Halstead has long been a rescuer–first in his relationship with Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto) and then with Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram). But now he’s turned his energies to rescuing patients diagnosed with heart failure (instead of women) when he agrees to work with Sabeena Virani (Tehmina Sunny) on a new heart medication trial. “He needs to find purpose given the fact that he was passed up for a promotion,” Gehlfuss tells Parade.com in an exclusive interview. “He is trying to prove himself. His father and his mother are both gone. He is literally an orphan at this point." He continues, “and his father suffered from heart failure. So the whole idea of this clinical trial–he is surrounded by heart disease, which is the No. 1 global cause of death. Once again, it’s our writers tackling really important issues.” On tonight’s episode, Halstead and Choi will come into conflict again when Choi gives Halstead time off to do a Zoom presentation for his heart trial, and then rescinds it, saying he needs Halstead to work in the ED due to an emergency. It isn’t the first time the two men have been at odds, because Choi’s micromanaging style leaves a lot to be desired. “Coming in as chief, I think Choi has expectations that are really, really high for himself and for his staff,” Tee tells Parade.com. “He has this military background that he has leaned on and it feels as if the ED would be better if it ran that way. So his management skills aren’t the best, I would say, for the other characters.” He continues, “His way of doing things, he always feels, is the right way, and he comes to terms that it isn’t always so. I think the conflicts that you see among the other characters will peel him away to come to a better position with himself and the position as chief as he moves forward.” But first, his difficulties as chief lead Goodwin to suggest Choi get some assistance. So he turns to an old mentor Dean Archer (Steven Weber), who was his chief medical officer in the Navy. Dr. Archer leaves behind a rural hospital to work with Choi at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center’s Emergency Department. “Choi is very excited about it,” Tee continues. “But what Dr. Archer is going to do is really create more speed bumps for Choi. He is going to be there to help, but he sticks his head into places where he shouldn’t, and there is going to be a huge conflict and messes he will make that Ethan has to fix.” Meanwhile, Halstead has his mind set on the success of his heart trial, and the result is a lot of time spent in close contact with Dr. Virani. And just when it looks as if she could be his new love interest, the writers throw a wrench into that plot. “Will and Sabeena are growing together, naturally, but there is a moment where Will and Natalie are brought back together over a case and they go down memory lane,” Gehlfuss shares. “It’s a beautifully hewn moment. It’s justified. I don’t want to give too much away but the writers did a great job of motivating certain things.” Chicago Med airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Need more Chicago spoilers? See what Jesse Spencer and Kara Killmer said about Casey and Brett.
