First of all, THE RESIDENT GOT RENEWED!
We can all release a collective sigh of relief that one of the best medical dramas on the air is returning for its fifth season. Heaven knows you have to take any win with show renewals these days.
And while The Resident Season 4 Episode 14 could've served as a series finale if it absolutely had to, thank goodness it doesn't.
With that amazing news out of the way, maybe we should dive into the good and bad of the hour.
CoNic's baby is here, and she's a beauty (for a doll and all). As predicted, they named her after both of their parents, and you could see how much that meant to Kyle as he held his granddaughter and promised to be the best grandfather on the planet.
You could tell that meant every single word of it, and every second of his happiness reminds you of how there was a time when he almost didn't stay in the land of the living.
If he had succumbed to the darkness of his depression, he would've taken his life, and he wouldn't have been here to see and hold his granddaughter.
It's little moments like that which form a lump in your throat. Kyle and Marshall's response to their granddaughter was enough to make you smile, and kudos to them for their ability to steal scenes together.
The two of them could take their act on the road as a comedic duo.
The sentimentality of Conrad and Nic's happy, domestic life has made for some of the sweetest moments of the season when we get them.
I almost hate that they even bothered with all the drama and life-threatening plots for shock value. We didn't need any of that.
And I can't think of the hour ending on a happier, more beautiful note as Nic looking down on their sweet baby and Conrad giving her all the heart-eyes with that montage of the Best of CoNic.
It's the type of ode to this couple that the series does well with, and it was the perfect nod to the CoNic fans who have stuck by this series and this cherished couple through every high and low.
Nic: Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your life?
Conrad: Yes.
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Through it all, what remains consistent is Conrad's undying love and devotion to Nic Nevin Hawkins. It's a love story for the ages.
Gigi's birth felt rushed. It once again speaks to a consistent editing issue and stylistic choice the series often displayed this season.
They sped through most of Nic's pregnancy, as we've essentially followed the series through damn near two years if you include the flashbacks to the pandemic. It felt like the sole purpose was to give us the littlest Nevin-Hawkins before the season concluded.
But The Resident Season 4 Episode 12 ended with Nic saying she was in labor, and the hour begins with her in the aftermath of delivery. While showcasing a woman in labor and delivering can range from beautiful to gory and gruesome, it would've been nice to see the moment play out.
We missed out on Nic's nerve-racking delivery, the exciting, awestruck moment when the doctor handed their baby to them, and they saw her for the first time and all of those character-building nuggets you want to experience with characters you love.
It's a repeat pattern with the series this season where they resorted to telling us things rather than showing us or jumping and skipping past moments worthwhile of our attention.
It detracted from the excitement of the moment, and while I can appreciate the efforts taken to appease longtime CoNic fans, I also can't help but feel as if they got robbed a bit too.
CoNic has also felt as if they've been in this bubble on their own. While we've gotten some group scenes, they've felt far too short and without the natural, easygoing nature of a group of people who are a family.
It was a flyby group scene of everyone cooing over the baby long enough to get a name, and then it was business as usual. The lack of a Mina reference sucked, but it wasn't unexpected.
Devon spoke about the honor of serving as either godfather or unofficial uncle, but we missed out on a moment when the couple told him as much. We even jumped into a scene at the tail end of him bonding with Gigi before handing her off.
We got happy CoNic, and the baby and Conrad even took a moment to look into the Sickle Cell trial. Many have commented on how absent Conrad felt all season.
It's an ensemble cast, a strong one at that, and I was one of the first to acknowledge that the series needed to share the wealth.
Jessica: You guys must have a name picked by now. Will you tell us, please?
Nic: Georgianna Grace Hawkins.
Conrad: Name after both of our moms.
Nic: Little Gigi.
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Balance is key, and it's a difficult thing to strike. The series evidently has to work on that still.
For the most part, Conrad hasn't had any significant arcs beyond worrying about Nic's pregnancy and The Resident Season Episode 7, which introduced Conrad's commander.
As a doctor, he has mostly taken the backseat. It's broadened the path for other characters to develop, but it's certainly a notable observation to make that the lead has disappeared a bit within the series.
So much so that when the nurse approached Conrad about helping her nephew get into the clinical trial, and he headed to Bio South to speak to Phillip, it was jarring.
He hadn't met Phillip before, and the interaction didn't bode well. The good news is that with the way it ended, it's clear that Conrad hasn't relinquished his mantle of making a better healthcare system for his patients.
He's more motivated than ever with Gigi. It feels as though Conrad is back in the game, and the new season will delve even further into what it does best.
The characters are more seasoned, and the premise of The Resident entering a new season doing what it does best coming off of life changes and experiences is promising.
The clinical trial saved Rose, and she no longer has Sickle Cell. Our round table believed that she needed a win, and so did a positive portrayal of Big Pharma in an age when trust pharmaceutical companies for vaccinations is paramount.
Conrad: How much does a sickle cell cure gonna cost now? One million per patient? Two?
Phillip: With all due respect Dr. Hawkins, the profit margin is not evil, OK. It got us safe and effective COVID vaccines, and now it's gong to help a lot of people with sickle cell anemia.
Conrad: But rich ones!
Phillip: Rose is cured. That's a win, right? I'm very sorry you're not happy for me. Personally, I'm very happy for her, and for Chastain.
However, our first instinct of the Zuckerberg-esque Bio South, Phillip, was right.
He used Chastain, sold out to Big Pharma, and now the groundbreaking Sickle Cell treatment will likely be unaffordable for the masses, an elite cure only for those who can afford it.
And when you consider it's a disease that overwhelmingly affects predominantly Black people, Kit's hesitations came to life.
We now have a cure for a disease that affects a disenfranchised community, and only the wealthy have access to it. Typical, right?
I can appreciate that this incident has solidified our heroes of a public Chastain's fight against the system. The show will always have the David versus Goliath quality.
I even appreciate Kit's conflict as Chastain made $900 million and is in the black, allowing them to see future days, which in the long run is essential.
They can't keep fighting the good fight if they don't have a hospital.
But it's a pity that this couldn't be the rare display of Big Pharma with scruples.
Devon was at a loss, and it was such a precious moment when he envisioned his father and shared that everything he has done thus far was to make his father proud and ensure that others don't experience what he had.
I cannot stop heaping accolades upon Manish Dayal. He's been nothing short of superb all season. I'd even argue that he owned this season, putting forth his best work on the series to date.
He and Bell orchestrating a domino liver surgery with his and Leela's homeless chef, Astrid, and Bell and Jake's Blues legend made for solid cases with happy endings that made you feel good.
Something tells me Devon can cash in on that dinner Astrid promised, and he'll take Leela with him.
And it paid off for Bell, who orchestrated the official adoption of Sammie for Jake and Gregg via Roland's daughter, a judge.
It's the perfect happy ending for not only Jake and his husband but Bell, too. Some official Kitbell would've been lovely, but Bell's face lighting up when he heard Sammie call him grandpa, and his pure joy at seeing Jake happy made up for it.
Meanwhile, Devon and Leela's kiss was smoking damn hot.
I was a fan of the slow burn pace of their relationship. They could've stuck to that, and it would've worked fine.
Conrad:What have we done?
Nic: Nothing will ever be the same.
Conrad: No more sleeping away on Sunday mornings, that's for sure.
Nic: No more date nights without a babysitter.
Conrad: Oh my God, we have to start saving for college. Best decision we ever made.
Devon's growing feelings for Leela have been clear, but with Leela, it's been harder to determine her feelings or where she stands regarding him.
Our only inkling that she showed any romantic interest was when Leela initiated the kiss before he could even finish asking her if she wanted a drink.
And inquiring minds would love to know why exactly he invited her to his apartment in the first place. Were we missing steps or conversations that happened offscreen?
After all, Cain and Rose's romantic relationship has mostly happened offscreen, too.
Nevertheless, I'm invested enough in Devon and Leela not to care too much about how they got there as long as it sticks.
Go them! What are we calling them? Deela? Levon? Pravi?
Cain and Rose were as official as it came sharing a kiss.
He's even considering her when making his decision on which hospital to relocate to. It's not surprising that now that Cain has used Chastain to put him back together and help him get on track, he's ready to leave it behind.
As Billie said, when someone gives you a second chance, it should bring about some loyalty.
But after pulling off the impossible and becoming a world-class surgeon again, he isn't interested in slumming it for less than a quarter of his annual at a public Chastain.
I don't know what we were supposed to take away from Cain's portion of the finale.
By now, the news is out that Morris Chestnut is no longer a series regular, and he'll star in a new series that will air after The Resident in the Fall.
Cain left things saying that he has to decide whether he'll stay there or go elsewhere. It seems as though he'll be leaving, though. And there ends the Cain saga.
Are we supposed to think the best of them since he came in and helped AJ's mother in the nick of time?
Finally, the two shared a scene since Mina's departure, and it was underwhelming.
AJ didn't want to seek Cain's help, which was understandable, but Cain didn't feel he should offer it at all, which was ludicrous.
After everything he did, he felt AJ should ask him for help instead of Cain offering it up. And then when AJ did call him repeatedly, he initially ignored the calls.
Forgive me if I don't want to give Cain a cookie for showing up at the last minute for a save he couldn't humble himself enough to volunteer for upon finding out about it.
My heart aches for AJ, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner captured his fear, helplessness, and desperation brilliantly. If anything happened to Carol, if his mother passed away, it would've broken him.
The flashback to AJ's childhood when he and Carol first met was such a beautiful touch and deeper insight into how devoted he is to his mother. .
AJ: I tested you for months, right? Backtalking, isolating, locking myself in my room, but you never gave up on me. Everybody else just up and left, but you, you never did.
Carol: AJ, Mina didn't want to leave. She had no choice. Her Visa was expired.
AJ: This isn't about Mina, Mom, this is strictly about you. Nigeria is her home now, and as far as I'm concerned, my home is always with you.
AJ traded in his all-consuming love for Mina over the past couple of seasons to that of his mother.
The transition has been a bit rough, frankly, but again, MJW gave an excellent performance, and all I want is for AJ to find happiness.
It irked that the onus was on him to get over his resentment and anger to enlist Cain's help. And after Cain's involvement in Mina's deportation, the only thing AJ had to say to Cain was that he was thankful he saved his mother, and the hospital was big enough for both of them to work in it.
It was disappointing.
Meanwhile, Cain's attachment to Billie is notable, and he gave her some reassurance and encouragement about her capabilities.
They formed a quick, surprisingly close bond. Shockingly, the mighty Cain would express gratitude that she served as his resident. How long has she been with him?
The way Cain spoke of her, it felt as if they were closer than we've seen depicted.
Billie came through during the surgery. Kit was there to encourage her and keep her flashbacks to the actions that cost her everything at bay.
Billie's always unflappable, so it was different to see her unnerved and lacking confidence. She did a great job holding her own in the OR until Cain showed up, and she earned all of the platitudes he gave her.
AJ: You never answered any of my calls. How did you know to come to the OR.
Cain: There's only one thing you would be calling me for, so I came to help.
AJ: Thank you.
Cain: It's what we do.
AJ: You know, I though that we couldn't work under the same roof. I was wrong.
Cain: I have an offer at John Hawkins. I may stay here, I may not, I don't know. I have a decision to make.
I'm resigned to the fact that I'll feel ambivalent at best to her character. The efforts made to delve into her don't evoke anything. Billie's chemistry with Nic as a childhood friend is lacking, and it feels as if Nic has spent a lot of time trying to aid in the introduction and development of this character.
In fact, Kit and Billie in the OR together served as a reminder that the series could've spent more time nurturing a female mentor/mentee dynamic there instead. It would've been of more interest.
Nic's advice to Billie about her biological son was disturbing. It felt as if she was prompting her to hear the guy out. Then again, Billie doesn't owe this kid anything, especially when he's harassing her.
The idea that BILLIE is too harsh on a man who can't take no for an answer is absurd on its own. We haven't even factored in how troubling his actions are now that we know she's a sexual assault survivor.
She's allowed to set boundaries for herself.
As predicted, one of the season's cliffhangers was the mysterious teen showing up at Billie's home to see her. NOTHING about this is okay.
Billie expressed that she knows she'll never have Conrad and Nic have, but she's fine with that. She lives for the medicine. Her job is fulfilling for her.
A teenager she gave up for adoption swooping in unwanted to challenge that almost feels like when Mina got saddled with a baby.
It's safe to say Billie is sticking around, so we'll have to see how it all plays out.
Over to you, Resident Fanatics! Gigi is the cutest, no? Are you aboard the Devon and Leela ship? Do you think their relationship happened too fast?
Is the Cain redemption complete? How disappointing was Phillip? Hit the comments below!
You can watch The Resident online here via TV Fanatic.
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