St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 13 Review: A New Best Friend

St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 13, “A New Best Friend,” sees Tim befriend Bruce, much to Alex’s irritation. Meanwhile, Val pokes fun at Ron over his new squeaky shoes, and Serena supervises Joyce, who’s high on mushroom chocolate. It’s weaker fare compared to last week’s episode, though there are certainly things to enjoy about the outing. 

St. Denis Medical, “A New Best Friend” 

This series is stuck in a rut when it comes to Alex. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with focusing on a character’s flaws (this writer is all about women’s rights and wrongs), the show has made a habit of zeroing in on Alex’s jealousy. It’s repetitive and, quite frankly, tiresome.

For most of Season 2, audiences have only seen this side of Alex. The formula is this: something happens that goes against the grain; Alex is envious; she utilizes that envy to rework the situation in her favor (or what she believes is best for the other person); it blows up in her face. Messy, flawed characters are far more interesting, to be sure. 

However, only showing this one facet of Alex is reductive. We women contain multitudes. Without growth, this arc is a bit stale. That said, Alex immediately owns up to her scheme in “A New Best Friend,” which is a sign of growth. Whether St. Denis Medical finally abandons this well-trod storyline for Alex remains to be seen, though. One can hope. 

Bruce and Tim and Matt

Speaking of growth, Bruce subverts expectations in “A New Best Friend” by abandoning Chaplain Steve, your typical “cool bro,” in favor of Tim and Matt. Instead of brushing Steve and Serena’s friends-with-benefits arrangement under the rug to keep the titular hospital’s chaplain as his BFF, he chooses Matt. Bruce knows that Matt has feelings for Serena. The outing plays against type for Bruce by having him prefer the company of “dorks” over the hospital jock. It’s a breath of fresh air. 

Of course, Season 2 has been a time of development for the all-star surgeon. Bruce and Alex are really on opposite sides of the spectrum in that regard. Perhaps there is something to flipping these character types on their heads, with the one seemingly incapable of growth—Bruce—making great strides. While this does cast a better light on Alex’s journey, I still stand by my previous assessment. Let’s switch things up and then maybe return to the jealousy arc. 

High on Life 

Joyce’s storyline is a bit stronger than the Ron/Val plot. Of course, it’s important to have at least one episodic arc about something trivial like squeaky shoes, but it just doesn’t resonate. It’s tame in comparison. Now, if the squeaky shoes story escalated into something narratively ludicrous, like a snowball effect of sorts, it could’ve been quite fun. Unadulterated silliness is usually sitcom gold. 

Serena and Joyce are always a fun pairing. Serena makes for a good voice of reason and has a grounding presence. Wendi McLendon-Covey never goes over the top with her portrayal of High Joyce. The natural approach to said portrayal makes Joyce’s dialogue 10 times funnier. It’s also nice that Joyce gets a therapy session of sorts with Mushroom Man. We see her process her breakup from Sanderson, which is important. 

“A New Best Friend” isn’t the strongest episode in the St. Denis Medical canon, but it’s still a breezy, lighthearted watch. It’s certainly low-stakes enough that one won’t be stressed out during its 20-minute runtime. That’s a victory these days. 

Stray Observations: 

• This might be the best cold open in St. Denis Medical‘s history. What a plot twist with the literal knife in the back. 
• Matt seems like the kind of dude who would read an encyclopedia for fun. 
• I would go to war for Doreen. Here’s hoping she sticks around as one of the show’s hilarious side characters. 
• “That is all a comb is — a decision.” Joyce here with the banger one-liners. 
• Why does Matt’s disguise voice sound like Foghorn Leghorn? 
• Joyce declaring to Serena that her family is “an acidic people” is so funny to me. I resonate with that. 

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St. Denis Medical airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC, with next-day streaming on Hulu. 

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