Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 3 is an effective resolution to the 200th episode cliffhanger. It delivers everything that fans of the NBC show would want, including the return of Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning. But it also revisits a few elements that aren’t as effective.
Natalie’s return and the fate of her son Owen are naturally the centerpieces of “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.” Longtime viewers—especially Manstead shippers—will be pleased by the storyline. It follows the expected path of a main character making a risky choice to save their loved one, a complication happening, and then the happy ending. However, this plot is also a reminder of why Natalie was a polarizing character during her time on Chicago Med. She tended to rush to judgment and block out anything she didn’t want to hear. That happens again in this episode. Even considering that she’s a mother worried about her son, she becomes antagonistic both to Will and to Dr. Hannah Asher. When Natalie brings up Will and Hannah’s former relationship, that feels like the definition of a cheap shot.
Chicago Med is mostly successful at smoothing this over by having Natalie successfully be an organ donor for Owen, and then Will wanting to legally adopt Owen as his son. And Nick Gehlfuss’ performance is again spot on, as Will looks positively devastated when Natalie is laying into him. But Natalie being written so severely takes some of the shine off the characters’ return—especially when it prompts Will to think he has a subconscious bias against Owen. Obviously, the writers want to create drama for Manstead, but it didn’t need to necessarily be between them. After all, Will had already given himself enough of a guilt complex.
The second story in “Horseshoes and Hand Grenades” is uncomfortable in a different way. Like this week’s episode of Doc, the plot surrounds a dispute over a patient’s medical proxy. Chicago Med‘s version is much more black and white, though, because the patient’s parents are very simplistic characters. They’re estranged yet still controlling, and his mother plays right into the “Karen” stereotype—including a line about “speaking to your supervisor.” Her request to have her son’s sperm recovered is cringeworthy. The best part of this plotline is that both Sarah Ramos and Darren Barnet get to have moments where their characters let loose. But other than that, it’s a story to forget.
Last but not least, Dr. Daniel Charles and Dr. Mitch Ripley have the somewhat feel-good story of a mystery man and help him get his memory back. It’s always great to see Oliver Platt and Luke Mitchell in scenes together. In addition, there are some little details that enhance the episode a bit further. Dr. Dean Archer brings up his own past as a transplant recipient, while there’s a reminder about Natalie’s late husband Jeff, and Natalie eventually calms down enough to talk to Hannah about motherhood—and future motherhood. This episode has some flaws, but it’s not without merit. It keeps viewers in suspense with Owen; the small details are appreciated, and there are moments where the actors are able to flex their proverbial muscles.
However, the Natalie and Hannah scene is a reminder that Chicago Med could’ve taken a different tack with this one. Hannah and Natalie have a longer and more nuanced moment than Hannah and Will get either here or in the previous episode; Will and Hannah deserved more, given how positive an influence Will was on Hannah’s life. He wasn’t just her ex-boyfriend. The subplot doesn’t add anything to the show, and really doesn’t get much resolution either, as it ends with Sharon Goodwin telling Frost and Lenox what’s likely to happen. It would have been stronger to actually show the patient’s boyfriend getting to say his goodbyes, and at least giving some kind of emotional closure.
“Horseshoes and Hand Grenades” has some good ideas, but doesn’t entirely deliver. Fans can rest easy knowing that Will, Natalie, and Owen are getting the exact happy ending that Chicago Med was promising from nearly the beginning of the series. And the current regulars, Sarah Ramos in particular, show that there’s still a lot of story left within the hospital. But there’s also room for the writers to navigate a little bit further into their characters and plotlines, too.
Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.
