Showrunners Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider preview Wednesday's episode.
Are things about to take a turn for the better between Natalie and Will?
On Wednesday's fall finale on Chicago Med, titled "I Can't Imagine the Future," Natalie's (Torrey DeVitto) memories from the night of the car accident start flooding back. And with them, her feelings for Will (Nick Gehlfuss) return with a vengeance. But is it too little too late?
For showrunners Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider, the first half of season five has led to this dramatic hour, which they described as "emotional" and filled with "cliffhangers." And the duo hint that "there is a big turn" in Natalie and Will's romantic outlook that may surprise viewers. "It was always our intention for Natalie to get her memory back," Schneider tells ET. "The question was really when and what would the impact be on her relationship with Will."
Ahead of the fall finale, ET hopped on the phone for a quick chat with Frolov and Schneider to preview the dramatic final episode before the holiday hiatus.
ET: From the teaser, it appears everything is about to come to a head for Natalie, whose memory after her accident is finally coming flooding back. Why was this the right point in the season to this course for the fall finale?
Andy Schneider: It was always our intention that Natalie would get her memory back. The question was really when and what would the impact be on her relationship with Will. As the season progressed we found that this was the ideal place to dovetail the different stories. This was always planned that she would know what Agent Lee told her what she was going to tell Will everything and now it comes back to her.
Nick Gehlfuss and Torrey DeVitto teased to ET that fans would be surprised this season with their relationship. Right now, it seems like they're more distant than ever. With Philip out of the picture, what will it take for Will and Natalie to come back together romantically?
Diane Frolov: In [episode] nine, there is a big turn.
Schneider: There's a turn in their relationship. Let's leave it at that for now. You know, there still could be another hundred episodes so there's a lot of room for a relationship to develop and change and grow, or the reverse.
So you're just torturing the fans at this point?
Schneider: (Laughs.) That's what makes the drama. You can't make drama from a happy relationship.
Is Natalie's fake fiance, Philip, out of the picture for good?
Frolov: He has an influence on the story -- definitely his influence is still there in a big way.
Elsa has been harboring a crush on Will, which we saw take shape in the last episode. Is that something you're interested in exploring further?
Schneider: Oh yeah. Her feelings are not a flash in the pan. They're building throughout her professional relationship with Will.
Frolov: And what we've seen after everything, she feels very deeply. She just doesn't have the ability to express that very well.
Schneider: It is a unrequited thing and Will is oblivious, but how that might change is still open.
Marcel came very close to kissing April. Are you firmly establishing a love triangle between April, Ethan and Marcel?
Schneider: There is a triangle forming, but it's really, April is the hub of it because it involves her feelings and she gets some very startling news in the fall finale, which has a big impact on her relationship with Ethan and the relationship with Crockett.
Ethan and April are still trying to have a baby. How will that storyline continue to play out?
Frolov: That'll still be a big story line for us. And you'll see in [the fall finale], there's a real complication to that. Yeah, we're going to continue with that story line.
How would you describe the fall finale?
Frolov: It's a very emotional episode. There are cliffhangers.
Schneider: And all the stories that have been set up have a payoff in the fall finale. Everybody gets a cliffhanger.
The show recently had Chicago P.D.'s Jesse Lee Soffer come on as Jay Halstead and there was the big three-show crossover event earlier this season. Are you looking into more mini crossovers with P.D. and Fire for the rest of the year?
Schneider: Boy, we'd love to include them when we can. We have an episode where [Fire's] Kelly Severide is in it and we have Sergeant Platt in it.
Frolov: The one we're shooting right now is with Severide.
Schneider: We will always try to have some little crossovers. Whether we do another big one, I don't know that we will. We might.
The Chicago Med fall finale airs Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
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