Code Black - Third Year - Review: "Where Heart and Brain meet Medicine " + POLL

Hello everyone and Welcome! I`ll be your substitute reviewer for the first couple of Code Black season 3 episodes all up to mid-May when Rachel returns. I was an avid Code Black fan the moment I saw the Pilot and I`m happy to say that the show barely ever disappointed me and the season 3 premiere wasn`t an exception. The episode delivered a character-driven episode, showing us where our favorite residents are and how their lives changed since the season two finale. "Third Year" was written by series creator Michael Seitzman and directed by Rob Bowman.

First and foremost let´s talk about that killer opening scene where we meet Moon Bloodwood`s Rox Valenzuela and pushed her along Ethan and Angus in the middle of a drug dealer bust mission. I loved what they did here and how resourceful they were with their writing. They`ve created an intense scene by slightly pushing the boundaries of belief and putting the characters in the character into a new center stage. I certainly didn`t expect for the intoxication blow up and the grey smoke to appear. The interaction between Rox and Ethan was spot on, major kudos to the casting team behind the show, cause everything was sizzling when those two shared scenes. But the drama didn`t stop with them rescuing all those people from the house Centar Stage is where all the drama was happening.

And while everything was sizzling between Ethan and Rox, an interesting new dynamic was on the horizon when Campbell showed interest in Angus and his skills. Toning down Campbell was the best decision the writers made for this season. It was really a noticeable change and made the episode a lot more enjoyable. Campbell is still the controlling, spiteful and bossy surgeon with a God complex we`ve met over the course of the first two seasons but in this particular outing, he just seemed less angry and pushy. He had a dose of calm and serenity I haven`t seen previously in him. The combination of Angus` and Campbell`s energies really transferred well on screen and it will be interesting to see how their relationship will progress from here and how it will develop.

Our dear Mama hadn`t much to do this week but I loved the introduction of the two new residents and it was interesting to see how differently they perceive the hospital, the ER and the drama/intensity around them. Tyler Perez`s Diego Avila was an especially interesting first-year resident. His Millenial care-free attitude with that does of snobbism that covers up all of his insecurities was interesting to watch and I`m ready for his development cause he is obviously one of those guys learning everything the hard way. Elliot`s situation was indeed a heartbreaker, he wasn`t guilty in this case but losing that Cop cause this type of error is certainly heartbreaking. Ethan embracing him at the end of the episode was really sweet and I hope Elliot gets a bit edgier, gets his curves polished and becomes a better character in general.

Last season we all got a bit annoyed with the writers pushing Leanne aside in favor of Ethan. And while Ethan is a great character and deserved the screen time, I was so happy to see Leanne in the middle of all the drama. She working center stage and interacting with all the cast members. She was a bad*ss and I loved it. It was also great seeing her developing a relationship with Ariel. I died a little bit after seeing those nails and poor Ariel seemed to experienced the same feeling. The final scene with Leanne and Jesse hovering over Ariel broke my heart a little bit. Marcia Gay Harden was impeccable as always, you could feel the pain in her voice as she confessed to herself that she doesn`t know how to handle Ariel cause her kids never reached the rebellious teenage stage.

Last and certainly least in my opinion is the Mario-Noa "drama". The writers did take a different approach to their relationship and while it was interesting to see them struggle between their personal and professional relationship they should`ve spared this one for a different episode. Let`s just hope their relationship won`t be their only story featured this season.

What did you think of "Third Year"? Do you agree with me that it was a strong outing or did it feel underwhelming for you? Vote in our poll down below and feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section down below.