine if this never happened. Or, not fine, but …fineish. I could live with it. I’d accepted it. It wasn’t the ideal outcome, but I could deal. I was coping. I even grew to like Stevie, and thought hey, I could see her with Will. I can invest there! Not that One Chicago let me, because, of course, this is One Chicago we’re talking about.

Through it all, though …one thing was a constant …whatever the show threw at us, there was this idea of Natalie. This remote possibility. Sure, Natalie was gone, but did anything on screen even come close to what we felt when she was there? No. So, even as Hannah came back, as Will was given storylines that had nothing to do with romance, I kept wondering… would any of them ever take them away from Chicago?

But they all felt like a pipe dream. Shippers always dream of an endgame, even off-screen. You never really recover from a ship, and I was clearly never over shipping Manstead. And then, Chicago Med 8×22 “Does One Door Close and Another One Open?” does the unthinkable and actually delivers the happy ending Will Halstead and Natalie Manning deserved all those years ago.

Yes, deserved. Yes, both of them. Because Chicago Med always set these two up to be the main ship of the show. Then things got messy. And then they got messier, in a way that can only be explained by two words: One Chicago. But Will and Natalie remained each other’s true north. Even while they were with other people. Hell, even while Natalie was off the show. Because there was never anything that made more sense than to see Will walk out of the Seattle airport and smile at Natalie.

Never anything that made more sense than to see Owen run into Will’s arms. Than to see Will’s self-deprecating smile as Natalie pointed out his bags. Or the full smile as he understood that he could stay forever. That she wanted him. Welcome to Seattle, the sign read, as Natalie, Will and Owen, walked out of the frame, into a new life together. A new city. A new beginning.

The rest — the show Will leaves behind, one that made very little sense even with him in it and that we now don’t really care about now that he’s gone, is something we don’t have to think about now, or for a while, considering the probably longer than usual hiatus is upon us. Now it’s time to rejoice. And time for the fanfics.

Hopefully, there are some where the Halstead brothers communicate and Will gives Jay some advice. We’d love to see Jay get his own happy ending too. The end of the Halstead brother’s era on One Chicago is a sad day indeed, but we would have liked to see the other Halstead leave in a similar way as this one. We wouldn’t have complained one bit if that had been the case. We promise.

Chicago Med aired Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.