Code Black Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Buen
Elizabeth Harlow
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Mistresses, book clubs and hard-ons, oh my!
With a mass casualty accident added to the normal craziness of the ER, Code Black Season 1 Episode 7 offered a range of cases. The residents are finally gaining confidence (everyone seems to have gotten the hang of intubation at least), and things are running more smoothly as they take cases on their own.
The major case of "Buen Arbol" was a accident involving a car running into pedestrians at a street fair. I was actually a little surprised that CBS went forward with airing the episode after the Oklahoma State Homecoming crash two weeks ago, and it's hard to believe that some heavy editing didn't happen.
It was good to see Angus take the lead and show some confidence with the driver, Nancy, but the entire story fell a little flat for me. Her underlying condition wasn't fully explored, and Mario's lack of empathy or understanding was concerning and unresolved.
It's a shame, because the psychology of what was happening to the woman seemed really interesting, and I would have liked to have found out what happened between her nap and her running into the fair. Hopefully, Angus' psych background can come into play more in the future.
I like seeing him so confident.
I've studied all the journal articles on disassociation. Have you? No. She's not faking it.
Dr. Angus Leighton
The mass casualty incident meant that the residents got to run cases mostly on their own. Of course, Christa's patient was a kid, and one that reminded her of her own son at that. As much as I thought it was a little heavy handed, her diagnosis and treatment was on the mark.
I really liked how this case explored some of the non-medical difficulties that patients and the doctors treating them can face. Leanne's reluctance to get involved is clearly just as much about walling off her emotions as it is recognizing that there are limited resources to work with.
Part of learning this job is learning where it ends.
Dr. Leanne Rorish
Of course it all worked out in the end (after Jesse played the role of Jiminy Cricket once again), and we can safely assume that little Pablo won't be a repeat customer in the Angel's ER thanks to his grandmother.
Malaya and Mario's cases might have been the "C" level plots, but there were my favorites. I only wish there was a way for June Squibb's character Dorothy to become a regular character somehow. Sure, there's no logical role for her, but she's sassy as hell, and I want to keep her.
Mario's case filled the comic role; a juvenile kind of comedy, but we only laugh because everyone's terrified of something similar happening to them. And it ended up in a dark place – I may not have the requisite parts, but I was wincing in sympathy as Neal described that final procedure.
I didn't put myself through medical school so I could give some guy a reach around. This isn't emergency medicine, man.
Dr. Mario Saveti
Of course, Mario's biggest weaknesses are his lack of empathy and his stubborn independence. It was good to see that finally got through to him a little on both those fronts with his little speech. Neal is a better teacher than Leanne in a lot of ways, and I like seeing him work with all the residents and not just Christa.
The only thing that could have improved that case would have been Dr. Taylor. His inappropriate but hilarious comments were made for these type of cases. On the bright side, sex accidents are surprisingly common in ER's (especially fictional ones), so there will be plenty of opportunities for double entendres in the future.
Dr. Neal Hudson: If the tertbutaline failed, the next step is a shot of phenylephrine.
Dr. Mario Saveti: How about I just give him a shot of Jaeger and some magazines?
Other Thoughts
- The Dr's Guthrie were MIA. I didn't really miss either per se, but I do find it concerning that these two used so inconsistently.
- Neal and Christa finally socialized! I'm really hoping that they have one too many Bloody Mary's and make some bad decisions together.
- The eye injury was both completely disgusting and completely amazing. Major props to the prop department!
- Okay, where was the sheriff when Nancy wandered off? They were awfully concerned about questioning her to just let her walk out.
- It's a good thing I don't work in a hospital, because I would be basically stalking John and his wife and mistress to find out all the juicy gossip going on between them.
Dr. Malaya Pineda: You have certain risk factors we have to consider. For one, you have emphysema.
Dorothy: I smoked for forty years. I'm no quitter!
"You Are the Heart" will air on November 18th. I'm hoping there's more to the story than the promo suggests, because while HIV is still a very serious issue, needle sticks are over done on TV. Any drama is either quickly mitigated by a dose of the drug cocktail or mercilessly drawn out until the final test results come back after six months.
So I'm hoping there's either some twist to that case, or that there's just some other totally bonkers medical mystery that will surprise us. Fingers crossed that Malaya's ex comes back! And there's always the long shot bet that the episode will open with Neal and Christa in bed together.
If you missed "Buen Arbol," don't worry, you can always watch Code Black online. Make sure you're up to date on the latest procedures and hospital gossip before joining us in the comments!
Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.
