In Wednesday’s episode of “Chicago Med,” which picks up after last week’s cliffhanger that saw Natalie’s son Owen get shot during a getaway in the Windy City with Will, Natalie returns to Gaffney as her son’s treatment gets underway. But the aftermath of the shooting leaves Will and Natalie at odds — will #Manstead be able to overcome this tragedy? Let’s recap.
Though Owen survived the shooting, he’s not out of the woods yet. Archer tells Will early in the episode that the bullet “effectively obliterated” the boy’s right kidney. Which, in normal circumstances, should be fine since a person with two kidneys only really needs one. Owen, however, apparently has a congenital abnormality of the kidneys, called a “horseshoe kidney,” where the pair of organs is connected by an “isthmus of tissue.” The care team attempts renal reconstruction, but the injury is just too severe. Owen needs a kidney transplant or he’ll need to be put on dialysis.
As the stakes get even higher, Natalie is reminded of all her past trauma. Just as showrunner Allen MacDonald teased, the former Gaffney doc tells Goodwin that she feels “cursed.” Here she sits, once again pregnant, as she faces another possible tragedy: Will her son die just as her husband did during her last pregnancy with Owen?
Owen’s Injuries Open Natalie’s Old Wounds
But Natalie turns her stress into purpose, and she’s determined to help her son. Natalie stresses the importance of finding Owen a donor as quickly as possible — she doesn’t want Owen to face months of dialysis. She offers to donate one of her kidneys if she is a match.
Will, meanwhile, reminds Natalie that it isn’t the end of the world if her son has to stay on dialysis for a few months while they await a proper match. He tells her she couldn’t possibly undergo a transplant surgery while pregnant, and Archer agrees. As her friend, the doctor advises her to wait for another option, but Natalie insists. As tension mounts, Natalie gets tested to see if she’s a match — and she is.
Thus, Natalie forges ahead with the procedure, and Hannah arrives to share the pregnancy-related surgical risks, but Natalie is not hearing it — especially not from the woman who Will used to sleep with. (Yikes!) Natalie, growing increasingly agitated at everyone’s unwillingness to let her save her son, goes off on Owen for letting all this happen; why hadn’t he just taken Owen to the game like he was supposed to?! Aside from blaming him for Owen’s condition, Natalie tells Will that she feels like he’s prioritizing the life of their unborn child — Will’s own biological child — over the life of Natalie’s son.
Will Becomes a Dad (Officially!)
Elsewhere, Will starts to wonder if the shooting was a sort of karma — was this punishment for his failure to properly connect with his unofficially adopted son? Goodwin, of course, swoops in to save Will from this kind of thinking. She hands over Owen’s backpack, telling Will he might want to read a note Owen had just written him. (Remember, before Owen was shot, Goodwin encouraged the boy to write a letter to Will about his feelings, since they were having trouble communicating.)
Will goes ahead and reads the note, which brings him — and us viewers! — to tears. In the letter, Owen shares that he’s been nervous about getting a new little brother. He wonders what the addition of a new baby will do to their family. Will Will love the new baby more than he loves Owen? And if that didn’t just break your heart, Owen goes on to call Will “dad” for the very first time.
In the end, the transplant goes well, Natalie’s pregnancy survives and #Manstead seems stronger than ever as Will officially adopts Owen. (Aw!)
What did you think of the #Manstead on Chicago Med? And are you relieved Owen survived the shooting? Sound off in the comments!
This story originally appeared on TVLine
