“Heart in a Box” was a pretty good episode for “The Resident.” It seems like it is circling back to what made it special in its first season: bringing down the system. With that, it brought back the thriller aspect to the show. In the second season, it’s in regards to the policies surrounding medical devices, and Quovadis in particular. It seems like, the two playing detective this season won’t be Conrad and Nic, but Julian and Devon. In last week’s episode, the medical device rep saw firsthand what a defective device could do to a person’s health. It hit particularly close to home because of her own hip replacement. Slowly, she seems to be questioning the good that comes out of her field.
When Henry comes in, having had a seizure at his ball game which Conrad was assisting, things aren’t looking up for him. He risks brain damage if they can’t get them under control. This is where Quovadis comes in. They have a treatment which could stop his seizures. Julian, losing faith in her field, is reluctant to propose this alternative for a child. Her boss pushes for the VNS, Bell pushes for it, so eventually, she pushes for it too.
Having doubts on the integrity of the company she is working for, in the last moments of this week’s episode, she visits their factory. Just like the company that had manufactured the defective hip replacement, Quovadis is manufacturing in China but stamping “Made in the Us” on their products. Gordon Page lied, directly to her face. What an a-hole.
“A touch of racism from a paranoid wife, got physically attacked b psychotic meth head. What am I forgetting? Oh, yes, Priya told me we have to move to San Francisco.” -Devon
Speaking of a-holes, as the episode starts, Devon is still thinking about the kiss, a lot. It’s really something that ticks me off. Get a hold of yourself Devon; either it was nothing, and you don’t think about it anymore, or it was something and you man up and tell your fiancé. There is no in between here, don’t be a dick. Karma is probably a bitch because Devon had a horrible day at the emergency room as he and Julian try being friends. It doesn’t have to be weird between them, and it isn’t, they’re there to support one another. I feel like the show went about their relationship all wrong, and it could have been a great dynamic between the two instead of this.
In the end, with no other viable options for Henry, Zoe chooses to go ahead with the treatment despite Conrad and Henry’s doctor’s reservations about the published studies. It is of last resort, but there is no other option. You’ll be hearing this here first; Henry will be this season’s Lily.
“Grief is horrible I know. Breaks you into a thousand pieces.” - Nic
Mina and AJ are working on the case of a heart transplant patient whose heart gave out from the grief. Nic is the nurse assigned to his case and as a surprise to no one at all, her bedside manner is still on point. The way the light was hitting around her made me think of an angel. It was a beautifully crafted scene where she convinces him that life is worth living despite having lost his wife.
The two surgeons need to go retrieve the heart and in the ambulance ride back; we get to witness one of their only non-work related conversations. Mina opened up about what happened to her sisters that caused her to build a wall around her heart. It wasn’t during the ambulance ride that AJ shared his thoughts, but when Nic confronted him about his feelings for Mina. He isn’t backing off because she is already in a relationship; he is backing off because he is her mentor, and he can wait for them to be equals. It was a touching speech, especially coming from him. I had hoped they wouldn’t come to it, that they wouldn’t become romantically involved, but I guess it’s just a question of time now. I really enjoyed how they divided and conquered in the operating room. There is no arguing that they really work well together, and their fist pump scene was a touching without meaning too. Mina and Micah seem happy together, but it still feels like he’s his patient, and I am not sure they can overcome that dynamic.
“When do I get to breathe fresh air again?” -Lane
And last but not least, this week’s episode brought back Lane Hunter. Yes, she’s still there, and she’s still working the system. I love that they brought her back. She wants out, and she’s more than ready to push Bell under a bus to do so. She blames him, when really she should be blaming herself. He’s no angel, but it wasn’t his doing; he wasn’t the one poisoning patients. He didn’t kill Lily; she did. Lane pushes him in a corner, and there was no way he couldn’t help her if he wanted to keep his job, and the hospital. She blackmails him, and asks for half a million for bail and a fancy attorney that can get her out of her predicament. His options were quite dire, but he managed to snake his way into convincing himself he was doing it for the hospital, not because it would save his ass, sneaky bastard.
I give the episode a 7/10. It was a solid episode, but it's still setting up for something bigger, placing it's pieces on the board. I didn't love the flow of the episode, maybe that's just me.
Also, Marshall, where are you at?
