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Code Black: Unfinished Business (2017)
Groundbreaking!!
In "Unfinished Business," as per the CBS synopsis, "Guthrie becomes the hospital's new chaplain and considers undergoing a risky surgery to treat his Parkinson's. Meanwhile, the doctors treat patients involved in an apartment fire."
This is definitely one episode that you don't want to miss.
Guthrie was back at the hospital. He had realized that he could still help the others by providing counsel for the many doctors that come through Angeles Memorial and Campbell hadn't had a problem with Guthrie coming back on board. Campbell had given Guthrie the new rules that come with his position and he also had some advice for the other doctor. Campbell had told Guthrie that the experimental surgery could still be done and that Guthrie might even see some improvements with his condition. But Guthrie was fine as a chaplain. He felt that he could still do some good and he was welcomed back by the others as the friend he is to them.
The hospital was treating victims of a mass casualty fire. The mother, for one, had refused to calm down until she saw her children, though the doctors had unfortunate news for her. Her baby son was found and he was fine. Yet, it had taken the firefighters to find her daughter and the baby had been unresponsive by then. She had been left in smoke for too long and was suffering from carbon monoxide. So, Guthrie had tried to help Elliot treat the baby and it had been hard for him not to step in. Guthrie had trusted Elliot with the job of reviving Adira because he knew the other man could do it if he put everything into reviving and so it was only Elliot that was standing in his own way.
Elliot didn't trust himself and the baby had died despite his best efforts, and breaking the news to the mother had been hard for Dr. Rorish. Dr. Rorish had lost her own family and she never would have wanted to tell another mother that their child was dead. Though she did her job and the other woman fell apart. The mother had wanted to believe that Dr. Rorish was wrong about her daughter and then she had broken down when she realized that nothing was going to bring the baby back.
So the kid that was being blamed for starting the fire had heard the mother's screams and that had changed things for him. Jared had been suffering horrible burn wounds when he came into the hospital and it hadn't taken long before the landlord honed in on him. The landlord had had blamed Jared for everything that happened, however, Jared wasn't the only one that the landlord blamed. The landlord had also blamed Jared's father, Devon, who he accused of always working and leaving his son alone to fend for himself. But Jared had initially denied causing the fire. He told his dad it hadn't been him and had maintained that lie right up until he heard Rima cry out for her daughter.
Jared had heard her screams and that's when it hit him that he caused the death of people he used to see in the building. However, Jared had chosen to confess to Mario. He had told Mario that he had been messing around with a few of those firecrackers and that he hadn't thought that it was dangerous. So the landlord had been right. Jared had gotten up to something stupid while his father was at work, yet Mario had told Jared that he should tell his father what he did and that hadn't been a pleasant experience. Jared's father had flipped out because he thought his son had killed people with his stupidity and was concerned about what would happen to Jared.
Yet, Jared had later been told that he hadn't started the fire. The fire had originated in the basement because of faulty wiring so the landlord had apologized to both Jared and Devon for accusing them of being responsible for what happened. So Jared and Devon had chosen to let bygones be bygones. Devon had realized that he was neglecting his son and that he hadn't know what his teenager was getting up to though something strange happened to Guthrie at the hospital. Guthrie had been counseling people at the hospital and he had even dealt with a pastor that had passed away. And who's daughter was reportedly looking for him.
Guthrie had been with these people that had needed help one second and had woken up in the O.R. the next. Guthrie had apparently agreed to the surgery and all the patients that had allegedly been in the hospital from the fire had been people he had met in the past and he had remembered them in his hallucination. Though Guthrie had woken up after the surgery to see his son Cole at his bedside and he had finally told Cole what really happened to their family. He told Cole that he had been a twin and that a carbon monoxide leak had made both of the babies unresponsive. So Guthrie had decided to work on Cole first and he had got his son breathing again, but Lola couldn't be revived and Guthrie hadn't known how to handle the loss.
He had been so consumed by the child he lost that he hadn't been able to help his wife who had also been grieving and who had committed suicide because she didn't know how to handle the pain. So Guthrie had apologized to his son. He told Cole that he had failed him and strangely enough Cole hadn't thought that way. He told his father that he hadn't failed him and the two were finally able to move on from that pain.
All in all, such a fantastic episode. By far my favorite. The best of the best.
Code Black: Pilot (2015)
Strong start to a great series.
Code Black opens with a series of events that quickly and efficiently attempt to set this medical drama apart from the others . . . And it wins! Code Black seems to focus on its increasingly manic emergency room, as Angels Memorial sees more than 300 code blacks yearly, whereas the average U.S. hospital sees 5.
In the series first episode, new E.R. residents are introduced, as they often are on this kind of show - in a pack. This episode gradually developed each character rather effectively. I was pleased with the character development and think that it can go places if the writers don't screw it up. We really learn a lot about the main characters in a very subtle way, which is a marvelous way to kick off Code Black, as lack of character development in a series can be a death sentence in my opinion. There's Angus, who has terrific instincts but needs the confidence to trust them.
We can tell already that he is approachable, loyal, and, at times, endearingly wet behind the ears.
Angus invests in relationships both with his patients and with his fellow residents. Then there's Malaya, the whiz kid who can't get any respect from her superior. Malaya is good and she knows it. She ain't letting anyone else tell her otherwise. Thirdly, we meet Mario, who has top-of-the-game medical skills, but could use a little help with his people skills. We learn right off the bat he struggled with drugs, came from a rough neighborhood, and had to claw his way to become who he is now. Next, we meet Christa, the eldest E.R. resident of her class. Christa lost her son, which prompted her to learn everything there was to learn - so much so, the only next step was to become a doctor herself.
There are the attending physicians, of course, and you may not remember their names at this point, but you'll likely recall their faces and central attributes, which is enough for now.
-HOWEVER, Dr. Leanne Rorish really stands out from all the others. We see already that she is painfully fragile and trying her very best to keep it together in her tough work environment. We learn a lot about her in the first episode - so much so I almost wonder if she could be the main character! Nonetheless, I have already fallen in love with her. We have learned that she has lost "everyone," as she explains to Christa, which pieces together how difficult it was to tell Ariel, a patient, that her father has died after an oh-so-tragic car accident. I am eager to see how this arc is developed in season one. It hurts to see her struggle but it is the one thing anyone and everyone can relate to - loss.
I can tell already that Code Black knows when to lurch forward with an emotional tug or hold back with cold reality. It swerves between the lanes of tension and sentimentality and often lands whatever maneuver it sets out to perform. I am certain we will see more of this in each episode, which is great.
Marcia Gay Harden was the perfect choice for Leanne as cast member. She fits in her shoes so well. Then there's Luis Guzman who nimbly steals every scene for which he is present because that's what Luis Guzman does (Luis Guzman, in particular, is an incredible stand-out, there truly are nurses just like him out there). All of these actors, more so than their training counterparts, are great at their jobs and know which buttons to hit and when to do so. The pilot's best scene features a heart-to-heart between Leanne and Christa, and why it's the highlight should be fairly self-explanatory. The Leanne and Jesse friendship is just perfect! I can tell already those scenes will steal the show.
All in all, fantastic start. I am eager to see where we go from here. Superb acting, good story line, great medicine, and fantastic writing. You just earned a #1 fan.