The future is looking bright.
If any of you Resident Fanatics wondered if the series could maintain the same high-caliber entertainment we’ve known and loved with these new changes, then The Resident Season 5 Episode 6 should have put the mind at ease.
Much like Conrad had a good day, our introduction to this new chapter of the Conrad and the Chastain crew wasn’t too shabby and reassuring.
All the most important things about this series remain the same, and it’s a credit to a series that understands itself, characters, and the stories it intends to tell that they can succeed with this big move.
So far, despite the significant time jump, it didn’t feel as though we missed out on so much that it left us wanting. The series will likely fill in some of the blanks as it calls for it from this point forward. However, it doesn’t feel as if we headed into this in the dark.
Everything we know and love about this series is familiar to us, and the other new aspects are promising. Gigi’s age is one of the most significant transformations.
The opening and closing moments reveal why this development is better for the series. Gigi is adorable, and she and Conrad’s interactions are more satisfying than Conrad carting around an infant for the rest of the season.
Now, we’re getting to know Gigi as a young girl with a fully-formed personality and interests. We have the opportunity to see Conrad comfortably settled in his role as a single dad.
She’s this delightful ray of sunshine, and she makes Conrad smile and has his whole heart. We know she has a gentle touch and compassionate streak similar to Nic, and she’s a total Daddy’s girl.
Gigi: Are you going to the hospital where mommy used to work?
Conrad: You remember, sweetie, I don’t work at the hospital anymore. I have a private practice now because I want to spend more time with you and Mr. Giraffe.
The scenes with Conrad and Gigi were a gift. You can tell that Gigi has become his entire life, and she makes it easy to pour all of his time and energy into her.
Their dinner date was the cutest thing ever, and Conrad is so good at this type of thing. Didn’t you smile so hard your face damn near cracked when he presented her the grape juice at La Petit Gigi as if it were a bottle of the finest wine? It was too adorable for words.
Conrad left Chastain to spend time with Gigi and have better hours to look after her, and it’s commendable, but he’s missing Chastain and what he used to do almost as much as they miss him there.
The concierge gig sounds nice. He’s undoubtedly making good money as a private doctor, and he gets to set his hours how he deems fit. However, he’s not getting the same type of fulfillment that he does when he’s working at Chastain.
You could see it in his eyes when he was on that call with the man too preoccupied with his phone call to allow Conrad to check him out.
The longer he spent at Chastain, the more obvious it was that he missed the hell out of it. He and Devon worked well together brainstorming what was wrong with Jackson– and talking Jackson down after the man held pharmacists hostage must’ve been a rush for him.
Of course, The Resident would go all-in addressing those infamous ads for medications. Something those outside the States reference most is how insane pharmaceutical companies advertise drugs to prospective patients as if they’re consumers.
The commercials are always the same, promising cures, misleading the masses, and giving people the impression that it’s a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. They always know when and how to target people, too. They strategically air at peak hours for the targeted demographic.
You get people running through fields of flowers laughing and all of this happiness, and it seeps in and has people buying into the message.
Jackson was a man who had no hope, coming into the hospital with what he thought was a death sentence. One glance at the Halcipride commercial, and he was willing to risk it all for the drugs he thought would be the last saving grace for him as a presumably terminally ill cancer-stricken man.
His desperation was real, and you could understand how it drove him to hold the pharmacists as hostages in hopes of obtaining this miracle drug he thought could save him. It was inadvisable, of course, but he was a sympathetic enough man.
Conrad and Devon were the dynamic duo of the hour as they put themselves in harm’s way to talk Jackson down and save the others. The action in the hour was on when he stabbed himself in the neck with that box cutter, and they had to rush to save him.
Padma: I got scolded by a Dr. Nolan on the way in here, and can I just say, I don’t like the way he talks to you.
Devon: I don’t see how anyone can mix you two up, you’re spontaneous and care-free, and you’re… the love of my life.
Conrad got wrapped up in the case, and you could see moments where he was genuinely happy to be back at Chastain and working alongside his best friend. They can practically finish each other’s sentences, and you can see how Devon’s sills have only improved over the years.
He and Conrad felt like equals bouncing theories off of one another, and through their combined efforts, they figured out that Jackson had TB, not some life-threatening cancer.
The hour subtly showed how Devon has stepped up and become the resident diagnostician in Conrad’s absence. It’s endearing to see how he’s taken many of the tools he’s learned from Conrad, and they’ve shaped him and how he practices medicine, too.
He has the position as Chief Resident, the coveted office to himself, and he similarly approaches cases. Hell, he was even rocking boots that were quintessential Conrad.
Gigi: How was your day, daddy?
Conrad: The best day I had in a long time.
Devon eats, sleeps, and breathes Chastain, and so does Leela. On the one hand, it works to their advantage that they work together and have a similar drive.
But on the other hand, their relationship will become complacent if they don’t nurture it outside of work. Steamy hot shower sex at the office is a decent start. It’s too early for them to fall into a stale pattern.
As judgmental as Leela came across regarding her sister, Padma was right about Leela.
The twins are gorgeous, and it was adorable that Anuja Joshi’s sister guest-starred like this. It was fun watching the two play off one another.
Padma is a free spirit, and she was instantly endearing. She’s different than Leela, and that’s perfectly okay. Leela was the one who initially treated her sister as if she was the flake who needed to get her life together and was exasperating.
Leela: How long can you keep doing this?
Padma: Doing what?
Leela: Exactly. What are you doing? Look, I know this seems like it’s fun and everything, but don’t you think it’s time you put down some roots, or maybe a root? You know what, forget, I’ll check it out later.
Padma: I threw your milk out last week. It was five months old. And I would’ve noticed sooner if I wasn’t lacto.
Leela: What’s your point?
Padma: When’s the last time you ate a meal at home?
Leela: We order in.
Padma: To the apartment, you’re never at? With the boyfriend you never see?
Leela: I see Devon all the time.
Padma: At work where you always are. When I came to Atlanta, I was only going to stay for a couple of weeks. I stayed because I love you, and Leel, you don’t eat, you barely sleep, all you talk about is medicine.
Leela: That’s the job; I’m a doctor. I’m saving lives.
Padma: And what about your life?
It was easy to understand Padma’s position, though. She came to visit her sister months ago, and Leela and Devon were both too busy at work for it ever to be a worthwhile trip. She’s stayed with them this long because she never got a moment to spend with her sister.
The most fun downtime Padma had was hooking up with AJ. Nothing is wrong with Padma figuring out what she wants out of life or chasing after adventures. Who said that putting down roots is a requirement? Leela, better than anyone, should know what it’s like to face judgment and have her passion questioned.
Padma doesn’t have to be like Leela, and it was wrong of her even to imply it. Leela needed the reminder that her sister gave her. Work is a good thing, but it’s not the only one, and she should do better taking care of herself and managing a better work/life balance.
It’s sweet that the sisters embarked on a mini-getaway by the end of the hour.
Meanwhile, AJ is living his best life after finding success with his book, Heart Sounds. He was feeling himself hard, and some of the cockiness from the early days of The Raptor was back at full force.
The competition between AJ and Bell was amusing and ridiculous. We all know neither of them would ever want Chief of Surgery in the first place. They both love operating too much to adjust their schedules to deal with red tape.
Bell had the gig before and hated it, which was the driving force behind returning to the OR. Bell only wanted it again because of this competitive thing he conjured up in his head with AJ.
Padma: I got scolded by a Dr. Nolan on the way in here, and can I just say, I don’t like the way he talks to you.
Devon: I don’t see how anyone can mix you two up, you’re spontaneous and care-free, and you’re… the love of my life.
It was ridiculous when you consider Bell himself paved the way for the famous doctor route. As AJ rightfully pointed out, Bell had a whole talk show and supplement line. It shouldn’t have bothered him so much that AJ went another route and wrote a book, finding popularity through that.
Men and their egos; they can’t help themselves. Both of your scalpels are the sharpest, boys!
They were a clash of ego during Tamiko’s case, but it worked out since the MMA fighter didn’t have any shortage of that herself.
Kit opting out of making either one of Chief of Surgery was prudent. Fortunately, it didn’t affect her relationship with Bell.
Bell: Maybe it’s for the best.
Kit: How so?
Bell: Because there’s a woman that I’ve been seeing for a while now, and, uh, we kind of have a good thing going. I think she’d agree.
Kit: Would she?
Bell: A little less time spent at work might mean more time with her if she can get away.
Kit: I’m afraid that safety report on her desk may keep her late tonight.
Bell: She’s worth waiting up for.
How cute are they?
Finally, we have all that Kitbell goodness that we’ve been waiting for since forever! Their flirty exchanges and the talk about them having sides of a closet is enough to make you giggle in glee. And they got in on that kissing action, too.
Kitbell is the freaking best. On the list of reasons why Bell didn’t need the position, being away from Kit too long while buried in work is at the top.
However, it felt as if Billie got it by default.
Kit: Dr. Sutton.
Billie: How many times do I have to call you because these ICU doctors won’t give my patients enough pain meds? Look, I know it’s not your fault, Kit, but it’s your hospital, and if my patients can’t get relief…
Kit: It complicates their recovery.
Billie: How do you expect me to do my job when not everybody is doing theirs?
The hour worked extra hard to convince us that Billie is a badass. In her first scene of the installment, she had the guts to go off on Kit about the ER doctors not giving her patients enough meds.
Personally, Billie is still an acquired taste despite the efforts to make her likable and endear her to viewers.
It irked, hearing her speak to Kit that way. Nevertheless, doctors not providing patients with enough medication to treat and help them recover is a pressing issue and would’ve been interesting to explore further.
She got roped into the surgeries with Tamiko instead, and she was the driving force in convincing Tamiko to go through with surgery by being blunt and to the point. Her bedside manner wasn’t to my taste, but Tamiko loved it and her, and it was effective.
So to fix my spine you want to break it yourself and put it together like some lego set? Yeah, find some other toy to play with.
Tamiko
And the rest of the hour, they showed us how damn good Billie is at her job, and it all led to Kit giving her the coveted position Billie didn’t even ask consideration for: chief of surgery.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with Billie’s ranking since her return to the hospital.
But this advancement will lead to many developments, aligning with Kit’s knack for supporting and mentoring other women. It probably thrills her that the best candidate in her eyes is another woman who can have this position of power.
Over to you, Resident Fanatics. How did you feel about the first installment after the time jump? Hit the comments.
You can watch The Resident online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
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