The Phillip Scene On Chicago Med That Went Too Far
"Chicago Med" is one prong of the trident that is the "One Chicago" franchise on NBC. The other two shows, "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D.," revolve around the respective firefighting and cop dramas that unfold weekly in the Windy City. Meanwhile, "Chicago Med" deals with the trials, tribulations, and multitude of medical emergencies involving the employees at the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. As with most network dramas (especially those that have been on the air for so long), this "One Chicago" show comes up with some pretty wacky storylines to keep things interesting and bump up sluggish ratings — and there's a particular story arc straddling Seasons 4 and 5 that really takes the cake.
The Season 4 episode "All the Lonely People" (via IMDb) introduces "Chicago Med" audiences to Phillip Davis (Ian Harding), who enters the show as a happily married father-to-be. When his pregnant wife dies from an aneurysm during childbirth, he very quickly gets into a questionable romantic relationship with Dr. Natalie Manning (Torrey DeVitto), which raises some red flags to her friends. After a violent attack at the end of Season 4, Natalie ends up in the hospital for the treatment of a traumatic brain injury. While she's unconscious, Phillip does something despicable to the woman he claims to love.
Phillip puts an engagement ring on an unconscious Natalie
In the Season 5 premiere, "Never Going Back to Normal" (via IMDb), Phillip puts the engagement ring he bought for Natalie on her finger while she's lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and fighting for her life. Shortly after he puts a ring on Natalie's finger, Dr. Marcel (Dominic Rains) confronts him, saying that according to medical protocol, he "would have removed it" if she was wearing it at the time she was admitted (via YouTube).
Marcel is immediately suspicious of Phillip, and rightly so. While there are red flags early on that Phillip wouldn't get away with his plan, Marcel calling him out is a sure sign the jig is up. His true colors as a master manipulator who is alarmingly overconfident about his ability to get what he wants are exposed at this moment. Furthermore, his decision to put a ring on Natalie's finger while she's unconscious proves he's deceitful and willing to cross any boundary to satisfy his desires.
The truth isn't revealed to Natalie until after she decides to "trust [her] instincts" and break up with her faux fiancé. Understandably, fans of the show had some very emotional reactions to the story arc. One of the most vehement comments comes from YouTube user epoillac, who commented on a November 2019 "One Chicago" YouTube video, "Natalie: gets tricked into thinking that she was engaged to a manipulative psycho. Also Natalie: 'I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF,'" And fans like Twitter user @maltesirsmissus were confused and angry about him putting "the f-ing ring on after. Wtf." As problematic as Natalie's relationship with Phillip was, it's a good thing that she ultimately dodged that bullet by realizing the truth about her extremely suspect suitor before it was too late.