Let's Talk Television: Shark Week

With crime shows off this week, medical shows reign supreme

New This Week

• White Lotus (Max)

• Daredevil Born Again (Disney+), two episode series premiere

• Elsbeth (Paramount+)

• 9-1-1 (Hulu)

• Doctor Odyssey (Hulu)

• The Pitt (Max)

• NCIS: Sydney (Paramount+)

The Good

These are the episodes I recommend watching.

Chicago Med

I’ve seen this episode before. In ER’s second season Dr. Ross (George Clooney) lost his fellowship, and therefore his funding/job, at Chicago’s County General because he was a hothead who blew off rules in and out of the hospital. Then, in “Hell and High Water”, while off-duty and rethinking all his life choices, Ross rescues a child trapped in a storm drain. In the next episode, he is reinstated. Here, in his second season on the show, Dr. Ripley (Luke Mitchell) was suspended from Chicago’s Gaffney for being a hothead who blew off rules in and out of the hospital. Then, in “Down in a Hole”, while off-duty and rethinking all his life choices, Ripley rescues a child and her mother trapped in a well. Will he be reinstated next episode? TBD.

Despite the eerie and/or obvious parallels to the earlier story that were so eerie and/or obvious I clocked them immediately (we can call it an homage), and despite my genuine ambivalence to Ripley as a character on this show, I nonetheless SOBBED. They told an effective story and they used the characters I do care about—Hannah (Jessy Schram), Archer (Steven Weber), and Charles (Oliver Platt)—to do it. Also, equating Ripley to Ross, a character I still count as a favorite thirty years after his introduction, makes me like him more. Good job, show!

So, Mitch finds a mom and daughter stuck in a well and calls in CFD, which turns out to be Chicago Fire’s Mouch (Christian Stolte) at a borrowed firehouse in his new role as lieutenant. Mouch and team get the daughter out, but rescuing the mom requires Mitch to go in and amputate her leg. Mom is lifted topside, but the rescue tunnel, of course, starts to collapse, and Mitch, of course, gets trapped. Sharon (S Epatha Merkerson) informs the ER of the situation. Understanding that Mitch could die, Charles heads out to talk with him on site and Archer rushes to tell Hannah. Aside: I love Hannah’s and Archer’s relationship so much! Her well-being was his first thought and he told her himself. Anyway, while trapped and losing oxygen, Mitch, of course, hallucinates his dead friend Sully (guest Daniel Dorr) to tell him he loves him and he has to live. Hannah arrives just as he gets out and tells him she loves him, too. I mostly actively dislike their relationship and yet I cried SO MANY TEARS. In the last seconds, Mitch wakes up.

Meanwhile, Frost (Darren Barnett) gets a visit from Ainsley (guest Jessalyn Gilsig), who played his mother when he was a child star with a hit TV series. Ainsley is in town to film a new project where she plays a nurse so Maggie (Marlyne Barett) offers to let her shadow her at Gaffney. Frost throws up at seeing Ainsley again, and there is sexual tension between them, so this is going to be at the least very messy and potentially very dark.

Also, Hannah’s sister is pregnant.

Doctor Odyssey

First of all, welcome back to the best example of terrible television premiering this season! It’s beautiful, it’s sexy, it’s THE messiest, it’s over the top absurdist, and it has so much heart!

And it’s Shark Week! But not as a passenger theme (no passengers this week), no, there are literal sharks and literal orcas attacking the ship and her crew. Spence (Marcus Emanuel Mitchell) gets a shark bite in the crew’s cove and Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery (Philippa Soo), and Tristan (Sean Teale) spend most of the episode trying to save his foot from amputation. Unfortunately, they are rerouted from a direct line to the hospital by a ship in distress. The Odyssey picks up a dinghy with two more patients attacked by sharks, one of whom loses his leg and arm (I guess it’s amputation week at Let’s Talk Television), Brooke, another sea doctor (guest Adrianne Palicki), and her autistic first mate Ray (guest Liam Johnson). The delay in care requires Spence to be put into a deep freeze coma to preserve his foot. Only complications from the deep freeze coma make amputation the best option after all. But wait, Brooke has the batshit idea to use the leg she removed from the earlier patient to do an artery transfusion or something SO they do that. Only an orca rams the ship and a shark got into the propellers, so the ship needs to be shut down and restarted in order to put out the ensuing fire (idk, this show is insane). Rosie (Jacqueline Toboni) says they should only be without power for ten seconds, so the surgery should be fine, and at first it looks like she’s right. HOWEVER, now they are surrounded by orcas and also they lose all power. TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

I missed the silly screen tunnel that welcomes passengers onto the ship and tells us what the theme of the week is, but I loved getting to know more about Spence and seeing more of Rosie. Brooke had to use Rosie’s saw to amputate, so Rosie gave her saw lessons. I know we’re supposed to be shipping Brooke with Max (see shipping news below) but I think Rosie/Brooke could happen.

The Pitt

No amputations in this one, but we do get a broken leg, an eyeball laceration, and the debriding of third degree burns on a patient with next to no chance of survival (especially on this show, that does not pull the punches on how many people die in the ER/hospital).

Nurse Dana (Katherine LaNasa) becomes a patient for the hour after being attacked by an angry patient last week. It’s clear how beloved she is, and how integral to the department. Nurse Perlah (Amielynn Abellera) reluctantly steps up while Dana’s out, but no one likes it. While she’s being treated, Dana commiserates with Collins (Tracy Ifeachor) about their terrible day, and when she first returns to the ER bloody, Robby (Noah Wyle) leaps into action and provides almost aggressive care for her. The show has done very well building the relationships between these three. Dana has been taking care of Collins and Robby throughout the season, as a friend, not a nurse, and here they can give it back. The Dana-Collins relationship is more overt, maybe, but Dana-Robby feel like friends who could be siblings to me, which is a great dynamic. Anyway, love this for all of them though it is also awful that Robby is suffering PTSD, Collins miscarried, and Dana was assaulted.

The broken leg belongs to Cassie’s (Fione Dourif) ex, aptly named Chad (guest Rob Heaps), who shows up with the kid in tow, and is awful to everyone. Chad attempted to skateboard because his son was impressed by Nurse Mateo (Jalen Thomas Brooks). Chad gives an anti-Mateo speech while drugged, which prompts Javedi (Shabana Azeez) to try and reinsert herself as a dating option for Mateo that results in her accidentally volunteering to babysit Cassie’s kid. The Javedi and Mateo rom-com provides some delightful comic relief in this otherwise relentlessly dramatic (and SAD) series.

Robby is initially upset with Cassie for calling the cops on the potential school shooter in the first episode, but when she reminds him that they have to worry about the girls who might or might not get shot, as well as the boy who might or might not shoot them, he admits she’s right. More on this in the Mental Health Sidebar.

But most importantly, Santos (Isa Briones) is proven right about Langdon (Patrick Ball). I got bad vibes from Langdon from the beginning, but he also had lovely moments with Mel (Taylor Deardon), and the call to his kid a couple episodes ago really did a lot to soften his edges. Meanwhile, everyone hates Santos on screen and off (except me, I love her). But she finally bites the bullet and brings her suspicions to Robby, who takes it and her very seriously, and that’s to his credit—especially in contrast with Garcia (Alexandra Metz), who got mad at Santos for suggesting there might be a problem. Robby immediately pulls Langdon, demands access to his locker, and when he finds the stolen drugs he sends him home. Excellent. More on this in the Mental Health Sidebar, too.

The Bad

Bad equates to “I don’t have much to say about this.

White Lotus

I struggle to care to the point where I almost put this in Ugly. But I’m not angry at anything, I just don’t care.

• The three rich ladies who love to hate on each other continue to hate on each other and one is a Trump supporter. I do not care.

• Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) realizes where she knows Greg/Gary (Jon Gries) from and approaches him, presumably to ask after Tanya, but he pretends not to know what she’s talking about. I care about Belinda but I don’t care about this (also, I didn’t like season two nearly as much as season one, so that contributes).

• Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) told Sritala (Lek Patravadi) he wants to be a bodyguard and was shamed for it. I hope only good things for Gaitok, but this is still boring

• The Ratcliff family’s FBI troubles start to reach Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger) in Thailand, so Tim (Jason Isaacs) gets them to hand over their phones after all. I hate Saxon but it’s pretty awful to keep him out of the loop when it’s his business, too. It’s awful, actually, not to tell any of the family what’s going on but maybe Tim will end up a family annihilator. Or maybe Saxon will kill his father. I can imagine an ending where Tim and/or Saxon end up murdered, Victoria (Parker Posey) ODs, and Piper (Sarah Katherine Hook) runs away to the monastery. I’m not sure what happens to Lochlan (Sam Nivola) yet. I talked myself into caring a little bit while writing this out.

• Rick (Walter Goggins) got high and dragged Chelsea (Aimee Lee Wood) to a snake show and then proceeded to let all the snakes go because he felt sorry for them and I think related to them being trapped. A snake bit Chelsea, prompting Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon) to point out that she’s had two near-death experiences in two days. Next week, Rick, Chelsea, Chloe, and the entire Ratcliff family are heading out on Greg/Gary’s yacht. I expect a lot of shenanigans and for Chelsea to fall off the boat. I enjoyed the snake sequence and Rick’s whole traumarama aesthetic is probably the thing I care about most. And I am truly looking forward to the yacht party.

9-1-1

Eddie (Ryan Guzman) is moving back to Texas to be with his son. Initially, Buck (Oliver Stark) sabotages Eddie’s plan to sublet his apartment because he doesn’t want to lose his best friend, but ultimately Buck chooses to sublet Eddie’s apartment himself because he doesn’t want to lose his best friend.

Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) gets a 9-1-1 call from someone using a voice-coder who claims to want help to not hurt a kidnapped girl. She keeps them on the line and traces the call but when the police arrive it’s a vacant lot. The perp yells at Maddie for lying to them and she’s distraught. Maddie decides to go full detective and tracks down similar incidents. Athena (Angela Bassett) introduces her to Amber (guest Abigail Spencer), who fingers a suspect she’s been trying to catch in the act for years, so often that he has a restraining order against her. So Athena and Maddie start to build the case. When they call again, Maddie identifies him as their suspect and while they send the police to the address hoping but not expecting to find the kidnapped girl, Maddie talks him into shooting himself instead of his victim. We hear a shot through the call and Athena finds the suspect dead and the girl alive. Everybody counts this as a win, especially when Amber shows Athena and Maddie she found trophies from multiple victims in the house. HOWEVER, in the last minute of the episode, Maddie is kidnapped by the real criminal: Amber!

Elsbeth

Elsbeth (Carrie Preston) takes her son Teddy (guest Ben Levi Ross) and his boyfriend Roy (guest Hayward Leach) on a murder tour of NYC and ends up solving a thirty-year-old mob murder. It’s a fine little episode, but the mystery is not mysterious, even though this one doesn’t show us who the murderer is.

The character-driven storylines also feel flat and predictable. Teddy wants to break up with his boyfriend because Roy gets along too well with his mother, and Teddy doesn’t want to move to NYC. Kaya (Carra Patterson) is ready to be promoted, but if she is, Elsbeth will have to be paired with someone new. And creepy Judge Milton (guest Michael Emerson) shows up to creep some more.

Roy also decides to start a True Crime podcast that uses Elsbeth’s connections to the NYPD. First of all, if CBS/Paramount was any good at marketing, the first episode of this podcast would have premiered the same day as the episode. Second of all, Elsbeth retaining ties to Roy even if Teddy breaks up with him is fun and should happen.

NCIS: Sydney

This week on SVU, the NCIS team uncovers a human trafficking scheme where women are exchanged for abalone. There’s a couple of trips to a strip club, a heroic sister, and a romance that needed better writing. Evie (Tuuli Narkle) allegedly uses an American accent and she’s caught so maybe it was bad on purpose but it was very much not an American accent, she honestly sounded exactly the same, i.e. Australian (which both Evie and Tuuli are).

In a much more interesting plot, the crew got a cake for Blue’s (Mavournee Hazel) birthday, only it’s not Blue’s birthday. She doesn’t know when her birthday is, so she made one up, and I feel like this could have some kind of legal repercussion, but maybe not on this show. Anyway, I am now very curious about Blue’s past! The show is definitely trying to flesh out the main characters a bit more this season, and I approve.

The Ugly

Don’t bother.

Daredevil Born Again

I was excited for Daredevil Born Again. But thirty minutes into the first episode, Foggy Nelson (Elden Henson) died, and it made me so angry I stopped watching. I will pick it up again, but I want spoilers so I can prepare myself. I have a long history with comic book superheroes, and I don’t trust any death which causes a lot of anxiety. Apologies to anyone who wants my new thoughts on Matt (Charlie Cox) and Karen (Deborah Ann Woll) and how they interact with Elliot and Olivia, you will have to wait.

Also Watching

I watched maybe half an hour of the not-actually-a-State-of-the-Union and then I remembered to love myself. I’m also still watching Watson but haven’t decided to add it here as yet.

And I watched “Hell and High Water”. It remains excellent.

Mental Illness Sidebar

Victoria gives Tim one of her sedatives and he sleeps through dinner. Don’t share meds, people.

I am very interested in the school shooter plot line on The Pitt because I live in America, and we have a school shooter problem. I believe it is mainly a gun problem due to easy access to guns in the USA (link, link). However, lack of access to mental healthcare (or any healthcare) in the USA contributes. And what’s most interesting to me in this episode is that Robby and Cassie are both right.

Robby is worried about the consequences of the stigma of mental illness and potential criminal behavior on the potential shooter’s life. This is valid. The kid hasn’t done anything and should not be arrested for thought crimes (pre-crime is BAD!!!!!) and just the suggestion he could would be detrimental to his future and fwiw, his mental health. The kid needs therapy, not to be questioned by the police. And it’s clear the mom can’t get the kid therapy or she wouldn’t have poisoned herself to trick him into bringing her to the ER so she could get him help.

Cassie is worried about the consequences of not telling the cops about a credible threat because those consequences are life-threatening. This is valid. The girls on the potential shooter’s kill list could be killed. In a better society, the kid could get help and the girls could be protected without involving the police. I think The Pitt is trying to shine a light on that.

The second interesting mental health storyline in Pittsburgh is Langdon’s drug use. I expect fallout in the remaining episodes and I’m really looking forward to it. Robby’s reaction is fully justified. Langdon is literally stealing from patients, cooking the books, and (probably) using while on duty. However, contrast Robby’s actions to what happens with Carter (also played by Noah Wyle) in ER. Med student Abby suspects Carter is abusing painkillers, including taking those unused by his patients. Carter’s superiors also confront him at work, find proof it’s true, and say he needs to stop seeing patients immediately. But they’ve lined up rehab, out of state for more privacy, and transportation to it. When prideful Carter refuses this plan, Benton follows him into the street and convinces him to get help. Then he accompanies Carter to the rehab to confirm he makes it inside. This sequence is one of my favorite ten minutes in the whole series. If Robby was actually Carter I would be SO MAD at him, but I would also love that storyline. I would love a Carter who is too hard on Langdon because of his own issues. I’m half pretending I’m getting that anyway.

Ship of the Week

In Chicago, I guess Hannah and Mitch are still a thing. In Pittsburgh, Javedi is crushing hard on Mateo. In NYC, Teddy is planning to break up with Roy. In Sydney, everybody danced together for Blue’s (not) birthday. In LA, Buck is perpetually lonely.

In the middle of the ocean, Avery is pregnant after a threesome with Max and Tristan, who are both kinda sorta in love with her. She’s still deciding if she wants a baby or an abortion. Tristan says it’s up to her and respectfully leaves her alone. Max says he wants to be in a committed relationship and have kids, and the subtext is with her. Avery says we don’t have a relationship, we didn’t even have a fling, respectfully, leave me alone. Flashforward a few hours and Brooke aka Hot Shark Doctor lands on ship and sparks fly between her and Max. She straight up propositions him, but before Max can answer, Avery appears and sees them together. Max tries to explain that they hadn’t done anything and he wasn’t going to, but she’s not convinced and the rest of their conversation is interrupted by crisis. To be continued.

Prior to this episode, I was team Make a Throuple Work, but after this episode, I am team Tristan Finds Love (away from the inconsistencies of Max and Avery). The show wants me to believe that either Max and Avery will figure it out, or Max and Avery will fight it out, but in both cases, Tristan is not a factor and he deserves better.

Show of the Week

Doctor Odyssey is back strong, but it’s a two-parter. The Pitt is great but left me imagining a better version. That leaves, inexplicably, Chicago Med.

What are YOU watching?