When the hospital has a severe blood shortage, Conrad must try every avenue to save a patient's life. Nic receives devastating news and is left worrying about her sister's health. Mina and Devon work with a new anesthesiologist who is not what she seems. Kit considers the future of her intertwining relationships and Bell has an encounter with a woman from his past.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of FOX's The Resident.
"Stuck as Foretold" was written by Jen Klein & Joshua Troke and directed by Paul McCrane
Some of the latest episodes have really proven that the show is struggling to stretch out some of its plots to cover a 23 episode season. That is a lot of hours to fill. The season had some major stories earlier discussing just how corrupt the medical device industry could be. All of that is over with now. As such, the show felt the pressure to suddenly introduce a new aspect of the health care system. It just doesn't have the same amount of time to develop into a full-blown story of importance. So instead, it may only be around for two or three episodes. That's not inherently bad either. This is a genre that is very episodic after all. It just feels like there have been a few more starts and stops as of late. This episode introduces Austin trying to find his biological parents as well as a new anesthesiologist who is so much more than a woman who speaks in cheesy puns. Both of those stories could have ongoing importance. And yet, it's difficult to feel emotionally attached to them at the moment without seeing the strings trying to move all of the various pieces together for big drama down the line. It seems inevitable that Devon will once again be disappointed in love. That seems to be a consistent trait of his life. Meanwhile, Bell and Kit don't appear to have a future together. Sure, it's a pleasant surprise to see Bell painted as the good guy. He has long presented as the guy who will survive no matter what despite the actions he has taken to manipulate the system to his benefit. He has made tons of morally questionable decisions. And yet, the show also wants the audience to see the potential of him being a good romantic partner. He may not offer that to the mother of his assistant. Plus, he may allow Kit to pursue another stab at love with her first husband. That's a fascinating dynamic as well. Sure, the tension is immediately eliminated if the viewer is aware that Jane Leeves only had a one-year contract with the show and did another pilot this development cycle. Kit has had certain moments that have popped as a character but the show hasn't always known what to do with her either. So if this is leading to her exit, it wouldn't be seen as this seismic shift to the foundation of the show. All of this basically means it's up to Conrad and Nic to keep all of the stories grounded and solid to watch. They are both dealing with the fallout of their recent breakup. Again, the show hasn't done a great job at explaining why that happened. It seems inevitable that they will get back together after all of Jessie's kidney issues are solved one way or the other. But that too seems to be establishing just how complicated the organ transplant network can be. Nic works in health care but is still frustrated by the process. Sure, she's more upset with her father who continues to say he'll be around to help with the hard times. But when he's actually given the opportunity to make a difference, he neglects his parental responsibilities. He won't give Jessie his kidney. That's devastating and establishes that Nic may be willing to do something desperate with Alec in order to help her sister finally get the life that she has always deserved. That may be compelling or it may not. At this moment in time, it's hard to tell. Plus, there's the sneaking suspicion that Alec is only doing all of this because he's trying to make his latest move on her even though he only has the vague details about her breaking up with Conrad. Meanwhile, Conrad is being an actual hero by giving his blood to his patient in need when a blood shortage at the hospital puts every procedure in danger. That too shows just how limiting the system can be. It's just unclear if this outage will last more than one hour.
"Stuck as Foretold" was written by Jen Klein & Joshua Troke and directed by Paul McCraneSome of the latest episodes have really proven that the show is struggling to stretch out some of its plots to cover a 23 episode season. That is a lot of hours to fill. The season had some major stories earlier discussing just how corrupt the medical device industry could be. All of that is over with now. As such, the show felt the pressure to suddenly introduce a new aspect of the health care system. It just doesn't have the same amount of time to develop into a full-blown story of importance. So instead, it may only be around for two or three episodes. That's not inherently bad either. This is a genre that is very episodic after all. It just feels like there have been a few more starts and stops as of late. This episode introduces Austin trying to find his biological parents as well as a new anesthesiologist who is so much more than a woman who speaks in cheesy puns. Both of those stories could have ongoing importance. And yet, it's difficult to feel emotionally attached to them at the moment without seeing the strings trying to move all of the various pieces together for big drama down the line. It seems inevitable that Devon will once again be disappointed in love. That seems to be a consistent trait of his life. Meanwhile, Bell and Kit don't appear to have a future together. Sure, it's a pleasant surprise to see Bell painted as the good guy. He has long presented as the guy who will survive no matter what despite the actions he has taken to manipulate the system to his benefit. He has made tons of morally questionable decisions. And yet, the show also wants the audience to see the potential of him being a good romantic partner. He may not offer that to the mother of his assistant. Plus, he may allow Kit to pursue another stab at love with her first husband. That's a fascinating dynamic as well. Sure, the tension is immediately eliminated if the viewer is aware that Jane Leeves only had a one-year contract with the show and did another pilot this development cycle. Kit has had certain moments that have popped as a character but the show hasn't always known what to do with her either. So if this is leading to her exit, it wouldn't be seen as this seismic shift to the foundation of the show. All of this basically means it's up to Conrad and Nic to keep all of the stories grounded and solid to watch. They are both dealing with the fallout of their recent breakup. Again, the show hasn't done a great job at explaining why that happened. It seems inevitable that they will get back together after all of Jessie's kidney issues are solved one way or the other. But that too seems to be establishing just how complicated the organ transplant network can be. Nic works in health care but is still frustrated by the process. Sure, she's more upset with her father who continues to say he'll be around to help with the hard times. But when he's actually given the opportunity to make a difference, he neglects his parental responsibilities. He won't give Jessie his kidney. That's devastating and establishes that Nic may be willing to do something desperate with Alec in order to help her sister finally get the life that she has always deserved. That may be compelling or it may not. At this moment in time, it's hard to tell. Plus, there's the sneaking suspicion that Alec is only doing all of this because he's trying to make his latest move on her even though he only has the vague details about her breaking up with Conrad. Meanwhile, Conrad is being an actual hero by giving his blood to his patient in need when a blood shortage at the hospital puts every procedure in danger. That too shows just how limiting the system can be. It's just unclear if this outage will last more than one hour.
