The Resident season 2 episode 20 review: Conrad and Nic’s status; Lea’s tragic story
This could have been a story about wallowing and about emotional pain; yet, there were not too many different opportunities for the two of them to feel sad. For starters, Nic’s sister Jessie received some very bad news that because of what happened within the drug trial, she is going to have to stay on dialysis for the rest of her life. The only alternative is to go through a kidney transplant, and in order for that to happen, she has to be clean and sober for six months. Nic was already ready to donate a kidney when the time comes.
Then, beyond that, there was another emotional case in the episode that stemmed from a street shooting — one that Nic could’ve easily been the victim of. The only reason she wasn’t was because she slowed down after getting emotional
Then, there was the most heartbreaking medical case of the season — one of neglect and one of tremendous loss as Lea, a black mother who was coming off of surgery, ended up losing her life due to internal bleeding. Maternity didn’t take the time to look into her, and both her C-section and her recovery process were marred by people looking the other way. It doesn’t matter if the oversight was intentional or not; there’s the idea of bias towards her because of her race and maybe the feeling that she was just “going to be okay” and her symptoms weren’t altogether strange.
If the doctors were there for Lea, this would’ve never happened. That’s the message at the heart of this episode, and there is really no other way to look at it. This was an American tragedy if there ever was one; this doesn’t happen in other countries. The other medical crises in this episode were painted as important, but there was a clear contrast in that ALL of these were important. The family at the center of the shooting managed to survive and that’s wonderful; Lea should’ve also survived. She’s the one who entered the hospital in okay shape, and she just needed a procedure who many others have. Even Jessie at least has a hope for her future; Lea does not.
It was Devon tonight who seemed to be the most proactive in his search for answers and his attempts to try to enact change after the fact — and for the future of Chastain, we think that he did that. The problem is in the real world, where real women (including Kira Dixon Johnson, whose story was referenced tonight) find themselves not getting the treatment that they deserve.
CarterMatt Verdict
The Resident tonight told a heartbreaking tale of contrast, one where safety feels more like a theory than a concept. Hospitals are designed to help, and doctors are assigned to do no harm. We cannot think of a more harmful situation than what happened to Lea and this story was told in such a raw, painful way. The look in her husband’s eyes told you just about everything you needed to know.
You can read more about the next new episode of The Resident over at the link here. Meanwhile, we welcome more of your thoughts on this episode in the comments. (Photo: Fox.)