This week on One Chicago, Owen’s medical crisis brought Natalie back to Chicago Med (and caused some serious tension with Will), Chicago Fire was hit by budget cuts in the worst way, and a Chicago P.D. investigation had Burgess questioning if her daughter is OK. Read on as we review the biggest events from this Wednesday’s One Chicago episodes:
Chicago Med’s Natalie and Will Come to Blows
After arriving in the Windy City, Natalie learned that Owen lost one kidney and needed a transplant to replace the other one due to a congenital condition. Will told Hannah he’d never forgive himself if Owen didn’t survive, while Natalie was feeling cursed that, once again, she was facing a life-or-death trauma while pregnant. (Remember, her husband died when she was carrying Owen.) All that stress and tension caused Natalie to get snippy with Hannah and lash out at Will. When Natalie discovered she was a match, she was determined to donate her own kidney to Owen despite the fact that she’s pregnant. After Hannah laid out all the risks of the never-been-done procedure (“You can thank me later when you get published,” Natalie snipped), Natalie accused her of taking Will’s side. “Pardon me if I opt to discount the opinion of the woman you used to sleep with,” she snarked, adding that it was breaking her heart that he was prioritizing his own child’s life over Owen’s.
Thankfully, the surgery went well, and Owen and Natalie (and baby “Manstead”) all survived to mend some broken bridges. Will and Natalie exchanged apologies, acknowledging how lucky they both are to have the other, then Will said there was something he needed to talk about. Will had been convinced that Owen hated him, but Goodwin showed him the note Owen wrote in which he confessed that he was worried Will would love the new baby more than him and that he’d never get Will back as his dad. Will was incredibly touched, especially since Owen had never called him dad before. So when Owen woke up, Will gave him a note of his own, asking Owen if he’d like to be legally adopted by him. Owen checked the box for “yes,” and if that moment didn’t hit you in the feels, you might want to get your heart checked.
Chicago Fire Budget Cuts Have Serious Consequences
Remember how Pascal warned the firehouse that brownouts were coming and everyone’s going to have to work harder? This week, that meant Mouch and Engine 51 were pulled from service with just two hours’ notice. Plus, Violet’s medic friend Murphy was severely injured on the job because she was so overworked that she fell asleep at the wheel. Violet was determined to show city officials that there are serious and potentially deadly consequences to their budget cuts. Meanwhile, Pascal was unhappy that his people were being treated like cogs in a machine. Had they been given proper advanced warning, they could have taken on other work to make up their wage losses. Thankfully, Violet came up with a brilliant idea that solved both of their problems: They’ll recruit firefighters, who are trained in first aid and in need of work, to serve on ambo.
Fire Stages a Possible Exit
Pascal took his concerns to the mayor’s chief of staff, who revealed that six battalion chiefs are going to be let go — but Pascal is not on the list. Then she had the gall to ask him out on a date! Pascal had taken his wedding band off earlier in the episode, but he wasn’t ready to move on and rejected the offer. As for his professional future, Pascal will have five additional houses to look after, so he won’t have time to be at 51 for the day-to-day stuff. He told Severide that he expects him to step up and he has no doubt that 51 will be in capable hands with the rescue squad lieutenant. “I won’t let you down, chief,” Severide promised. Pascal’s announcement hints a diminished presence for the character… and possibly even an eventual exit should Severide be so good at the job that Pascal isn’t even needed at 51.
Chicago P.D. Case Hits Close to Home
Unfortunately, Burgess and Ruzek didn’t have a far commute to their new case: the murder of a young woman in their Canaryville neighborhood. While undercover at a party, Burgess found herself dosed with a drug and ended up in a room that resembled her daughter Mac’s, she told Ruzek. It was all too close for comfort for Burgess, who realized the young woman’s best friend Lily, upset that her BFF was growing beyond Canaryville, accidentally killed her. “What if it was your girl?” Lily’s father asked Ruzek when he caught him trying to destroy evidence. The case and Burgess announcing earlier that she got info about a private school an hour away promoted her and Ruzek to have a candid conversation about their family’s future. Burgess insisted that she loves their house in Canaryville and what it represents for Ruzek, but they’re raising a kid that doesn’t look like them, and they can’t give her their childhood. She’s scared that Mac is disconnected from herself in a way none of them even realize. Burgess then suggested that maybe what Mac needs is something outside of them that’s her own, and maybe that’s outside of Canaryville.
