The doctors of Chastain are surrounded by new rules and doctors, as Red Rock Mountain Medical takes over the hospital. Conrad finds himself in a dangerous situation when the construction for a new neurosurgery center causes a gas explosion at Chastain. New hotshot neurosurgeon Barrett Cain is put to the test with a complicated surgery. Mina acts as a support for Nic, who is struggling with a devastating loss.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the season premiere of FOX's The Resident.
"From the Ashes" was written by Amy Holden Jones and directed by Rob Corn
Profits shouldn't come ahead of patient care. And yet, that is the chilling and sobering reality for the current health care system. Chastain has been taken over by Red Rock Mountain Medical. It has assumed control of a number of hospitals across the country. That may allow uniformity across the board. It may also allow Chastain to stay open and able to help their community. However, it means there are newcomers in charge who run their business in a dramatically different way. They determine which doctors to keep based on how much revenue they generate for the hospital. Bell just has to go along with all of that. He may still be the CEO of the hospital. He is determined to fight on Voss' behalf to ensure that she isn't fired do to her low numbers. But he may not have the power to actually change anything. He is no longer the man making all of the major decisions about how this hospital should be managed. This too has become the reality of the world. There are too many cynical and disconnected people at the top who don't understand the life-changing work that the health care system has to do on a daily basis. There is a baby with a severe case of pneumonia whose mother can't afford a hospital visit and treatment. She wants the clinic to be open to ensure her child gets the help that is clearly needed. But the clinic is closed. That may not fit in line with Red Rock's vision of how the system works. Plus, Nic isn't in the proper headspace to run the program. She has just lost her sister. Jessie was the one who died from the big cliffhanger. She went into surgery to get a new kidney from her father in the hopes that that would save her life. Instead, she developed a common post-surgical complication that led to her death. Nic doesn't see anything as being suspicious or out of normal. Kyle does though. His insistence that someone needs to look at the medical files to determine whether everything was done right may tip the audience off to the fact that something wrong did take place. That may be the new way the show introduces drama between Conrad and Nic as a couple. They are trying to be supportive of each other during this trying time. An explosion happens in the basement of the hospital that injures Conrad. He may still get to be the hero for a little while. He saves a boy and his colleague from the fire that breaks out. He still needs care too though. That serves as the moment in which Conrad and Nic can easily declare their love for one another. They can't lose each other. It's also significant that the two other patients had much more extensive injuries. For the boy, it's a chance to showcase just how skilled a surgeon Voss really is. His skull may be severed from his spinal cord but it doesn't become a death sentence for him. She saves a life that would otherwise be lost. That's the value she brings to the hospital. It's because she had these skills that everything worked out in the end. Bell sees that and will fight for it. But he continues to be willing to bend the rules because he has to be efficient and effective while running this business. The decision to hire neurosurgeon Barrett Cain isn't his to make though. Instead, it's the Red Rock executives who essentially get this guy to move to whichever hospital within their system where he has a good dynamic with the administration. The executives look at him as a rock star who can do no wrong. He brings a ton of revenue into the system. Voss knows that means he must compromise patient care in order to reach that level of statistics. That can be very dangerous. Cain has no qualms about that. Neither does Bell because he sees this as the deal that must be done to ensure the rest of the hospital can still function. It just means the clash between doing what's right and what's financially salvageable will only increase this season. That has long been a chief focus of the show. And now, it hopes to add a new spin onto things with the additions of Red Rock and Cain.
