On National Nurses' Day, Chastain's nurses are severely understaffed and overworked, leaving them all feeling exhausted and underappreciated. Cain performs a dangerous surgery on a new patient he won in a game of poker. Conrad discovers that his father has been administered the same drug that he fears played a role in Jessie's death. Austin comes face-to-face with his birth mother for the first time. Irving attempts to take the next step in his relationship with Jessica.
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.
"Nurses' Day" was written by Jen Klein and directed by Steve Robin
There are countless abuses and corruption that run rampant throughout the health care industry. Some people treat it as nothing more than statistics on the page and money to be earned and celebrated in yearly reports. However, it has a true effect on millions of people. Everything is able to come together and work so that a young girl gets the proper treatment for Lyme disease. Sure, it may be a stretch to say that Mina got her in and out of the clinic in the short time frame that her mother had available for this appointment. However, it's a fundamentally happy ending. One that showcases the support the medical community can give to one another when they are working in tandem. AJ may be using that moment to figure out his biological mother. He wants to see if her claims of being a great doctor are true. They are. He sees how caring and compassionate she is. As such, he is willing to get to know her more. That is an important first step. It's important for the show to highlight that the entire system isn't flawed. It has to be functional to a certain extent because the audience needs to feel secure that Chastain will function no matter what. The doctors and nurses have to have the support they need to do their jobs and give their patients whatever they need during their most uncertain moments. Of course, this hour also sets up inevitable tragedy with the toil multiple shifts and surgeries is taking on the nursing staff. It may be a day set up to appreciate all the hard work that nurses do every single day. However, it ends with one of them falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a tree. That's horrifying. Jessica doesn't deserve that. It creates an uncertain future right when Irving was proclaiming her as the love of his life. He is ready to take the next step with her. And now, she'll be fighting for her life simply because Red Rock doesn't understand the mechanics of how a hospital functions. That should be crucial for any company that wants to run and operate numerous hospitals. Instead, it just showcases how the system is set up to fail. There are too many competing interests for anything to fundamentally change. Kitt believes in the integrity of reporting Cain's heinous actions to the board to ensure that he is never given an opportunity to abuse his power again. And yet, they work within a system that is set up to protect him no matter what. It seems like every tactic she could take would do damage to her career while propping him up further. She is horrified to learn he won a patient in a game of poker. That's the way he is willing to conduct business. But it's a real human life at stake. The patient may not view it as a big deal but it is. Kitt understands that. She even has to correct Cain's mistake when he is no where to be found. He praises himself as this hotshot surgeon who can do no wrong. And yet, he vanishes quickly afterwards leaving the burden of keeping the patients alive on others. It's necessary for Nic, Kitt and Bell to operate to save this man's life. But Cain feels it as an attack on him and an inability to adjust to the current system as established by Red Rock. Again, that may only produce more tragedy. Kitt has to change her tactics. Meanwhile, Conrad has to think bigger in order to get the medical information he wants. He was once positioned as the guy on the ground level dealing with the immediate effects of a broken system. But now, he is in a corporate earnings meeting trading favors with the CEO of a private company. It's startling to see how far he'll go to prove he's right. He may ultimately be right for pushing these concerns as well. He has a hunch that this drug has serious complications that could be putting numerous lives in harm's way. Devon just presents as the person who still views the rules as rigid and setting a clear moral line that can't be crossed. Conrad sees a rigged system set up to fail. They have different tactics on improving the system. Those actions just stand opposed to one another this season as they have different ways of making an impact. Some may be moral and upstanding. Conrad's may be effective in the long run too. That should just present him as a complicated hero where the audience can't condone every action he is willing to take. But the same can be said of Devon as well because of the numerous failings in his personal life.
