On St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 16 ‘Experience With Human Babies’, which happens to be the perfect title because some human baby activities were happening. Joyce was presented with a choice as she interviewed midwives for the Birthing Center, and Bruce joined Matt on his first EMT Ride-along. Both situations made for some interesting moments and conversations.
MORE: Need a refresher? Read our review of St. Denis Medical Season 2, Episode 15!
Since Joyce received that huge 10-million-dollar donation from Amelia on St. Denis Medical Season 1 Episode 17 ‘Bruce-ic And The Mus-ic’, she has been pouring all of it into the new birthing center. It’s been a cause for stress for her. Throughout the process, there were major setbacks and delays, including a failed inspection that led to expensive repairs. Because of all this, the hospital is bleeding money.
Joyce hopes to gain it all back once the birthing center opens. The way to get it off the ground is by hiring a midwife. Joyce has set up multiple interviews. And as usual, she enlists Alex for help by sitting in to offer her guidance and opinion. As they go through the interviews, it’s very much like watching the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams’ character calls in as multiple candidates.
Every interview is something. And not the good kind of something. There’s a candidate who has only ever delivered animal babies and seems to think it’s the equivalent of delivering a human child. It’s all a mess until a guy named Mel shows up, and he seems like he might be a good candidate (Not in my opinion). But then an even better candidate shows up, far more qualified. But there’s a problem.
This is My Baby.
The problem with this candidate is that it’s Ashley (Kristen Schaal). In case you need a refresher, Ashley is the woman Sanderson was talking to on St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 10, ‘This Is From Joyce.’ And now she’s dating him. One would think Joyce wouldn’t care one bit. I mean, she broke up with him. She called off their engagement in St. Denis Medical Season 2 Episode 9 ‘You’re In His Bubble Space.’ But this is Joyce, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
Ashley is perfect for the job, but Joyce says absolutely not and decides that she’ll just delay the opening until she can find someone. That’s honestly insane to me. And it was insane to Alex as well. She tried to remind Joyce about what she had told her about the hospital bleeding money, but Joyce refused to listen. In fact she said that they would just have to cut corners in other departments and tighten the belt. Can you believe that? I couldn’t.
St. Denis is already struggling, and this would make things worse. Joyce’s personal feelings and vendetta against Ashley would hurt the hospital and the staff. I’m like, because Ashley is dating your ex, you are willing to sacrifice the hospital’s needs. Wow.
Alex tried to get her to set her personal feelings aside, but when she did, Joyce snapped and told her she was “Overstepping.” My question to Joyce would have been, if Alex was “Overstepping,” why did you even have her sit in on the interviews? Joyce was very rude. She asked Alex to sit in and give her thoughts. That’s what she was doing. And because she knew that Joyce was making a snap decision, she made an executive decision of her own and called both Mel and Ashley in for a joint second interview.
This second interview forced Joyce to put on her big girl pants and decide. After another conversation with Alex, she explained where she was coming from and why she was reluctant to hire Ashley. Joyce knows she was the one who dumped Sanderson, but it’s hard for her to see Ashley because she’s a reminder. For Joyce, the birthing center is her baby, and she wants everything to be perfect. And for the center to be perfect, it finally hits her that Ashley would love it as much as she does, so she offered her the job.
Matt And Bruces’s Wild Ride.
There was and wasn’t too much happening in Matt’s world this week. He went on his very first EMT ride-along, which apparently Joyce likes all her nurses to do because it helps them better understand the patient’s experience. I would think doing hands-on care inside the hospital every single day would help with that, but that’s just me.
Matt is clearly terrified at the start, but Bruce, who decided to tag along, is revved up and thinks he’s in an action film. I thought it was funny that Matt was so scared when he works in the ER. But I guess technically it is much different to go directly into the field.
Matt had absolutely nothing to worry about because the emergencies they encountered weren’t too crazy. The first person they responded to was a guy (Guest star Adam Rippon) who got stung by a bee. It was a one-and-done situation. Things seemed to be going smoothly until they received a 911 call from an elderly woman whose Life Alert went off after she fell in her apartment.
You Don’t Have To Be Brave All The Time.
Because the EMTs couldn’t get into the apartment, Dave (Jermaine Williams) tells Matt and Bruce they have to wait for the fire department. Bruce, with his dramatic self, says forget that and chooses to be a fake action hero by going out on the ledge. He thought that if he did this, he would be able to access an open window and climb in. It turns out that the plan was a non-starter, and he ended up stuck on the ledge. And yes, this created a second emergency that required a response.
All I could do was shake my head, watching Bruce. I knew he was going to get himself stuck in a position (literally) that he couldn’t get out of. Shockingly, this offered a moment of vulnerability and truth for Bruce and Matt. Matt, who is not afraid of heights, steps out onto the ledge to help Bruce, but he is too scared to walk back. So, Matt decided to wait with him until help came.
When Matt told Bruce he didn’t have to walk around being brave all the time, this set Bruce off. Not sure why, but in a way, I was glad it did. Because Bruce turned it right back on Matt. He told him he should take his own advice, especially when it comes to Serena. Matt was shocked, and of course, he tried to act like he didn’t know what Bruce was talking about. Bruce didn’t let it go, though. And he even told Matt that he always thought he was weak, but since getting to know him, he has realized just how strong he is.
Matt has needed this push for a long time. I hope he takes Bruce’s words to heart. And I hope this makes him step out of his comfort zone and take a chance with Serena. I know Matt is afraid of rejection. He’s put his feelings for Serena out there before, but I think things are different this time. I’m with Bruce, and I think Matt should go for it. I’m really hoping he does something before season two ends. I need it.
St. Denis Medical airs Monday Nights at 8/7c on NBC.
