The Resident takes it slow this week as the staff deals with a case of mixed ID’s, John Does–and a wedding

This week’s episode of The Resident took the drama down a notch as it focused on a case of mistaken identity. When a string of emergent cases came rushing in, a newly employed nurse found herself unable to handle the stress of the situation. Due to being distracted and unprepared, her incompetence costs a patient his life. Oh, and this was her first day on the job. After the massive budget cuts from last week’s episode, the new nurse was brought in to replace the veteran nurse–didn’t work out so well, did it? To make matters worse, the nurse not only failed to properly triage the patient but also misidentified him as someone else using an ID from a backpack that did not belong to him. As a result, Conrad (Matt Czuchry) delivered bad news to the wrong family. By the episode’s end, the competent nurse was hired back and helped solve the mystery of John Doe.

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Nic (Emily VanCamp) focused her efforts on investigating Dr. Hunter’s (Melina Kanakaredes) shady clinic. After Lily returned to the E.R. with issues, Nic began to suspect Dr. Hunter’s treatment protocol. With Lily’s records only available at Hunter’s clinic, Nic paid a visit to this seemingly too perfect center. While we still haven’t discovered the truth, rest assured, Nic is dead-set on exposing Hunter’s secret. Dr. Pravesh (Manish Dayal) stood out on his own during this week’s episode as he helped an elderly woman grapple with her gallbladder cancer diagnosis. Not only did he play the role of her doctor, but also arranged for her to marry her boyfriend in the hospital–in case she died during surgery. On the other hand, Dr. Okafor (Shaunette Renee Wilson) was a force to be reckoned with in the operating room. Due to her bold personality, she was benched for the day after she operated on a patient in the E.R. All’s well that ends well, because Dr. Bell (Bruce Greenwood) successfully (phew!) completed the gallbladder surgery–saving the day for once.

This episode took a moment to slow down and really explore the depth of each character. But if we know The Resident, it won’t stay quiet for too long!

Now, let’s meet our roundtable and get to discussing this week’s episode of The Resident!

Viki (@SterolineLight)– TV Show addict, editor of the first Hungarian The Resident fansite, dreamer

Jess (@mattczuchryff)– TV Nerd, Matt Czuchry FanForum Moderator since 2005

Stephanie (@StephyPooh82)– Optician, couch potato and dill pickle enthusiast

Anam (@anamiii)– Writer, Activist, TV Junkie

Jenny (@Tzenaki81)– I’m a working mom who watches a lot of TV…I mean A LOT

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1. Holy identity crisis, right? How did you feel about the mix-up in properly identifying patients and Conrad’s reaction to it?

Viki (@SterolineLight): It was so shocking, actually. I mean the fact that it could happen for real is frightening. And I agree with Conrad. When Erik walked into the hospital and the nurse didn’t help him in the appropriate way, I was literally yelling at my screen that he’s gonna die because of the head injury if he’s not seen by a doctor. I’m not even a health care worker, but I knew it. It was her first day? Who cares? C’mon, it’s a basic thing, she should’ve known. Ok, Dr. Feldman was right when he said to get back to work and help other patients, but I can see why Conrad was so angry.

Jess (@mattczuchryff): It’s definitely a mistake that should not happen, no matter the circumstances. It also showed Conrad’s true character once again. Not only did he care about finding the real Ian but he was really invested in finding John Doe’s family. He took what happened personally and tried in both cases anything to right the wrong, as much as it is possible, in this case. Ian’s fate was uncertain for a long time and he knew that someone was worried about John Doe. It’s like he couldn’t make peace with the situation until everything was solved. Which in my opinion, says a lot about the person he is. I am honestly not sure any other doctor would have been as invested as Conrad.

Stephanie (@StephyPooh82): I feel like the nurse wasn’t trained properly to handle that situation. It was very chaotic, but she shouldn’t have panicked. Also, she should have looked at the picture on the ID!

Anam (@anamiii): I was so on edge when she pulled out the wrong wallet, just the thought of the family having to hear your kid is dead and then realizing it wasn’t was unnerving. To top it off, we’re getting visuals of texts from the actual patient’s mother worried if her son made it or not. It does make you think though, does this happen a lot? There are people who don’t carry IDs with them at all times, how do you find out who these people are if they don’t have anyone with them?

Jenny (@Tzenaki81): There is a part of me that says he completely overreacted, it wasn’t just one person’s fault, there were a lot of factors that lead to the patient being improperly identified but damnnnn that is a hell of a mix-up. I couldn’t imagine being told my child is dead and to start mourning only to find out that it wasn’t my kid. I mean, the nurse didn’t even look at the ID picture, just the name. I was livid when I saw that! The nurse definitely wasn’t equipped to be an ER triage nurse.

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2. Dr. Okafor is an extremely talented surgical resident. Did you agree with the decision to bench her or did you feel it was uncalled for?

Viki: It was unnecessary. She saved the patient’s life. She may be an “arrogant, overconfident, unsupervised resident”, but still. Though I loved her answer to Feldman when she told him why didn’t say anything to the doctor. She wants to cut tomorrow. Fair enough.

Jess: I actually think Mina being benched is a good thing. I know she is brilliant and knows what she is doing, but being too confident can bring mistakes. Grounding someone like Mina can definitely be helpful in the long run.

Stephanie: Dr. Okafor is extremely gifted at what she does, however, her bedside manner is lacking. I don’t think she should have been benched. She did what needed to be done.

Anam: As an onlooker, my first thoughts were the attending is being way too hard, but that’s partially due to having seen Dr. Okafor and liking her character. If you take a step back, the attending did what she had to do. At the end of the day, Dr. Okafor is a resident. Not to say residents shouldn’t be performing procedures and assisting in surgeries, but they should have supervision. These doctors – no matter how gifted they are – are still relatively new to the field and need a lot more practice to get to where the greats are.

Jenny: I sadly have to say that I agree with benching her. She is far too young to be that cocky. I mean, she may be great but she still does have a lot to learn. I love/hated when Dr. Bell told her she was getting too big for her britches. There was a different way to get in on that surgery and potentially learn something!

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3. There has been a lot of back-and-forth regarding Dr. Bell’s character and ethics–however, his surgical talent is next-level. Knowing what we do so far, would you feel comfortable having him as your doctor?

Viki: No, I’d rather operate myself. I know he’s better now, thanks to the meds, but for how long? And his ego is bigger now than ever. Geez. I want my doctor to be like Devon, Conrad or Mina. Or their mixed up version.

Jess: Yes he was once a pretty good doctor and in theory, he still might be but I will never feel comfortable with him being the OR. Every time he is heading into surgery I feel as anxious as Devon and Conrad in the episode. The medication might help for now, but can anyone really be sure for how long? It’s a tricky and dangerous situation.

Stephanie: I would NOT be comfortable having Dr. Bell as my surgeon. He isn’t called HODAD for nothing!!

Anam: If I knew about the hand tremor, hell no. I don’t care what he’s taking but that’s just a risk I wouldn’t be willing to take. Of course, if I didn’t know about the hand tremor and just knew he was one of the greats, sure, I’d probably be fine having him as a doctor.

Jenny: That depends, is he on the medications? Conrad was right in pointing out that his complication rate had gone up in recent history. That would make me question wanting him to hold the scalpel while I am under. Maybe it is time that he just teaches and walks talented surgeons through procedures they’ve never done before? What is that saying about those of us who can’t teach?

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4. Thanks to Nic’s detective work, we know Dr. Hunter and her clinic are extremely shady. What are your predictions on what exactly is going on?

Viki: Honestly, I have no idea. But at least now I finally realized that I don’t like Dr. Hunter. Not at all. There’s something going on with her and the clinic that freaks me out. Maybe it’s about money. I don’t really have another theory, it’s the only thing I can think about at the moment. If you ask me it’s gonna be like saving money at the expense of the patients or something like that.

Jess: Maybe she is experimenting with a new medication or a different kind of dosage? There was a case here in Germany last year where cancer patients were only treated with half of their dosage and a few people only got a normal saline infusion without any anti-cancer drugs. In that case, it was all about making the money. I hope I am wrong about Dr. Hunter and that is not going in the same direction.

Stephanie: I’m still not sure what to think about Dr. Hunter. She seems to be all about the money and less about the patients, but I’m still searching for some redeemable qualities in her.

Anam: My guess would be she’s doing something that isn’t exactly FDA approved and is probably questionable at best. She wants discretion and isn’t very forthcoming with info. This whole thing looks like a shady sham in the works.

Jenny: She is using some very high dosage chemotherapy and ignoring the signs of complications just to get the answers she wants. My guess is that her cure/remission rate is very, very low but she is trying hard to get known for “groundbreaking” cures and or treatments. I hate how secretive she is. I mean, I get it because she is trying to do something no one else has but she is putting so many lives at risk.

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5. Dr. Pravesh is really becoming an integral part of the series. What are your thoughts on his character development thus far?

Viki: Yes, he’s learning a lot about how medicine works and he’s tougher than he was in the beginning. He’s so much braver, but his heart is in the right place. It didn’t change, thank God! He wants to save lives, and he’s ready to do anything to help patients. Conrad is a great mentor! Devon is an amazing person and he keeps getting better and better as a doctor.

Jess: I honestly think he is doing a lot better than I expected especially if you look how Conrad and Devon now work together. It’s a nice surprise that everything is going so smoothly for him, but hey it’s a drama show, who knows how long it will stay this way.

Stephanie: Dr. Pravesh is very intelligent and he is fitting in nicely with the residents and nurses. I see him becoming a very gifted surgeon in the future with Conrad teaching him.

Anam: There have only been a handful of episodes, but he’s really becoming his own. He’s already earned Conrad’s respect which is huge and is very smart. He isn’t the book nerd that wanted to wear a tie anymore, he’s becoming a doctor and seeing that the best way to treat might not be the way you were taught or the most ethical.

Jenny: He is a fantastic doctor and he has a passion for what he does. He doesn’t just want to heal you and move on to the next person, he actually gets to know his patients and wants what is best for them. He is an advocate for the patients and I love it. I love that he isn’t a butt kiss to Conrad and willing to stand up to him but he also shows readiness and willingness to learn that that is amazing.

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6. Dr. Hunter tells Conrad that “doctors should support one another through good and bad.” Do you agree with this statement given Bell’s questionable behavior/ethics?

Viki: What kind of an ideology is that? Seriously. I don’t agree with this statement, not even a little bit. The support system between doctors is a good thing, go for it, but there are situations when someone makes a huge mistake and the colleague can’t say “it was a good job”. Sometimes they need to tell each other if the other did something wrong. Dr. Hunter is like the female version of Dr. Bell, by the way.

Jess: I do not agree with it at all. It seems like most nurses and doctors know about Dr. Bell’s situation and if someone might die again, the blood is on their hands too. It’s a tricky situation because Dr. Bell is the chief of surgery but at least Dr. Hunter or the CEO should be careful about what he is doing.

Stephanie: Doctors have to take an oath that states, “First do no harm.” The attendings at this hospital seem to have forgotten that oath. Having your colleague’s back is great as long as a patient’s life isn’t at stake.

Anam: No, I don’t. I do think you should support your fellow staff but I think doctors need to hold each other accountable. They are the ones holding patients’ lives in their hands. The families are not going to know any better, they need to be the ones to tell each other ‘Hey this isn’t how you should go about it, I think you should take a step back, etc.’

Jenny: Absolutely NOT!!!! I’m not saying to throw that doctor to the wolves or to throw him or her under the bus, but I am saying that it isn’t outside of the scope of logic to point out a flaw or a downfall that someone has. Isn’t that how everyone gets better? As a person, we have to be open to accepting our flaws and shortcomings. This is especially true when your flaws can affect if someone lives or dies!

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7. The Resident is officially four episodes into its first season. Share your thoughts on the series so far and how you feel about it!

Viki: Gosh, it’s so rare that a TV show grabs my heart during the pilot, but it happened with The Resident. I felt it deep down that it’s gonna be my new favorite show. And yes, after four episodes I dare say it’s one of the best series I’ve ever seen. I love the storylines, the chemistry between Nic and Conrad is killing me (I have my new ship!) and I don’t like all the characters, but I can see why they are so important on the show. And it’s the most amazing medical drama in television. No questions asked.

Jess: It’s definitely not your usual medical drama and that’s what I like about it. It doesn’t shy away from telling us the truth about the medical system or how patients are treated depending on who they are. It’s sometimes scary but maybe it is the right time for a show like this.

Stephanie: I love it so far!!! I am always excited about watching a new episode.

Anam: This is a pretty sold series. So far it hasn’t been something out of this world per say. It’s got a great storyline and characters but they all seem familiar from other medical shows. But medical shows generally do well and this is a pretty solid show in that respect. Would I recommend it to others? Yes. Is it my favorite? No, but we’re only 4 episodes in so who knows what will happen.

Jenny: I am hooked, I was hooked from episode 1. They told us that medical error is the 3rd leading cause of death (in America?) and in episode 4, we saw that to be true with a bad triage nurse. The story lines are relatable, the characters are written so well and you can tell their passion, their drive, determination, and even their shadiness. I find myself wondering how can Conrad going to fix Dr. Hunter’s screw up (at least what I assume to be a screw up). How is Dr. Bell going to change now that he is taking his medications? Is Nurse Nic putting herself at risk by digging too much in Dr. Hunter’s private work? And c’mon who doesn’t want to know what happened with Nic and the sexy Dr. Hawkins?

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Final Verdict: The Resident takes a breather to spend time on character and plot development

This episode of The Resident was a welcome change as they focused on each character, and removed the drama. While we have yet to learn everyone’s backstory, this episode magnified their tendencies and personalities–and helped the audience connect with them. Conrad expressed a lot of anger and frustration with the new nurse because his responsibility lies only with the patient–everything else be damned. This is Conrad’s M.O. and has been over the course of the series so far, which makes him an amazing doctor. Nic, on the other hand, spent the episode advocating for her patient’s health. This dedication highlighted a very empathetic side of her that resonated with the audience. Her character is very strong, outspoken, and played an emotionally blunt role in this episode. Devon stepped away from Conrad’s shadow and came into his own during the episode as he treated and cared for the patient on his terms. And while Mina got benched, her go-getter attitude remained the same because there is always an opportunity to “cut tomorrow”.

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The Resident continues to be a gripping medical drama worthy of praise. While it looks to address unconventional plots and secrets, The Resident stands apart from the myriad of medical dramas that exist. This episode, while slow, reminded us that all kinds of problems exist in this setting–not just the horrifying ones that have preceded this episode. Whether it is a case of mistaken identity or questionable budget cuts, The Resident will address it all. Will Nic ever figure out what Dr. Hunter is up to? Will Nic and Conrad’s past ever be revealed? And what will come of Dr. Bell’s hand tremor? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait through a three-week hiatus to find out!

The Resident will return Monday, February 26th at 10/9c on Fox!