‘Royal Pains’ season 5, episode 1 review: Divya past and present

Typically, “Royal Pains” spends most of its time strictly in the summer, and for a number of many reasons. The show likes to show us the busy season, mostly because that is when the HankMed practice really gets chaotic.

Well, the premiere tonight was a little different, and a focus that was mostly about two things: Giving you the full story of Divya welcoming a child (which happened in the past), and also showing what the future of HankMed is going to be. Hank has spend much of the past year traveling with Boris as a personal doctor, and he was starting to realize that this was not what he wanted from life anymore. He missed Divya giving birth, and this may have been one of the straws that broke the camels back.

For the most part, the premiere felt almost like a new pilot, and a way to connect the show back to its roots. HankMed is going to be doing what it does best again … with at least one little twist. Remember Emma? This strange party-crasher is on the scene, and you have to believe that there is a specific reason why she is there. After all, as great as Jeremiah and the gang may be, you’re not going to sneak into a party for no reason.

In the end, that big reveal came in that she was looking for her father … and that may make her Hank and Evan’s sister, a niece, or something else entirely? This is not entirely clear yet, but it should make for an interesting few episodes ahead. At least we enjoyed the premiere, even if it did very little to reinvent the wheel tonight. Grade: B.

What did you think about the premiere? Sound off in the comments.