Relapse:
This episode centers on John and him figuring out how deep he’s in this mess with the gang. In this episode he really realizes that things have gone way too far and he needs to start seriously looking for his way out. He goes and sees his therapist and she determines that he is suffering from a compulsion disorder. Basically, he’s trying to resist these compulsions to take part in dangerous activities but ultimately he can’t. It’s like a drug to him, he just can’t get enough. Gretchen even tells him in this episode that she thinks he’s out of control. You know if Gretchen thinks you have a problem than you must really be in trouble. I say this because Gretchen’s life is really spinning out of control. She’s helping Jed skip bail and get out of town so that he doesn’t go to jail for 10 years or end up giving her and her partner up to the police. Unfortunately, Jed is a drug addict and right before he can leave he overdoses. Gretchen calls John in to help, obviously, and he doesn't take much convincing to do anything shady. Whatever Gretchen needs she barely has to ask twice for, even though John claims that he doesn’t want to help, this is how we know he has a real problem.
This episode also focuses on a retaliation hit between the two gangs. Another doctor at the hospital overhears an exchange between two patients and lets John know because of his known involvement with the police investigation into the gang war. John is torn about whether or not he should let Darius know but then after a discussion with Quentin, (my favorite doctor finally getting some decent screen time!!) who relates not saving people when you know you can as equal to killing them himself, John decides to let Darius know. This turns out to be a total mistake when Darius uses this information to plan an ambush counter attack. I really loved the scene where Darius gives John his gun to shoot him when John threatened him. It was a bold move but John is legit crazy these days so it was definitely a major risk. Darius is really the scene stealer of this show in my opinion. I think he’s the most complex character and any scene he’s involved with is usually the best of the episode. Anyways, John decides to venture into the opposing gang’s territory to warn a priest about the ambush and afterwards he gets jumped by some rival gang members who recognize him from his involvement of the past few weeks. John is so stupid though. He truly brought this on himself. Did he not have any street clothes at the hospital? There’s a locker room there and he doesn't arrive in scrubs does he? So he must have normal clothes somewhere in that hospital or at the very least he could have taken off his lab coat that advertised to the whole world that he was Dr. John Ellison. It literally spelled it out on his chest. The whole situation was so avoidable but thankfully Gretchen was there to save the day again. He’s really putting everyone through a lot and you can tell that this incident particularly shook her.
Meanwhile, Quentin is growing suspicious when John leaves his shift unexpectedly with a really lame excuse. When he gets back, Sam is there and Quentin advises John to come up with a better excuse for her, but when John finds her the first thing he says is he had to take care of a “patient issue”. That’s not better! It’s equally lame. Thankfully she lets him have it and demands the truth and by the end of the episode it seems like he’s ready to tell her everything. Finally - she needed to know eight episodes ago!
Deterioration:
For the episode leading up to the finale, I was pretty underwhelmed with this episode. Sam found out the whole truth about John’s secret gang life and she was surprisingly supportive. They planned to go away for a while but the police and the detective got in their way and put a travel restriction on him for his testimony in another case. They decide to stay with his dad because I guess that’s close enough but first John has to plan his exit strategy with Darius and the gang. He ends up getting hit by a car that is driven by the members of the rival gang but the accident was pretty glossed over and it could have been more exciting and intense. They put more drama into shots of John walking the halls of the hospital than that car accident which was kind of a disappointment. John actually ends up having a pretty good plan for getting out of the gang. He records himself talking about everything he's done on his special gang phone and gives it to Bridget to give to the police in the event of his disappearance or death. Then when he goes and talks to Easy about taking him down, he can say that he’ll take him down dead or alive and has some kind of leverage for getting out. When Darius finds out he is not happy and I think John is in serious trouble.
Meanwhile, Gretchen’s sister is back in town after being kicked out of rehab and she has to help take care of Jed who is still going through withdrawal. This is difficult because she has to give him Valium and as a drug addict herself this is a big test. Her and Gretchen share a really nice scene at the end and you can tell that Gretchen is really proud. Gretchen actually had a couple cute scenes in this episode. Another one was with John as he was leaving the hospital to meet Easy. Although her line about all doctors needing a nurse during life threatening procedures was a bit cheesy, ultimately it was actually a nice moment between the two of them. At the end of this episode we also saw Sam tell John about her affair with Kyle and John did not take it well at all. He was pretty mean to her even after her support with his lies.
This was a lot of set up for next week and it wasn’t too exciting but I’m curious to see how things play out between Darius and John and the lengths Darius goes to to get back at him. I also am wondering if John will be able to get over Sam’s betrayal. If he doesn't I’d be pretty disappointed because she got over his gang involvement and lying and supported him so it would be a bit hypocritical if he didn't do the same.
What did you think of these two episodes? 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!
