Considering the momentum of everything that went down in the previous episode of St. Denis Medical, one would think we’d keep it up. But this week’s episode felt a bit slower. That’s not to say it wasn’t a good one, but I was expecting to see some more of Matt and Serena post Violet. St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 7, “No Wonder His Kidney Wants Out,” focused on what it means to be selfless. We all believe we know what this means, and we all think that doing a selfless act automatically makes us a good person. Ron decided to put that to the test with Alex.
MORE: Need a refresher of the last episode? Read our review of St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 6!
Nothing Is Selfless
When Alex takes care of Harry (David Hornsby), a patient who has been on the waitlist for a kidney transplant for three years, his brother Ruben (Paul Scheer) informs her and Ron that he wants to be the one to do the donation. But he wants to do it anonymously. Alex, being Alex, thinks this is an incredibly generous and selfless act. Ron disagrees. As Ron points out, nothing in this world is selfless, including their jobs as medical professionals.
This gave me pause. While I disagreed with Ron, I had to acknowledge that he was right about the fact that people would not necessarily consider being a healthcare worker selfless because we get paid. That makes sense in some regards. However, choosing to take care of others does require some selflessness. Nurses spend hours of their day with people they don’t know, and they literally give so much of their time and energy to do the work. Working in healthcare takes an emotional and physical toll. I think that’s selfless.
This is not to say that some acts are not selfless. And Ron’s point is proven with Alex after she mistakenly donated $1,000 to Parker, whose dog Bunsie needed eye surgery. Alex tried to donate quietly so as not to appear as if she were doing it to gain recognition. Unfortunately, it backfired, and she had to come forward so she could get her money back. She also learned a lesson about how some people will take advantage of your kindness.
When Parker refused to give the money back to her because he had spent it on a new TV, Alex was rightfully upset. But it was also too late. While what Parker did was wrong, it was also somewhat hard for me to feel bad for Alex. Her need to be right was her downfall in this instance. She was trying to prove a point when in fact she never had to prove anything to Ron at all.
We give because it’s what we want to do. None of us can ever know what someone’s intentions are when we choose to help them, but if we know in our own heart what we intend to do, it shouldn’t matter what anyone else thinks. That doesn’t mean I agree with Parker either. He could have given Alex the money back. And of course, Alex had to admit to Ron that he was right the entire time.
Bruce Needs A Dude
Oh, Bruce. The never-ending saga of my guy Bruce. Harry and Rubens’ situation got Bruce thinking about what would happen if he were in a situation where he needed someone to donate an organ. This gave him the bright idea of having Matt help him find a friend. What’s interesting about this is that Bruce wanted Matt to help him find a friend inside the hospital. Not someone outside of it. And even more interesting was the fact that he didn’t seem to realize he had someone right in front of him who made the perfect friend.
Matt and Bruce have spent a lot of time working together since St. Denis Medical began. In Season 1, it was obvious that Matt looked up to Bruce. I don’t understand exactly why he’s so drawn to him, but he is. Bruce, in his own way, seems to be drawn to Matt. I feel like, in addition to Ron, Bruce has started to see Matt as a confidante. He goes to him for a lot.
Bruce would never admit it, but I know he sees Matt as a friend. That’s why I understand how sad Matt was when Bruce was looking at other people to be friends with. Work is one of the places where we spend a lot of time. Our coworkers are like friends, and in some cases can become like family. Despite how sad he was, Matt did help Bruce. It was a failed mission, though. And that’s Bruce’s own fault.
Bruce always overthinks everything, and he does too much. Just like with Ron in St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 4 “Two Docs, One Conf.” Bruce doesn’t know how to relax and go with the flow. He is too concerned about what people think of him. And he’s concerned with being right and better than everyone around him, which we saw as he went back and forth with a patient who, like him, enjoys bike riding. They could have gotten along, but Bruce messed it up.
Maybe he did it unconsciously. Because he realized it was a fruitless effort. But some good came out of it. He ended up inviting Matt to hang out. So maybe, just maybe, Bruce and Matt’s friendship will continue to develop and become something fully realized as the series continues.
Other Thoughts About the Episode
- The moment Michael, the inspector, walked in, I knew things were going to be bad for Joyce.
- Alex, before you hit “send” or “Confirm” on any monetary donations, you always double-check the amount you put in.
- Bruce was looking for a friend, but what happened to his bromance with Chaplin Steve?
- “You win. I suck. People suck. I want my money back.”
- Ron’s plans always seem to backfire on him, too.
- Parker using the GoFundMe money on a TV… Yeah, I still can’t believe he did that.
- St. Denis is an old hospital. I am not surprised the birthing center failed the inspection. A pretty paint job can’t hide internal flaws.
- Alex putting Parker on the night shift for the next six months was diabolical. But also, checkmate.
St. Denis Medical airs Tuesday Nights at 8/7c on NBC.
