Royal Pains premieres on Wednesday, June 12 at 9/8 C on USA Network. Don't miss it!
Royal Pains is first and foremost a sunny tale of medical MacGyvering in the Hamptons, which makes it perfect summertime TV. The season 5 premiere continues in the same tradition but has an underlying core of depth given the situation the characters found themselves in last winter. Previously, Evan and Paige's wedding turned into an intimate affair when a snow storm stranded everyone, Divya and Rafa got married but then agreed it was too soon, and Hank had emergency brain surgery due to residual effects from the explosion that rocked Shadow Pond. Fast forwarding to summer in the Hamptons, 2 of the 3 remain prominent plot points.
In typical Royal Pains fashion, there is a medical mystery involving a previous client's new wife, but for the most part the episode revolves around the characters adjusting to their new circumstances. While Hank gets a clean bill of health from his wonderfully snarky neurologist, Evan and Divya are obviously still worried about him. Flashbacks show that his recovery was not smooth sailing and that left Evan terrified of losing his brother, so much so that Divya and he initiate Hank Watch, a plan for the two of them to make sure Hank is not overdoing it. Of course Hank is less than pleased with the plan, but things may not be as fine as the good doctor pretends either. Evan's hypervigilance also causes issues between him and Paige, who has just returned to the Hamptons after finishing her first year of art school. Things start off a little rough for our newlyweds.
Hank Med itself is also in a state of chaos due to Hamptons Heritage Hospital closing its doors and its emergency room. That left Hank Med down two doctors, since Jeremiah was doing research in Iceland, and up a whole score of new patients. Enter the Hankies, the badly named group of doctors hired to take up the slack. Under Divya's watchful eye they race from one medical emergency to another. Now that her star-struck, whirlwind romance with Rafa is over, Divya has thrown herself back into her work as the consummate professional she was previously.
Lingering mysteries over what really happened the night of the Shadow Pond explosion and complications with a scion of the community round out the well-paced episode. This season premiere remains tonally true to its summer fare roots but provides deeper character growth which should be pleasing to most fans.
Best Line: "Sorry but we couldn't save your sense of humor."
Best Surprise - the "new" Jeremiah
Royal Pains premieres on Wednesday, June 12 at 9/8 C on USA Network.
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