After Christa saves a woman's life, she pleads with Neal to perform a surgery that will ensure the patient's reproductive future. Also, Mario gets into a fight with a patient after he delivers a diagnosis that could imperil the man's hockey career.
At first, it felt as if "We Plug Holes" was going to follow the same trajectory as the series premiere. That's typical of second episodes. They have to restate the premise of a show in a way that demonstrates that this concept has legs as an ongoing series. That's not too difficult for a show like Code Black where it lives on the energy and chaos of this emergency room. This genre of show is sustainable. So it wasn't completely necessary for the show to restate the emotional beats and the dialogue of the premiere. That was unfortunately on display a little bit. Jesse restates the importance of everyone lending a helping hand to keep the ER running effectively. Christa and Mario are assigned a case together. Malaya and Angus work a case together. Leanne is innovative in the ER and saves a man's life in the process. Leanne iterates the importance of trusting one's instincts. Leanne and Christa bond over their similar tragedies. And yet, the show slowly starts to explore this atmosphere and characters a bit more too. It doesn't become overwhelming. But it is important that the show explores various character dynamics to see what works and what doesn't.Christa and Neal treating a woman initially brought in due to a car wreck and whose one surviving ovary has been twisted was something completely new that this episode explored. Yes, Christa really is fulfilling the archetype of the new doctor who cares about her patients more than anyone else. Sometimes that's a good quality and sometimes that's not. It's a formulaic character trait. But it also doesn't take away from the emotional beats of the story. She is passionate about getting this woman the surgery she so desperately needs. This woman has had enough suffering for one lifetime. Even as the ER is gearing up to go code black, she still insists on Neal performing the surgery that can save her ovary. That passion gives her a strong characteristic. It's much more defining than the 40-year-old woman who became a doctor after her son died and her husband left her. It's also much better than the brief moment where she has to be told which of the tools is the one the other doctor has just asked for. Her passion for this case is exciting. In the span of just two episodes, she has learned to speak up for what she and her patients need. That's what saved the ovary in the end. Christa is able to absorb information and then use it in practice later. She never would have thought to do Leanne's innovative technique from earlier in the shift when the bleeding arises during the surgery. But it's still a good idea that saves her patient's life in the end as well.
Of course, all of this stuff about Christa is really brought home by the fact that she and Leanne share a connection that no one else at the hospital can simply understand. They've both dealt with loss in very different ways. They've changed as people because of it. This episode does offer up an explanation for the loss that Leanne dealt with. It's just unfortunately told in a very expositional and dry way. Her family was killed in car accident. It's very simple. But it's explained to the audience as gossip amongst the four residents. It's something that they all think they should know even though some don't think it's right to gossip about such a thing. It's not a moment the show particularly handles well. It's a very good thing that the ambulances roll up and add some urgency into the narrative of that moment. Still it was good to be provided some answers after the premiere was mysteriously vague with the details.
However, giving answers about that piece of character backstory also makes things more apparent when the case that everyone deals with afterwards is a car accident. One where the male victim pleads with Leanne not to let him die because his entire family depends on him. That strikes a chord with her that lingers afterwards. It's not enough to distract her during the surgery. She's a professional after all. But that's what adds to the tension of the sequence as the doctors have to crack his chest open and massage his heart just to get him stable. Once that happens, Leanne has to deal with his family and learn just what he meant when he said they depend on him. Sure, it's tragic character backstory just to elicit an emotional response out of Leanne even though she's incapable of doing so in this new hardened life of hers. And yet, the story also gets a very big emotional sendoff with the family returning to the ER at the end of the shift in order to thank the doctors and nurses for all that they did to keep this family together. That was sweet though slightly forced in order to fit into the episode's overall message.
The rest of the medical stories on display here were a mixed bag. The hockey player suffering with seizures following one too many concussions was too drawn out. Mario doesn't seem like the best character to try and be lifting someone else's spirits up. At least not yet. The blind boy injured from a climbing incident at night was also meant to get to Leanne in a way that defined how she sees cases after losing her family. Dr. Gunthrie's dementia patient who swallowed $3.80 was very humorous. It seems the show can handle those stories as well. It doesn't have to be so serious and life-and-death all the time. And lastly, the construction worker with a bad back that became an aortic dissection was perfectly timed and concise. Sure, it continued to be about the residents learning to speak up when they have an opinion. In this case, Angus was right but didn't say anything which almost seriously harmed his patient. That's fine because it felt like Angus was actually capable of doing this job this week. But these types of stories will start getting repetitive after awhile.
Some more thoughts:
- "We Plug Holes" was written by Michael Seitzman and directed by Christopher Misiano.
- Was anyone else picking up on some kind of sexual tension between Christa and Neal? If so, the show should avoid doing something like that until it has a better grasp on who the two characters are outside of being doctors.
- Dr. Taylor's reactions to any and all situations continue to be the best.
- There also needs to be more moments of Leanne and Jesse's friendship. They love each other and have such a strong rapport with each other. More of that please!
- Jesse apparently has a thing for using '80s movies in order to describe his point. Here he uses The Karate Kid and An Officer and a Gentleman to get the residents to understand what he's trying to say.
- When is Malaya going to start getting her own distinct character traits? The other three residents have their broad definitions. She still doesn't really exist yet - despite having her hands in a man's chest this week.
