If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Shaun’s proposed treatment for a homeless patient puts him and Jared in Andrews’ crosshairs. Meanwhile, Claire tries to overcome Melendez’ reluctance to do a risky heart operation while Glassman must overcome his personal feelings about his oncologist, Dr. Marina Blaize, and face a difficult decision about his health. (IMDB)
Writer: Freddie Highmore
Director: Mike Listo
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 41mins
Airs: Mondays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
I didn’t have time to write a season review for last season but it was a great one, watching Murphy come into his own. His relationship with Glassman was the best part of the first season and it brought forth the best episode of the series to date with the season finale. That season finale ended on such an emotional high so it would be interesting to see if this episode could maintain that high while also picking up the other storylines from the finale. While a great episode in its own right, this episode did not maintain the emotional high from the finale while awkwardly picking up the storylines from last season, setting both of these aside to focus on the standard case of the week.
Since the finale, Glassman had stepped down as president of the hospital because of his health which left Andrews in charge. The episode started with Andrews providing the surgeons with their evaluations. Competitive as they were, they may not have told the whole truth about their evaluations to one another. Of course they would foreshadow their actions and behaviors later in the episode. Meanwhile, it was Kalu’s last day at the hospital before moving to Denver so he and Murphy were doing some outreach with the homeless and grew closer by the end of the episode. Meanwhile, the rest of the team were working on a complicated case involving a piggyback heart transplant.
Melendez was uncomfortable with the pressure that was being put on him by Andrews who was publicizing the surgery. Upon further investigation, it was going to be more difficult than they expected. Browne had an idea that may work though it was risky, too risky for Melendez. Andrews was feeling the pressure during his first week as president. He tried to convince Melendez to go ahead with the surgery. It was indeed risky but it was ultimately successful and Andrews got his publicity.
Murphy was perhaps in denial about what may happen to Glassman so he tried to distance himself from that pain with work. He and Kalu encountered an erratic homeless man named Harry (Raphael Sbarge). Kalu had something to lose in wasting hospital ressources to treat him although they did so anyway. He encouraged Murphy to be with Glassman but Murphy did not believe it to be necessary. Andrews interrupted them and threatened to make Kalu’s life more difficult at his new hospital if he was wrong and he was.
Glassman visited his oncologist for whom he had some history with named Dr. Marina Blaize (Lisa Edelstein). He wanted to take a more hands on approach with his treatment, however, she shot him down, forcing him to comically wait for his own test results. Murphy eventually visited him though Glassman did not want him there. In his short time there, Murphy figured out what was really wrong with Harry. He wanted Kalu to help find Harry again but Kalu was reluctant to help. Things got tense while they searched for Harry in a homeless neighborhood as everything seemed to set Murphy off. In a powerful moment, after finding Harry, Murphy used empathy to convince him to come back to the hospital.
Andrews stumbled onto Kalu and Murphy again but Kalu stood up to Andrews and defended Murphy who happened to be right about Harry having a brain tumour. The surgery to remove the tumour was successful and Harry became the person he was before. Kalu then said his goodbye to Murphy before he returned to Glassman to vow that he’d be there for him despite his many objections. Browne had been struggling with how to say goodbye to Kalu. She tried to convince him to stay and she failed.
The episode ended with Murphy returning to his apartment and seeing Lea.
Overall, this was a great episode that did not maintain the same emotional high from last season’s finale but still had a lot to offer with a B case that outshone the A case. It brought Murphy and Kalu closer together in a way that we haven’t yet seen. The script, written by Highmore, had plenty of great character moments. However, the best part of the episode were the performances by Highmore and Modu. In Modu’s case, he hasn’t been better. Though Kalu may have left, he can’t be too far away. It was also different to see a vulnerable Glassman on edge about his condition. Hopefully these stories will end well. This season is definitely off to a great start.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
