Two-week break is over Stranger Friends; RED BAND SOCIETY is back and not a minute too soon. I have been holding my breath ever since Nurse Jackson went all sneaky on everyone with Charlie's blood sample at the end of our last episode. All sorts of unanswered questions left us hanging over the WORLD SERIES break, and almost all of them were addressed tonight, with a couple new one's added to the list. Two new characters were added to the mix as well; Dr. Erin Grace, played by singer/actress Mandy Moore, is the newly hired Chief of Surgery for Ocean Park Hospital, as well as the ex-fiancé of Dr. McAndrews, and a new mysterious bad boy patient, Hunter, played by Daren Kagasoff, immediately gives our snarky cheerleader, Kara, a run for her money.
The Leo, Emma, Jordi love triangle, sharpened its edges so much, it can be used for a ninja throwing star. With both Leo and Jordi telling Emma they want to be dating her, she immediately goes to her safe place; calling bingo at the geriatric ward. She also goes to the other tried and true method of finding your true love; spread sheets. To sum it up, Emma is definitely conflicted, and in a confession to Dash, admits that it is hard to decide what boy she likes more, when she is not even sure if she loves herself. It gets so bad between the boys, they actually come to blows while doing their book report on 'Pride and Prejudice" (I wish I was able to only have to go to school about every four episodes). In the end, Leo gets his second chance, but it may send Jordi over the edge and turn his back on the RED BAND SOCIETY.
While the patients are working out their dating lives, the staff at Ocean Park are having relationship issues and some drama of their own. We have already seen Nurse Brittany's eye for detail a couple episodes back where she pointed out Dr. McAndrew's blue sex tie. It seems she also has his favorite granola bar down, coffee choice, he knows hers as well. Their chemistry has been a slow build for the last few shows, but now a new wrinkle has been added as Dr. McAndrew's ex-fiancé has come back to the hospital as the new Chief of Surgery, a position that he wanted for himself. Nurse Brittany is all kinds of curious to their back story and of course my favorite, Nurse Kenji, offers to fill her in. After meeting in med school and starting to date when working together at Ocean Park, the two were engaged and heading to a white picket fence in Encino until she decided she had to give back more, and went off to serve with Doctors without Borders.
Kara is not having a good day. While on the roof, she suddenly loses her sight and grabs Leo to take her back to her room without the others noticing. Leo was not wearing his prosthetic leg, so was having trouble getting Kara back, and as he leaves her to go get some help from the nurses, a boy comes by and offers to help, but instead guides her into an elevator and sends her upstairs alone. Kara's snark has no effect on this new boy, Hunter, who lies convincingly enough to even throw Kara off her game. It turns out that her temporary blindness was caused by her failing heart, not getting enough oxygen to her brain, and puts her in need of an immediate surgery to implant a pacemaker. The best part of this horrible situation is that it brings Kara's power lesbian mom back to the hospital to care for her. The two have a couple great exchanges and bond even further over Kara's illness, with her mom letting Kara know why she is not on the transplant list, and that she needs to be more, yikes, nice!
****** I have to say that I was really hoping to see a little more, "In-Between," time with Kara and Charlie this episode. I think it would have been a great way to help Nurse Jackson's claims about Charlie "talking," with his friends. The last time Kara met Charlie, "In-Between," was funny, and it really brought out Kara's good side. Although it didn't happen for me this week, I think next week's preview shows a little promise, possibly with Dash this time.
So Nurse Jackson's little blood switcheroo bought Charlie a little extra time before he's transferred out to the rehabilitation hospital, but he's not safe from transfer just yet. You can see how much she cares about Charlie, and she brings all of that passion to Dr. Grace, who she also has history with from being at the hospital for so long. She is open to Nurse Jackson's plea, but wants to make it is approved through Dr. McAndrews, since Charlie is his patient. Going over his head to his ex, exposes some hurt feelings and brings some bitter words between nurse and doctor, and there seems to be some large cracks showing in that friendship they have shown in the first episodes. The good news... Dr. McAndrews agrees to let the specialist come try again on Charlie. The bad news... he figures out that Nurse Jackson switched the blood. He reports her, and she is SUSPENDED! Uh Oh.........
Things I Loved:
Nurse Kenji is back!! We still haven't got his backstory yet, but he never fails to deliver a good line or a well-placed facial expression.
Kara has an equal! Just when I thought that Kara had cornered the market on Snark, along comes Hunter. How long until they start shipping "Karunt" or "Hunkara"??
You just can't forget that Octavia Spencer is an Academy Award winning actress. She's an acting class in and of herself with her emotional range of care, anger, and humor.
Questions:
Has Jordi really given up on the RED BAND SOCIETY? It's not just about Emma is it?
Who will Dr. McAndrews go out with first, Nurse Brittany, or Dr. Grace?
Will Nurse Jackson be able to get back to the patients who need her?
Let me know what you of the return episode in the comments below, see you back here next week!
Photo Credit: Fox
Videos