The Resident Review: Operator Error (Season 2 Episode 11)

Quovadis causes tons of trouble on The Resident Season 2 Episode 11, “Operator Error.” But before I get to them, I want to talk about the women on the episode — because damn, they are strong in spite of arrogant men.

First, let’s talk about Marisol. She does have Devon on her side, and to his credit, he believes that she’s in pain from the start. He even stands up for her wishes and fights for her right to keep her one good ovary in the middle of her surgery. But before she gets to Devon, Marisol most definitely has to stand up for herself a lot, even if we don’t see it on screen. 

Believe women. Believe women of color. It could save their ovaries and improve their chances of having children. Marisol proves that it could even save their lives if their condition is not life-threatening. She lost a child and her marriage is over, but thanks to Devon, she has hope again. 

Since we’re on the topic of Devon, I have to say I love watching storylines about him as a doctor and even his personal life if the story isn’t romantic. 

When a ship works, every aspect of a character’s story is fun to watch. But when it doesn’t, the character suffers in almost every way. I like Priya better than Julian, but it’s been clear since the pilot that they were never endgame. I gave Julian a chance and I don’t think she’s dead, but watching Devon in any storyline relating to her is irritating now. So for now, Devon alone is the way I like him. 

Excuse that side note — we have more strong women to talk about. 

The way Dr. Shaw treats Aubrey annoys the heck out of me. I’m a bit confused by the story, to be honest. Her grandfather Floyd is older, so I can understand his old-school beliefs about hair dye and tattoos or piercings. But Dr. Shaw assuming right off the bat that she’s a drug addict because she’s quiet is unprofessional and downright ridiculous. 

I love that Nic stands up for Aubrey and believes she can care for her grandfather at home. Shaw does admit he’s wrong in the end, but I can’t get over his assumptions in the first place. Not only about Aubrey, but about Nic too. 

Because he’s a doctor, he knows a drug addict when he sees one? Nic should automatically believe him? It’s pretty disgusting, and I get more and more upset about it as I type.

The fact that he asks Nic to dinner doesn’t give him points in my book. I’m so done with love triangles and this story seems to be heading that way. I want to believe something interesting is coming. But I’ve loved TV too long to hold my breath. 

Now that we’ve addressed the moments women stood up to men on the episode, let’s address the situation no one at Chastain Memorial seems to know how to fix: Quovadis and Gordon Page are pure evil. 

Bradley Jenkins has always been one of my favorite characters. I was sad in Season 1 when he left the hospital, and I’m upset that he’s dead — especially because a Quovadis device is to blame.

I mean, he believes in the products so much he collapses in the middle of trying to acquire Quovadis as a client. This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think he adds so much more to the show than Irving Feldman. 

As much as Jenkins’ death hurts, it kills me so much more to see The Raptor take the blame for it so easily. More than anything, AJ’s story is an interesting case study in trust. 

He is quick and passionate about standing up for himself before his mentor says those ridiculous things about his ego. Most doctors are arrogant, and I’m not denying that AJ Austin is a bit extra. But the way this man speaks to his former student is nasty, and I wish the Raptor would’ve noticed and questioned it. 

Mina tries to protect AJ from himself and stand up for him, but Gordon Page even has her questioning herself. I wish I had more to say about it. But at this point, Quovadis stories are a waste of screen time that I’d rather ignore. 

I can’t ignore Henry though, and that poor little boy has a Quovadis device in his head. We know something is going to go wrong. I don’t even care to speculate about where that storyline is going.

But I’m surprised that Conrad, who has always felt a little bit of skepticism about Quovadis, isn’t more worried about Henry. I mean, his friend just died because of the company, and he knows it in his gut. Yet, he’s totally fine to let this child who he has an extra connection with leave the hospital because a test is showing “normal” activity?

Sure, that may be logical. But it’s not normal for Conrad. The resident I know has a show named after him because he’s not afraid to fight the medical system and win at all costs.

So, what gives? When will these doctors wake up? I’m really very disappointed that there isn’t at least one storyline featuring at least one doctor at Chastain more actively fighting against Quovadis.

This episode involves more people I care about and wastes less screentime than previous ones. But until someone stands up to Quovadis in a real way, I’ll be rolling my eyes at the screen and eating pineapple pizza in honor of Bradley. If someone doesn’t wise up and do something soon, I’ll probably need wine, too. 

What did you think of this episode of The Resident? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Resident airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.

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