The Resident Season 5 Episode 16 review: Devon and Dr Bell are in superhero mode, intent on saving the world

3/5

Story: A repeat suicide attempt offender and a victim of medical malpractice are at the core of this week’s episode, as The Resident returns after a break.

Review: It is not easy to come up with compelling drama week-on-week on a medical show and when it is a series that is a few seasons old, chances are that storylines get repeated every now and then, like, for instance, about suicide prevention, medical negligence and malpractices, etc. When The Resident returned after a three-week break this week, the medical emergencies were on familiar turf – a level 1 trauma patient who survived an ‘accidental fall’ from her 6th floor balcony and a friend whose life is in dire straits after an unnecessary medical procedure done elsewhere.

With Cade still missing in action, Devon is back in the ER, but there too he manages to push the case for experimental treatment, as in the case of his latest patient, Eliza. Brought to the ER after an ‘accidental fall’ off her 6th floor balcony, Eliza, as it turns out has been battling depression for long and attempted suicide before. The fall wasn’t accidental after all, but it is surprising that she survived it with barely any bruises. Eliza has a form of depression that’s resistant to treatment, so Devon comes up with the next best thing for her – deep brain stimulation, which will help release just enough serotonin and to substantially uplift her mood. That’s score for Devon yet again.

Dr Bell, meanwhile, is struggling a wee bit with an MS flare that has him limping, but still refuses to use a cane for support. He’s got bigger things to attend to, like ensuring that the medical board takes the complaints against Dr Bosley seriously. He’s got a file full of complaints, but isn’t making much progress yet – newbies are supposed to sit on the side-lines and only observe how the board functions, you see, and not get all proactive from day one in the office. But he’s still trying to make a difference. Wonder how that will turn out.

Conrad and Austin also deal with a peculiar case – a friend and confidante, pastor Aaron’s complaining of chest pain. Turns out, the seemingly healthy young pastor was gullible enough to fall for the tricks of a cardiac clinic that ran tests on him and suggested ‘life saving’ procedures when his life was not at risk. The procedures, though, at the hands of a greedy surgeon, caused a lot of trouble and his heart unable to function optimally. Even for Austin’s magic hands in the OR, this was a lot of work - work that was avoidable if some surgeon had not messed with a healthy patient. And while Austin can’t do much about the unscrupulous surgeon, he does pay him a visit and threatens a lawsuit if the good pastor doesn’t make it on the operating table.

Verdict: This was not one of the strongest episodes of The Resident, and one expected more, given that it came after a fairly long break. Several key cast members were also missing, so, it did sort of feel incomplete. Here’s hoping that we do get to see better storylines in the weeks to come. We are, after all, well past mid-point.