The Night Shift finally returned in “Recoil,” with it’s usual dramatic flair. Tempers were running hot as almost every doctor and nurse dealt with a problem of their own. Paul still refused to come back to work at San Antonio Memorial, in defiance of his father, and I can’t say I blame him. If I had to deal with an overbearing father who just fired my boss who had basically become a member of my family, and felt the need to yell at me whenever we had a difference of opinion, I would probably quit too.
It’s one thing to have a discussion about the way the hospital should be run, it’s another to force your opinion and view point on others by threatening to fire your employees unless they do what you say. Paul’s father wasn’t the only one who had some choice words for Paul in “Recoil”. Before he quite in defiance of his father, Paul was training under Scott in order to become a full fledged surgeon. If he leaves San Antonio Memorial, he would almost certainly have to start his residency over, and set himself back years in the process. Scott reminded him of this and tried to convince Paul to come back, saying that he would be working for him, not his father, because this is personal to Scott. He has become almost like a surrogate father figure and mentor to Paul, and when Paul walked out of that hospital last season he wasn’t just defying his father, he was walking out on Scott too, and you can tell he is in a lot of pain because of it.
This is my main problem with Paul’s father. I get that the hospital has been going over budget in order to help patients, and there needs to be a solution to that, but firing Topher, causing the doctors and nurses who are loyal to him to quit, and refusing to treat patients because they cost too much to treat is not the answer. As he found out later, Jordan had a solution to their problem, but he didn’t even bother to sit down and have a discussion with anyone who worked at the hospital before he fired Topher. And that wasn’t even the end of his unprofessional conduct. Jordan and Drew brought in the army veteran who had saved them from the forest fire, and he needed immediate treatment for hypothermia.
He also had a massive brain tumor that needed to be operated on as well to save his life, and Paul’s father almost refused to treat him just because it would have only bought him a few more months to live and it was pointless, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. He basically blackmailed Jordan into getting treatment for her patient. He said that he would only perform the operation on the army veteran, if she got everyone who had quit the night shift to come back to work, without Topher. I mean really? Patients’ lives mean so little to him that he would actually use them as leverage to get what he wants from his employees? What kind of a doctor is he?
He likes to use the excuse that he has to make hard decisions to keep running the hospital that the other employees don’t have to make, but that isn’t an excuse. Making hard decisions and saving lives doesn’t give you a free pass to be a horrible person.
Meanwhile in “Recoil” TC is still in Syria trying to find out what happened to Syd after the bomb blast. This story line in “Recoil” is really interesting because not too many shows are brave enough to tackle the Syrian crisis right now. TC was rescued by a Syrian doctor who was doing her best to help whoever survived the constant barrage of bomb blasts. They came across the soldier on the opposing side who had taken TC captive, and was the only one who had any idea what might have happened to Syd, and TC had to treat his injuries in order to get the information out of him, but the Syrian doctor didn’t want to help.
Why should she help someone who had helped to destroy her family and her country? It brought up a really interesting discussion of how far does a doctor’s commitment to saving lives go? TC argued that no matter what side the soldier was on he deserved treatment because doctor’s are supposed to save lives, no matter who they are. The Syrian doctor didn’t agree, and I see her side of it as well. It would be extremely difficult to treat someone who had brought so much pain to your people just because it was her mission as a doctor to help him. Where do you draw the line? It seems that that is a decision every doctor has to make for his or her self in that kind of a situation.
Also in “Recoil” back in Texas near San Antonio Memorial, there had been a serious accident at an amusement park with 10 dead and many more injured. It was armed forces day at the park, and at first Drew was terrified that his husband Rick and his newly adopted daughter Brianna might have been part of the horrible accident. Thank god Rick was at work, and Brianna was safely at home with a friend. I almost had a heart attack when Drew answered his phone, because I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to their new family. Anything could happen in this show, and I can’t sit through a single episode without worrying about them, it’s extremely nerve wracking.
Finally, in “Recoil” Scott was dealing with problems of his own. He along with Kenny was one of the only ones who decided to stay on and work at the hospital even after Paul’s dad fired Topher. He’s still struggling with his addiction problems, and he can’t afford to find another job somewhere else right now. He needed to put down roots and find some stability, and Jordan wasn’t exactly kind about this, saying:
“So that’s why you chose to hitch your wagon to Darth Vader?”
Which really isn’t fair. Note everyone can afford to just pick up and find a job somewhere else, especially since Scott is an extremely skilled surgeon and broke at the moment because of the payments he is making to the family of the boy he injured in the car crash. He needs stability, and Jordan should respect that. Not everyone has the luxury of being rebellious and fighting against authority like TC. Yes, TC does it in the name of saving lives, but people like Scott have had to cover for him every time. Jordan is turning into TC more and more every day, but someone has to tow the line in order to clean up the messes that are left behind.
All right, I get where Jordan is coming from, but I just have a soft spot for Scott and I feel like everything he does is really under appreciated.
I’ve missed this show so much, and I’m glad it’s finally back, but next week has me worried. Towards the end of the preview trailer Jordan is almost completely breaking down in tears saying that she has news for everyone. Now it’s anyone’s guess what this could be, but judging from the look on her face it’s really bad. Right now I’m thinking that it might have something to do with Topher. Ken Leung isn’t listed as a cast member on IMDB for any of the episodes in the near future, and it has me worried.
This might just be because Topher isn’t coming back to the hospital for a while, maybe he refuses Jordan’s offer to come back because he can’t stomach working under Paul’s father, but wouldn’t he be listed as a cast member for at least the next episode if that was the case? Of course this is all speculation, but the look of pain on Jordan’s face means that it’s something big. Maybe something happens to TC and Syd in Syria. If it’s anything to do with Drew, Rick, or Brianna I’m going to lose it. Whatever it is, none of these options are good and I don’t want to think about the aftermath of any of them.
Anyway, let me know in the comments, what do you think is Jordan’s terrible news?
The Night Shift airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.