Watson Season 1 Episode 5 Review: The Man with the Glowing Chest

There is indeed a man with a (literally) glowing chest on Watson Season 1 Episode 5, “The Man with the Glowing Chest.” But the center of the episode is actually a 26-year-old fighting sickle cell disease.

Taryn has been sick her entire life and her attacks have reached a point that could kill her. A cure for sickle cell exists but costs millions. So, with the help of Shinwell and Toby (said man with Day-Glo body parts), he decides to illegally mimic the procedure.

Though they do it at night away from the main office, his team shows up and finds out anyway. Both they and Mary, who sees Taryn’s blood samples, are left to handle the truth. Ignoring it becomes more difficult when Taryn has a pulmonary embolism.

Thankfully, Watson’s actions didn’t cause this. Taryn is pregnant, her body defying all odds and now definitively cured. Though Mary is still angry about the transgression, she disposes the blood samples and the team all agree to keep the secret.

Also, Sasha uses her sweet-but-ruthless manipulation techniques to help Ingrid get a young woman (who we later learn is her sister) into a medical trial, more potential romances are floated in the team, and we see one Croft twin in AA.

One small bone to pick: though the titular glowing chest worked great to have in promos and intrigue audiences, the procedure Toby did on himself has little relevance even when he shows up to aid Watson’s clandestine activities.

Perhaps we’re speaking too soon and we’ve gotten a peek of a hubris-driven medical crisis yet to come, but for the meantime it’s kind of a silly distraction. Thankfully, it’s one that only takes up a few minutes and lets us spend more time with Taryn.

Though we’re back to the trend of spending more time with patients that we are establishing the backgrounds of our main characters, Taryn’s story and her immediate connection to Dr. Watson make that feel more natural than usual.

Of course, it matters that the relationship is enough for John to put his career and freedom on the line. The morality of medical procedures being keep from those who need them due to cost is at the center of everything and does give the team a chance to debate with each other.

Though different members struggle at varying degrees with (technically) being witness to a criminal act, none of them ever really seem willing to rat out their boss. Even Mary, who might have a medical obligation, chooses her ethics first.

The result is a happy ending, and the fact it came so easily says plenty about the systems and access to medical health that affect so many people. But will this come back to haunt John and the others? They seem safe now, but there’s no ruling anything out.

Again, the intergroup dynamics we get are enjoyable if brief. I especially enjoy the support between Sasha and Ingrid and want to hear much more about Ingrid’s sister. Women supporting women in a male-dominated field is always a win.

 

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

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Watson airs Sundays at 9/8c on CBS

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