The Resident Season 5 Episode 22: Cade’s dad is coming to Chastain, but is Devon set to leave?

3/5

Story: Dr Ian Sullivan, the high-flying pediatric surgeon from Seattle, who also so happens to be Cade’s dad, has flown in to save his daughter’s life, after she was critically wounded in a shootout with the medicare fraud mafia. Turns out that both father and daughter share the same rare blood type. But Sr Sullivan seems to have a bigger agenda. He’s not looking at returning to Seattle; his claim is that he wants to spend more time with Cade, but she knows better that there’s got to be more than what he is letting on to. He has always had a more self-serving attitude, which made Cade self-reliant at a very young age and she thinks her dad’s got an agenda. For now, it seems he may just be joining the doctors at Chastain, because Kit’s made him an offer.

Meanwhile, Devon’s looking at having some distance between him and Leela, and it looks like a new job offer in clinical research in Baltimore could give him just what he’s looking for. But can Devon leave behind the hospital that made him the doctor he is today, and, more importantly, all the people he loves at Chastain?

Review: After Nic Nevin’s tragic death at the start of the season, and a time jump, it appeared that Conrad was finally ready to move on when they introduced Cade as a new ER doctor and a potential love interest. But her history as a whistleblower in the FBI’s case against medicare fraud means that she’s in the crosshairs of the mafia, which also doesn’t allow her to stick on to any place for too long. But now that the threat to her life is over – the doctors at Chastain fixed her up after she nearly died of gunshot wounds and the man who made the attempt on her life has been arrested - Cade is ready to put down some roots and maybe even give a relationship with Conrad a shot. Much as we are delighted that Conrad’s getting a shot at happiness again, it pains us that this is going to cause Billie heartbreak.

The writing’s been on the wall for a while that Billie has been holding a torch for Conrad, which even AJ figured out. Billie too deserves happiness after all that she’s been through in life, but that’s not to be, at least not just yet.

Ahead of next week’s season finale, the showrunners teased several other plot points – for starters, there is Dr Ian Sullivan joining the team at Chastain. He’s already done some amazing work saving a young boy whose brittle bone disease was life threatening. But there’s also the likely prospect of Devon leaving them. Devon and Leela have not been able to work out their issues and he’s still hurting that she did not consider him in any of her decisions about her work, choice to donate eggs to Padma, and that she does not want to have kids of her own ever. A little distance between them, he reckons, will be best in that scenario and he’s got the perfect excuse – there’s a job offer in clinical research that’s just right for him. But does Devon have the heart to leave all that he’s loved at Chastain behind?

The more worrisome bit, though, is Dr Bell’s supposed MS flare up. The man’s been pushing himself physically quite a bit, be it in the operating theatre or his crusade against the state medical board. But this new development that he can’t see does not feel good. Let’s hope Kit is right and it is only a flare up that some medication can solve.

Verdict: The promo for next week’s season finale brings Emily VanCamp back as Nic, in what will be Conrad’s emotional adieu to her. The show has been known to end each season with cliffhangers, so what will it be this time?