Wild Cards Season 3 Episode 3 Review: M.D.-CEASED

Wild Cards Season 3 Episode 3, “M.D.-CEASED,” uses an intense case at a hospital to understand Max (and Ricky’s) stress.

This episode, written by Marcus Robinson and directed by Amanda Tapping, dials back the ensemble, putting the procedural story at the forefront.  

In a lot of ways, “M.D.-CEASED” also slows down the serialized plot’s momentum to sit in with how it’s affecting Max and Ricky. 

As Wild Cards is wont to do, “M.D.-CEASED” showcases how the consultant procedural still its finger on pop culture’s pulse.

Everything at the hospital hinges on a bustling emergency room and its staff, and there’s no denying that The Pitt is one of the most popular shows on TV.

There’s also something to be said about Giacomo Gianniotti’s Detective Ellis investigating the stabbing death of a doctor, when that’s how his character on Grey’s Anatomy — Dr. Andrew DeLuca — died in 2021.

For Max and Ellis, the case of the week produces a cast of characters in its own right. From the nurses and doctors to the anesthesiologists and interns, there’s a whole world to get lost in while working to uncover the truth.

Unfortuantely, the case isn’t all that gripping. It finds its heartbeat too late.

“M.D.-CEASED” fails to find anything too interesting until Ellis and Max read Dr. Schaffer’s recommendation letter to Nurse Gail. That scene is fantastic. It’s a letdown that there isn’t more of that in the episode.

It’s emotional, honest, and explores how people are often more complex than they appear. Before that scene, Dr. Schaffer is a one-note, rather antagonistic character. That scene peels back the truth in a way that lands better than the twist with Robin, the anesthesiologist. 

Robin doesn’t reveal her backstory until the final act, and it doesn’t feel entirely earned because Max and Ellis — and, therefore, the audience — don’t uncover much to get them to that point. 

One of the better things about Ellis and Max questioning Robin is that Ellis tells her that two wrongs don’t make a right in trying to get justice for a deceased loved one. That beat feels reflective of Ellis’s growth after the (sometimes questionable) lengths he went to in order to find answers about Daniel’s murder.

It’s also refreshing that “M.D.-CEASED” addresses that the justice system is not perfect. In fact, it would be even better if the show explored that more often.

Some other memorable and lighthearted beats from Wild Cards‘s procedural story include Max’s pickpocketing of Nurse Gail for her stress ball, her referencing Bones on an episode that guest stars Tamara Taylor, and Max trying to get gossip to bring back to Yates. 

“M.D.-CEASED” feels her and Simmons’s absence. It’s particularly noticeable after the highs of Wild Cards Season 3 Episode 2, “Quit Playing Games (With My Life).” 

On the other hand, it’s great to see Ellis and Max lean on Li as a captain and a resource for backup in the investigation. Wild Cards Season 2 Episode 7, “The Big Bang Theory,” proves why there should be more of him on this show.

Similarly, Wild Cards makes strides with centering the B story on Ricky.

It’s endearing — and proof of their longstanding relationship — that George knows Ricky’s intricate and…revealing…heist-planning process. Seeing their one-on-one dynamic, even briefly, is such a treat. It’s also productive because it draws automatic comparisons between itself and Ricky & Vivenne’s dynamic. 

From Wild Cards Season 3 Episode 1, “Rack ‘Em Up,” Ricky has been apprehensive, if not entirely against, Vivienne’s return into Max and George’s lives. 

This episode puts that in a more specific context as Vivenne quite literally interrupts Ricky by picking the lock of his and Max’s place. Vivenne’s reintroduction — Gedeon Varga and all — is all very disruptive to a life they’ve lived for the 15 years that Max, George, and Ricky have believed her to be dead.

It’s wildly effective for Vivienne to describe Ricky as the “unknown variable” in the situation. It’s an understandable stance from her perspective, but the last two seasons work in Ricky’s favor, pushing that variable back on Vivienne.

Wild Cards makes their conflict better by cushioning it with genuine respect.

Whether it be Vivienne’s appreciation of Ricky’s love for George and Max or Ricky’s admiration of how good Vivienne is at her con work, there’s a groundwork for more there. So, even when the procedural element falls a bit flat, “M.D.-CEASED” succeeds where it counts — the characters.

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Wild Cards airs Mondays at 8/7c on The CW.

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