Transplant 2×09 “Between” leaves everyone feeling stuck. Helplessness is the focal point of this episode as the doctors struggle with many medical and personal choices. The funny thing about helplessness, no matter how many solutions you come up with, at some point, you stop caring how you make it through.
Transplant has a way of telling stories evenly and thoroughly, and unlike many shows, the themes are evident. In addition, it shows how the theme can be represented as various characters go through differing trials. The show tackles some tough subjects, like PTSD, trauma, assault, divorce, recovery, etc., and has no shortage of interesting characters.
This episode shows tough choices and helplessness, unlike the rest. All the doctors are constantly fighting for a way out, but it seems like they’re losing steam throughout the season. So let’s dive into this review:
DESIRE OR DUTY?
Helping others when we can seems like a no-brainer, especially when the basis of your profession is aid. But a good question to ask is, do we help others because we feel we want to or have to? It’s a question we find Bash struggling with within his personal and professional life.
Bash’s case is complex but hindered by a grievance known as the male species. Bash treats two cases from the same apartment complex fire, and to make matter worse, his patients have the same boyfriend. While Remi comes in for burns, Cora, unfortunately, has a previous medical condition exacerbated by smoke inhalation.
After realizing both his girlfriends are in the same hospital, Evan claims to love them both. But does Evan love both, or does he like one and feel dutiful towards the other? Eventually, Evan’s secret comes out in the most hilarious way possible. Despite his tumultuous love life, he helps the doctors diagnose Cora’s existing medical condition.
Bash feels stuck at the hospital, and it doesn’t help that he is trying to help a friend with a village outbreak over facetime. Bash seems to want to help his friend and see his patients through, but we can’t help but ask how much Bash is hanging on to duty.
His friend insists that he doesn’t need his help, and in the end, he doesn’t- not even the other doctor’s differentials. His friend asks some good questions: when did his friend only become another work case for him, and when did they stop being friends? Bash says he doesn’t know what to be.
Bash is caught between his desire and duty when helping others. He doesn’t know how much he should help and how much he should let go. Is he helping because he wants to, or is it routine? We also realize the more he helps, the more his ghosts get dredged up. Is he trying to atone, or is he trying to process? We know that Bash feels wholly stuck, yet he keeps trying to go on.
FAMILY OR BOUNDARIES?
We know how June feels about her father, and she makes it clear that she never wants to know about her father’s health. She makes her distinction between her family and her boundaries clear. However, this time, her boundaries start to blur. She gets upset when Charles doesn’t tell her that they are in the hospital, and Charles gets upset with June when some doctor fills him instead of her.
June chooses to lay her boundaries in dissimilar places. They go out the window when she doesn’t know that her father has been admitted, and they come back in full force when it comes to not delivering some news to her brother. The inconsistency proves that June is far more affected by her father’s well-being than she would like to admit.
June makes it clear to Charles that she wants a relationship with him and that they should separate their relationship from their dad. However, Charles feels broken when some doctor informs Charles of their dad’s prognosis instead of telling him herself. He feels like, even though it’s about their dad, at that moment, it was more about him and June.
Furthermore, June is more distracted than usual throughout her work. She even tells her colleague her dad is not her relative. It’s as if the boundaries she had worked so well to establish are slipping through her fingers. But family does that. No matter how much we believe we can break free, we feel in between at some point or another.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT?
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Magalie Leblanc is a beautiful soul. Mags continues to deal with her SVT patient, who is scheduled for an ablation. But unfortunately, the SVT is delayed when the baby develops an infection, and when it finally happens, the ablation doesn’t hold, and the baby dies.
Mags tells the baby to fight; meanwhile, she seems on the verge of flight as the case hits close to home. She is caught between her feelings for Jake and what she believes to be an unhealthy relationship from her sisters’ analysis. Mags even feels stuck between the parents.
It seems like Mags is remedying every situation she can. Finally, she makes the parents see reason and fights through her trauma to be there for the baby. Mags fights tooth and nail when the baby is coding to save him, but unfortunately, it becomes too much.
She feels helpless as she realizes there are not many things in her control today. Finally, she managed to walk away, knowing she had done everything and fought as hard as possible, but it still felt like she had failed the baby. Dr. Bishop consoles her, especially after Novak unknowingly strikes a chord.
Unfortunately, while Mags feels out of control, she takes one thing into her power. Her relationship with Jake. She chooses flight and lets him down, knowing she is not in the right headspace for a relationship. Sometimes rash decisions, especially after trauma, are the most painful, but they give us control if we initiate them.
All Mags wants is to feel in control and feel like she can fight every battle.
TRUTH OR SOFT-PEDAL?
Theo finds himself caught between a father-daughter trying to hide their medical issues, a one-night stand that leaves him feeling the best he’s been in a while, and choosing between an honest or sugarcoated assessment for Jake’s rotation.
Theo’s case, personal life, and mentorship cause him to choose between the truth or soft-pedalling. Unfortunately, his personal life clarifies that she is not his lifeboat with a little harsh truth. Welcome to the world of rejection, Theo!
His case finds him trying to cover an ailing father’s symptoms so that his daughter doesn’t take it upon herself to take care of him alone. He knows that the father requires extensive care, and while she may be a teenager, she is too young to be ready for such round-the-clock aid.
As someone who has elderly grandparents living with them and is in charge of their medications, I understand entirely why Theo is worried for her. It’s tough, and it doesn’t get easier; the only thing that develops is a routine that makes it seem easier.
After trying to soft-peddle the daughter’s questions, the dad finally tells her the truth with Theo present. She is more prepared that way for the coming changes. So far, truth wins 2-0.
Finally, after a long debacle, he decides to tell Jake the truth and write an honest assessment instead of being overly gracious. He tells Jake that the work and the application needed to make it is intense, and also, sometimes we end up on a career path, and we don’t know how we got there. So naturally, Jake doesn’t take it all too well; being adamant that he wants the job, he doesn’t want it to be all-consuming.
Despite Theo’s tough choices and opposing reactions to some outcomes, he settles for truth 3-0. Sometimes in the toughest of choices, no matter how painful, the truth is the only one that lets us sleep at night.
DOCTORS PERSONAL ANECDOTES
- I know we’re supposed to be focused on Bash being annoyed with his neighbours, but can we appreciate just how fine this man looks even when exhausted.
- Theo…buddy
- Bash and June are my favourite duo
- “self-focused jerks” hahahhahah
- Theo… if she’s not picking up… she might not be interested anymore
- I have words for Dr. Roche, none of them good
- Theo: doctor and negotiator
- Evan is annoying
- “what they need is to focus on their recoveries” thank you, Claire, for putting Evan in his place.
- NOVAK: the spawn of Satan
- Jake and Mags, the potential
- Bash hiding and examining the ceiling when Evan gets found out by both girls was a comedic genius move.
- Claire constantly remedies every situation
- Novak is less of an ass when Bash is his sidekick
- Remi is throwing things at Evan; she is doing the lord’s work
- “and you’re allergic to penicillin” “GET OUT” *throws container at him*
- NO JAKE AND MAGS
- OOF June and Charles are having a challenging sibling moment
- Theo meets rejection; rejection meets Theo
- awww Mags
- “getting your heartbroken only to find out it already was”
- now is not the time, Novak, when it comes to Mags, it is never the time
- …that’s a big ask, Jed
- well… that is not the best way to end a mentorship
- Bishop always supports his residents
- Bash needs more time with his friends
- oh, Bash…
Every doctor is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Each one makes choices or has choices made for them. Let’s see what the lasting effects will be.
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below.
Transplant now airs Saturdays at 8/7c on NBC.
