Conrad was down, but he isn’t out.
On The Resident Season 3 Episode 11, with the help of a former patient and support from Marshall, Conrad has a renewed will to fight RRMM.
Meanwhile, Devon, his interns, and AJ got a firsthand glimpse of the harmful effects of Cain’s new pay-per-procedure, comission-based salary standard of care. And Mina had to adapt to taking care of baby Michelle on her own.
Join TV Fanatics Carissa Pavlica, Rachel Foertsch, and Meaghan Frey as they discuss the winter premiere.
Conrad admitted that he didn’t know who he was without practicing medicine and was the most dejected we’ve ever seen him. Thoughts?
Carissa: My answer is intricately tied with the one that follows about the zero-gravity experience. Using Conrad’s relationship with a brave patient living one of his last wishes was a perfect way to address Conrad’s thoughts on his life without medicine. Conrad is always knowledgeable, cool, and in control.
Even when he’s not in control, he puts on a damn good facade of being that way. Getting cast from Chastain on one of the best days of his life with the thought he was going to make his future with Nic official thrown into flux offered Conrad a lot more to ponder than his life without medicine.
And when he was in that plane, supposedly caring for Finn on his excursion, and they went weightless — the look on Conrad’s face said it all. He was scared shitless.
It was a brief moment, but without the control of his body that so many of us take for granted, Conrad panicked. Until he spied Finn’s joyous enjoyment of doing something so outside of his experience because of his grave disease.
Conrad needed the reminder that to be his best, he doesn’t need to be in control and can even allow events to unfold without his influence. Learning that lesson from Finn worked so well.
Rachel: The number one thing I’ve always gathered from Conrad’s character is that the practice of medicine itself isn’t what drives him. It’s helping other people. Conrad’s entire life is about saving others, and now that he can’t do that he doesn’t know what to do with himself.
Conrad is often the diagnostician who gets to the bottom of a patient’s issue. As Finn pointed out, Conrad’s absence doesn’t only affect him, but it affects the patients in his care.
Finn: Hey, you OK man? I mean really?
Conrad: I was so happy. I mean I had my work and the most amazing women in my life. It gave me a purpose. I don’t know who I am right now, or who I’ll be if I can’t be a doctor anymore. I do know whatever that version of me looks like, there’s no way Nic deserves that.
As long as he’s not practicing medicine, Conrad will always be wondering if there’s a person out there not getting the help they need because he failed to be there for them.
Helping people is who Conrad is, but he needs to understand that not everything is on him. It’s all about relinquishing control as Carissa said.
Meaghan: As Rachel said, Conrad’s identity is tied to his need to help others. Losing his position at Chastain, and in return losing his ability to help others, is leaving him feeling lost without a compass, and that is completely understandable.
What makes matters worse for him, though, is that in being fired from Chastain, he is being taken out of the life he knows. His coworkers at Chastain are his family. His patients are his purpose that drives him day in and day out. He eats, sleeps and breathes Chastain. Losing that constant in his life is not an easy adjustment to make.
Conrad can and would find another position as a physician, but he may never find another home for himself like Chastain.
On a scale of 1-10, how much did you enjoy Finn and he and Conrad’s zero-gravity adventure?
Carissa: I’d give this a 10 for all of the reasons above and because the two were so dynamic together during that outing. I wish we had gotten to know Finn better during The Resident. Patients like him must make medicine worth every long hour and lost holiday.
Rachel: 10/10! I’m assuming Finn was on the show before, but sadly I don’t remember him. I think it was a much-needed moment for Conrad both mentally and emotionally.
It was a good opportunity for him to let loose and have fun (until he had to save someone from dying), but it also seemed to give Conrad some clarity on his situation.
Meaghan: 10/10, without a doubt. Conrad and Finn both equally needed each other, and both benefited so much from the experience. Watching Finn’s rapid response to the cardiac arrest while on the plane made you wonder how different his life could have been if he hadn’t been dealt the cards he was dealt.
In another world, Finn could have been going to medical school and eventually working under Conrad.
Cain implemented a commission-based salary, pushed for AJ to start sending his patients to the vent farm over risking them dying on the table, and cut in on Bell’s supplement deal. Do you think Cain has reached a near cartoonish level of evil villainy?
Carissa: Yes. Cain is cartoonish. But he’s purposefully so to drive home what a terrible idea it is to tie salary to the number of patients seen, something that was also shown to be done on a smaller level at the Med-first type of place Conrad interviewed.
Patients should be first. I don’t even think people would mind paying for services if they knew pricing upfront and could be assured doctors would give them their all and keep their needs and desires in mind at all times.
Cain: You will not disobey me again.
AJ: Or what? You’ll have me fired like Hawkins? Demoted like Bell? What’s the endgame, Barrett? You cut all your adversaries, surround yourself with bootlickers who toe the line. Yeah, that’ll work for a hot minute, but I guarantee you it will breed resentment. Corruption. And eventually, Chastain will implode, and you right along with it.
To get their message across, The Resident writers make their recurring baddies so far off the deep end that there isn’t any recovery.
See Lane. She was on The Resident Season 1 poster. That didn’t stop her descent, and there’s no recovery for Cain, either.
Rachel: Yes. I hate Cain. A “car salesmen” is the perfect way to describe what Cain is trying to make the surgeons become.
I’ve never cared about Cain or his storyline, and I’ve wanted him gone since the very beginning. However, AJ’s questions piqued my interest in Cain’s “villain origin” story.
AJ made a solid point when he declared that Cain must have cared for his patients at some point. When and why did that change? Did the money and success go to his head? Or was it something else? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m intrigued.
AJ: You must have been different once. What happened to you, Barrett?
Cain: I was born the man I am today, and I’m proud of it.
Meaghan: Can a plane fall from the sky and take out Cain in a blaze of glory already? This man is a despicable human being. To put such an emphasis on profit when it comes to people’s lives and their health, it is disgusting.
Something I find so interesting about the villainous characters in The Resident is how they are always people who come from a place “good” to the outside world.
Lane was a renowned oncologist, Cain a world-class surgeon, and Gordon running a company responsible for creating medical devices that save lives. These are all people who were in positions of great power to do good, yet chose a dark path. That is what makes them all the eviler.
What was your impression of Marshall and Logan’s standoff in the men’s room? Has Marshall met his match with Red Rock?
Carissa: Like reader Kate277, my thoughts on Logan are tied directly to the actor’s run on Succession. I thought he played a peon on that show, and he’s no more worthy of admiration or respect on The Resident.
Marshall was a little shaken by the experience, not for himself but because he knows his son will plunge forward consequences be damned.
In Conrad’s new frame of mind, I think he’ll have a clearer grasp on how to attack the situation, and that will give Marshall some peace of mind. Logan is backed by enormous entities, and the confidence Cain exudes can be exhilarating. It also means that the little hedge fund manager will be in over his head in no time. I can’t wait.
See, I know where the bodies are buried. And I will dig them up to stink in the light of day and bring you to your aging knees if you ever challenge me again. Don’t tempt me.
Logan
Rachel: Realistically, I don’t think anyone stands a fair chance against Red Rock. But if I had to place my bet on someone, it would be on Marshall.
Red Rock will have to be taken down at some point, and Marshall is the only one with the power, money, and determination to do it. A person needs all three to even attempt to take them down.
Meaghan: Red Rock is a force to be reckoned with. Marshall has the power and will to bring them down, though, and I have faith that with him and Conrad working together they will bring an end to Red Rock.
Logan is Red Rock’s weak link. He doesn’t have the experience to go up against someone of Marshall’s caliber, and he is far too cocky for his own good.
Do you have any thoughts or observations about the hour not covered in the questions?
Carissa: I enjoyed Devon’s first day as a resident and how quickly he found himself in hot water after addressing his TWO interns.
He also took on the same attitude that Conrad used to teach him, so it was a nice progression to his recent storyline about finding his footing. He’ll be on board helping David slay Goliath because he’s working directly under Cain’s drive to put finances over patients, and he’s the polar opposite of that.
Rachel: Devon is back on my good side. I was beaming with pride every time he showed up on the screen. I trust Devon to implement what Conrad has taught him while we wait for Conrad to make his inevitable return.
The episode was a major callback to the pilot, and I enjoyed seeing Devon come full circle. It was proof that he’s grown a lot since he first started at Chastain.
Meaghan: Finally the Devon we know and love is back and treading in the murky grey area again. Devon finding a balance in how he approaches medicine came just in the nick of time.
If Devon was still riding on his high horse when he got those two interns, I would have felt quite sorry for them. Instead, he is going to turn them into well-rounded physicians.
What was your favorite scene from the hour?
Carissa: It’s the zero-gravity scene, hands down. There’s nothing else to say about it other than how much I appreciated the way it played into Conrad’s journey.
Finn: Medicine is money, but money breeds jerks. But you, you have to knuckle up and get your job back. Hey, if not for yourself, then do it for the patients who are relying on you. Get mad. Go kick some Red Rock ass. Because we are the zero-g brothers, and nobody, and I mean nobody, can keep us down.
Conrad: Zero- G brothers?
Finn: Yeah, for life, and you know what? Guys like us find a way to beat the odds.
Rachel: I agree with Carissa! The zero-gravity scene may have been one of my favorites scenes in the entire show. I always find myself startled during these moments because it’s one of those rare occasions we get to see Conrad genuinely happy.
He’s like an entirely different person when he’s not acting as a doctor. In the hospital, he’s always weighed down by so many different things, but watching Conrad let go and laugh over something completely unrelated to his career is refreshing.
It’s a good reminder that while he may live and breathe medicine, Conrad’s also just a normal guy.
Meaghan: Zero-gravity all around. Conrad was in such desperate need of that moment. Watching an hour filled with Conrad sulking and defeated would have been tough to watch.
Getting to see the weight literally lifted off of him and watching him get to float carefree, if even just for a few minutes, was enough.
Over to you, Resident Fanatics!
Do you agree with our Round Table? What are your responses to the questions? Hit the comments below!
The Resident airs Tuesdays on FOX.
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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.