Complications - Immune Response / Outbreak - Review

I’ve decided to try a new strategy with Complications. I’m just going to watch, enjoy, and stop thinking about it. If something doesn't make sense I’m just going to go with it. At this point, pointing out all the plot holes is just exhausting. With that being said, Episode 4, Immune Response was probably the least exciting so far. It was still a decent episode but it mainly provided history and background on a few characters we don’t know that well. The main story moved forward a bit but the major fallout from the events of that episode were seen in Episode 5, Outbreak, making episode 4 feel like a filler.

During, Immune Response, we got some history on Samantha’s cliche affair through flashbacks of Samantha and John’s troubled marriage. John didn't believe in grief counseling after their daughter died and he wouldn’t go with her or help her clear out their daughter’s stuff. Samantha went to grief counseling on her own and that’s where she meets Kyle. He lost his wife and is trying to work through his grief. They have good chemistry and I kind of like it? I mean, I don't like that she’s cheating on her husband, but John has been a pretty terrible husband so I can’t really blame her. Not to mention, this wasn’t a one time thing. In this episode alone, he forgot all about one of her work dinners and then when they were there he made a huge scene about Antoine when the topic came up. I actually really liked his big overreaction scene, it was nice to see him show some genuine emotions and for the first time I could actually see why he is going to such great lengths to protect Antoine.

Meanwhile, the majority of the episode was focused on moving Antoine because Bridget was getting close to figuring things out. Gretchen reluctantly agreed to help find a place but it will be pricey. While she figures all that out, she goes home and is suspicious that someone has broken into her house. But it’s only her half sister, who just left rehab. Gretchen pays for her to be there but they're behind on payments. This gives Gretchen the idea to tell John a higher price for the new location and pocket the extra money to pay for her sister. I’m glad we got to find out more about Gretchen’s background and meet her girlfriend and sister. I actually like Gretchen a lot more after this episode.

After Gretchen tells John about the cost, he lets Darius and Co. know that it will be 35k to move Antoine. They don’t have that sort of money on hand so they go shake down some other gang members for the money. For some reason John is forced to go too. Things get a little heated but in the end they get their money. The episode closes with a shooting at a fast food restaurant parking lot which leaves a couple of characters from “John’s gang” in grave danger.

When Outbreak picks up, we see the immediate fallout of the shooting. John and his wife have made up after their disagreement and are laying in bed when he gets called into the hospital to help with the craziness. When he gets there he works on CJ in the parking lot and pronounces him dead. This really freaks him out. This episode also showed us the history of Darius and his rise to running the gang and how Easy wound up in prison. Apparently, he took some deal with the DA that Darius wasn’t very happy about. Darius was worried about the gang members’ futures and who would run things until Easy told him that he’s putting him in charge. This scene also showed us how everyone was pre-shooting. It was nice to see Antoine before all this craziness and to see that he’s just a normal little kid who loves to draw. For a show that centers around protecting this one little boy we rarely see him so I enjoyed this look into who he is.

Meanwhile, things at the hospital are absolute chaos. This shooting was way bigger than what we saw at the end of episode 4 and there are dozens of patients that need to be treated. However, there are only a couple that play a key role in the episode, one of which is the woman who started the shooting. As she was fleeing the scene she was run over by a car. Something seems really off with her but we later find out it’s just that she has a little brother that she really needs to get back home too. Gretchen tries to do everything she can for her but in the end it’s just too late and she dies before she can get into surgery. Gretchen has been growing on me the past couple of episodes and I think this death will really hit her hard. We saw her take the woman’s bracelet with her brother’s name on it so I think we’ll be seeing her track down this little boy to make sure he’s ok.

Another important patient is one of Bridget’s. She is treating a guy with a broken arm and he tells her he knows her from a while ago, before he was in a gang. He played football back then and got injured. They share a really nice moment but then a gang member from the opposite gang comes and attacks him and she gets caught in the middle. She’s thrown to the ground and dislocates her shoulder. So far all we’ve seen of Bridget has been a cold, distant, play-by-the-rules, enforcer so it was nice to see she had a heart and a softer side.

While all this was happening we found out that Darius was involved too. He’s being treated in the ER and asks for John by name which is a big no-no. John is freaking out about people finding out about his involvement with them even though he’s basically been broadcasting it to the world for the past 5 episodes. Darius needs to get out of the hospital but not for the reason that John thinks. Instead of getting back at the rival gang he wants to stop the order for retaliation. Too much blood has already been spilled for the night. This scene really solidified that Darius is my favorite character. I’ve liked him since the start and he’s the most interesting and complex character this show has, in my opinion.

John helps Darius break out of the ER by putting him in scrubs and distracting the guards. He doesn't get that far though. His wound is more serious than they thought and John finds him almost passed out in a deserted hallway. He takes him into a dark, gross exam room and tells him he’ll need surgery. Darius won’t go back to ER so John is going to operate on Darius in that room…this show is so stupid. Anyways, the detective realizes that Darius is missing and he questions John. Luckily Gretchen gets him out of the situation and he goes to operate on Darius. Darius refuses any drugs and he can’t move at all or he’ll die. This show is extremely graphic, I actually couldn't watch most of this scene. To take his mind off the pain Darius asks who John’s hardest patient was. It was his daughter. Throughout the surgery he has flashbacks as he talks about his daughter and I’m left thinking that that’s nice and all but shouldn’t he be concentrating?? After all, Darius could die with the slightest wrong move! After the surgery to remove the bullet in Darius’s leg, John carelessly throws out the morphine stuff and Bridget finds it. The detective is also onto him…at this point I feel like everyone is. The only question I’m left with after this episode is how much longer can they drag this show out for??

Can you believe we’re only half-way through? What do you think about Complications so far? Let me know in the comments!

About the Author - Kate Sidwell

Kate is a 24 year old, USA based, Psychology/Public Health Researcher - but that’s just her day job! In her spare time she is an avid TV watcher (some may even say addict!!). Some of her favorite shows are Jane the Virgin, Bates Motel, The Flash, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Rookie Blue, Silicon Valley, Beauty and the Beast, Sleepy Hollow, The 100, The Mindy Project, Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon a Time, The Royals, Orphan Black…so pretty much too many to count and a huge variety! She’ll give pretty much any show a chance! She also devotes a lot of time to her tumblr (eat-sleep-breathe-tv.tumblr.com) where you can find her reviewing and commenting on most of these shows and just generally fangirling! She’s excited to be writing for SpoilerTV on Complications, Baby Daddy, Proof, Switched at Birth, Secrets and Lies, and Minority Report!

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