The Resident Review: None the Wiser (Season 1 Episode 5)
The Resident is back after a mid-season break for the Olympics. I am excited to see the Chastain team back in action, but, wow, the episode is not good. The Resident Season 1 Episode 5, “None the Wiser,” is emotionally dry and plays on tired tropes of masculinity.
The Resident‘s good features make it worth watching, and worth giving a second season. In fact, there are at least 15 Reasons The Resident Needs a Second Season.
But, the show has many big kinks to work out.
I am an “eat the meat, spit out the bones,” kind of reviewer and there is some meat to “None the Wiser.” So, let’s eat some meat.
Shaunette Renée Wilson is perfection as Dr. Mina Okafor.
In the two seconds we see her in her lofty brick apartment, using her cutting skills on clothing instead of bodies, Wilson breathes life and nuance into her character.
Standing before her colleagues in the mortality and morbidity conference, Dr. Okafor simultaneously feels the weight of the hypocrisy and manipulation that’s been placed on her, and stands strong, seemingly fearless despite the risks.
Mina is no hero, though. She stands strong and lies, knowing that her loyalty to Dr. Bell, however twisted, is going to foster her ambition.
On a show that presents ethical conundrums each week, Dr. Okafor is essential to pulling viewers into the show’s emotional gravity.
Dr. Okafor is the most compelling and complex character on The Resident.
Another protein packed part of “None the Wiser,” is the concept of multiple concurrent surgeries as a tactic to save hospitals money.
The episode does a good job of showing that multiple concurrent surgeries could be an effective strategy, in the right hands. However, when the practice is combined with the lethal hubris of Dr. Bell, who insists on tapping a doctor who just finished a 30-hour shift, it is disastrous.
This lesson extends to many healthcare innovations. It matters not only what the new practice is, but to whom it will be entrusted.
Merrin Dungey returns as CEO Claire Thorpe as she does not disappoint! Claire could charm a nurse out of his scrubs, she’s that smooth.
I think that it would make more sense for Claire Thorpe to align herself with Dr. Okafor, rather than Dr. Bell. A person as shrewd as Thorpe would realize who is the truly competent practitioner.
Mina and Claire as a team would be a delightful and intriguing combination. I hope The Resident makes that happen, stat.
The final meaty bit of the episode is the inclusion of the use of an apology to minimize likelihood of a lawsuit.
What a twisted way to use people’s compassion. Yet, I can’t fault the hospital for apologizing. It should.
That the apology is for the bottom-line gain of Chastain, enhances the moral ambiguity of the characters using it, and therefore enhances the overall story telling of the series.
Now, there is bone to spit.
The biggest bone is the extensive reliance on preteen humor to degrade and deride patients.
Foreign objects getting stuck inside someone’s rectum is entertaining?
No, not really.
York as a character only serves to highlight that Dr. Pravesh is a whiny, entitled man-child and Dr. Feldman is an inept, unprofessional creep.
This is the second time a room full of hospital staff has openly laughed at a patient because of his sex-related choices.
On The Resident Season 1 Episode 2 “Independence Day,” the nursing staff confiscates a patient’s phone, makes his wear oven mitts, and then watches pornography on said phone in front of the patient, while laughing and pointing at him.
This, like passing around photos of a patient’s past x-rays to make fun of the patient, is completely unethical. It seems like The Resident expects us to laugh at these patients, but the only joke here is the writing.
Unfortunately, the York story line saps the rest of the episode of the emotional reach and intensity it could have otherwise had.
I also have a big bone to pick with the way Dr. Pravesh and Dr. Feldman react to Mina wearing a dress. Dr. Feldman seems barely able to contain his lust for Mina and tries to push against her boundaries with invasive questions.
He ogles her in a space that she is every bit entitled to as he is. The music and tone of the scene, rather than making this action villainous, makes his inappropriate behavior seem complimentary or like a love-sick puppy.
It is 2018. Elevator-eyeing and making clearly unwanted sexual advances to a work colleague is not cute.
Then, Dr. Pravesh comments on how beautiful Dr. Okafor looks, and the music swells, indicating, oh, he’s the GOOD guy. He respects Dr. Okafor.
TELLING A WOMAN SHE IS BEAUTIFUL IS NOT SHOWING RESPECT.
Adding insult to injury, Dr. Pravesh makes these comments to Dr. Okafor — assuming that his opinion matters and that he even has standing to discuss her at all, ever — while laying on a coach with his disgusting hospital shoes resting on the cushions.
I am deeply bothered by the toxic masculinity implied in the scene.
The last bone to spit in this review is the reason The Resident is giving for Conrad and Nic to not be together. It seems that Conrad is not willing to be emotionally vulnerable and that is what has kept them apart.
This is a tired trope that relies on gender stereotypes that attribute emotional maturity exclusively to women.
Conrad has a storied past, filled with complicated relationships. His choices are clearly made from the heart. It is not believable that Dr. Hawkins is some hardened soul, unable to open up about the tribulations of his life.
There are ten thousand more creative, fresh and non-stereotypical obstacles that the couple could face.
Nic softens towards Dr. Silva the instant he shows an ounce of sensitivity. Nicolette Nevin is not that simple.
The Resident needs to figure out how to excise the tired and offensive tropes from its writing so it can focus on the medical ethics quagmires.
Doctors Notes
- In the middle of an over-booked, high-anxiety, long hours day is NOT the time to ask your ex about his relationship with his mom and dad! Nic is smarter than that.
- Is Mina secretly a Project Runway contestant? Her dress is gorgeous and it seems that she sewed it herself! Honestly, I’m more curious about this hidden talent than where she’s going in the dress.
- The cinematography is interesting on the episode, but it comes across as trying too hard. The set-up of what happened during the surgeries to warrant the mortality conference is drama enough. The acting on the show is excellent and can be relied upon to create the pressure and intensity.
- I wonder why Nic and Mina aren’t friends? They really should be.
What did you think of this episode of The Resident? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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The Resident airs Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.
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Janelle Ureta
Janelle Ureta is equal parts Veronica Mars, Raven Reyes, and Rebecca Bunch, but she aspires to add some Tammy Taylor to the mix. An attorney turned teacher, Janelle believes in the power of a well-told story. She is currently exploring how to tell short stories, 140 characters or less, on twitter. She loves to talk about TV, and right now she can't shut up about Timeless, Dear White People, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The 100, or Younger.
2 comments
Who died in this episode? The boy’s mother?
It was an interesting choice, in my opinion, to have NONE of the three people pictured in the mortality and morbidity conference die. The loss was of a testicle, the wrong testicle. As a result, a couple will not be able to have bio kids together.
So, the conference was more the morbidity (bad mistake) side than the mortality side.
I think The Resident did this to tie in the threat of a medical malpractice suit and how apologies are uses to limit that threat.
Smart, actually, and I hope a lawsuit is explored in future episodes.
It also keeps The Resident out of the “life or death procedural” that many medical shows get stuck in.
Dr. Silva loses his patient, Gus I believe.
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