Chicago Med hit a major milestone in Season 5 with its 100th episode, but the show definitely isn't done delivering the medical drama. In the March 25 installment, called "In the Name of Love," Natalie Manning and Crockett Marcel will treat a patient together, Dr. Charles and Goodwin will have some fears about Will Halstead, and newlyweds Maggie and Ben will become concerned about one of his students. Director SJ Main Muñoz spoke with CinemaBlend about the episode, and she previewed what's in store.
SJ Main Muñoz helmed an episode of Chicago Med thanks to NBC's Female Forward program. When asked about Natalie and Crockett's interactions in "In the Name of Love," she teased that Natalie will be forced to "examine her thoughts" about him, and that's not all:
I think we know there's, what we saw in this last week [in Episode 100], Natalie is not the biggest fan of Crockett. It's interesting to see where they can go from there, and then forced to work on a case together in this next episode you'll see on Wednesday. It forces Natalie to examine her thoughts about Crockett. Tune in! I'm excited for you to watch.
In Episode 100, the truth finally came out about April and Crockett's secret kiss, and Natalie was not happy with Crockett by the end of the hour. Their dynamic has had some ups and downs, as they had bonded thanks to their shared hostage experience. The episode description for "In the Name of Love" reveals that the two doctors will disagree over the best course of action for treating a terminally ill patient, and SJ Main Muñoz's comments suggest fans should prepare for some tension.
Of course, a major source of tension for Natalie throughout the fifth season has been Will Halstead, and they seemingly almost had a moment at Maggie's wedding. His arc in the second half of Season 5 has pushed him to break protocol more than once and form a bond with recovering drug addict/gynecologist Hannah Asher. What about Halstead in the first episode following the milestone 100th?
SJ Main Muñoz had high praise for Will Halstead, and it sounds like fans should keep their minds open about what he's done so far and perhaps even what he does in the next episode:
Who doesn't love Dr. Halstead? He's wonderfully layered, very dynamic character. He's loving and he's easy to love, and even when Dr. Halstead in some eyes might be making a mistake he always has reasons for what he does. That's what everyone loves about him. I would hands down want Dr. Halstead to be my doctor at Chicago Med. [laughs] Because he loves his patients! We'll see what happens. I'm excited for you all to see. There's always two sides to the story, right?
The episode description for "In the Name of Love" also reveals that Dr. Charles and Goodwin become concerned about Halstead because they're afraid he's repeating past mistakes with a patient diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Since Dr. Charles is one of the few at the hospital who knew about Halstead's work at the safe injection clinic, he has good reason to wonder if Halstead is breaking protocol again!
All things considered, the 100th episode left the door open for a lot of developments moving forward. SJ Main Muñoz shared what it was like to pick up on the momentum of Med coming right off of Episode 100:
Episode 101! What an awesome opportunity, right? There are so many stories and situations that remain open that I'm excited for you all to tune in on Wednesday to see where everything lands. Chexton, and then also who knows what's going to happen with Will and Hannah? We may see something there. In terms of the cast and crew, working on 101 was definitely a special feeling, an excitement of reaching that milestone.
"Chexton" were certainly in trouble as a pairing after Episode 100, when Ethan did not react well to April's confession about the kiss with Crockett, and they didn't attend Maggie and Ben's wedding together. The Hannah arc for Halstead isn't over, and there's clearly a lot to look forward to as Chicago Med moves forward toward the next milestone. Given Med's renewal for three more seasons, the show should at the very least hit 150 episodes!
Although the three shows of One Chicago (all of which received the three-season renewal) share a universe and are similar in many ways (with Chicago Med and Chicago P.D. even sharing a set of brothers), Med is the only one that primarily films on a set. SJ Main Muñoz, who revealed that she's "usually drawn to location shooting," saw the opportunity to shoot "the majority" of her first episode of TV on a stage "as an opportunity to just become a better, more well-rounded director."
SJ Main Muñoz also teased an episode "filled with emotional beats and moments," and shared what it was like working on the fast-paced Med set:
That's what's so exciting about Chicago Med. Although we're on a stage, there's a lot of action. It moves, the pacing is high, it moves quickly. As a director it's exciting to do. There are a lot of details to navigate in terms of the medical procedures and the team is there to really support you through that process. There's medical advisors that are always available to you, that were available to me, around the clock to answer my questions during prep. If it was the night before and I was speaking to them about some details for the next day, they were always available to me to answer some details. Any question you have for them. How high should a bed be? What would a nurse be doing in this moment? We want to get the details right because we want everybody, even those that work in the medical industry, to enjoy watching Chicago Med. Another reason why the show is so successful is they are so good about staying true to the medical procedures and all of those details are correct. It's a fun thing to direct.
The wait to see SJ Main Muñoz's episode of Chicago Med is almost at an end. "In the Name of Love" airs Wednesday, March 25 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC as the first hour of the popular One Chicago primetime block. The episode will be followed by Chicago Fire at 9 p.m. ET and then Chicago P.D. (with One Chicago's other Halstead) at 10 p.m. ET.
Chicago Med Season 5 will sadly end earlier than originally planned due to the halt in production from the coronavirus pandemic, but One Chicago will be back for several more years on NBC. Chicago Med showrunners Andrew Schneider and Diane Frolov have already said they have a "creative jump" on Season 6, which is very good news for fans.
