Combat Hospital Review: Why Me?

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"Reason to Believe" was easily one of the best Combat Hospital's of the season. From its tense Hurt Locker-like opening - with the horror of a bomb disposal gone wrong - to its emotional questions of faith, this hour hooked me from moment one and never let go.

We found Chaplain Marjorie Plotell having a crisis of faith. Apparently war is Hell, even on God. Somehow, as she watched Simon profess his arrogance in his skills as a surgeon, it only made her feel more inadequate. 

Reason to Believe Scene

Simon was in rare form tonight. He labeled Dobbs' pieces of broken vertebrae "annoying" and was sure he could save the use of the man's arms. Thankfully, Simon's skill and talent were able to keep up with his ego since it was a surgery he'd never before performed.

Just when I was thinking it must be amazing to have that much belief in yourself, we found Simon's Achilles heel. When Simon again didnd't come to the phone (albeit this time he was in surgery) to speak to his brother, the man threatened suicide. Well, that got his attention, mostly because it was not an idle threat. 

Edward Hill was mentally ill and when Simon finally tried to contact him, he found that his brother had been released from the hospital and no one knew where he was. Simon was terrified. 

And there we had Simon's weakness. He's great with things he can fix, but he can't fix his brother so he pushes him away. Now it may be too late.

Add to that Sgt. Dobbs' reaction after surgery. Simon seemed to believe that the man would wake up and thank him for saving the use of his arms. Of course, the reality was that he woke up and found that he'd lost the use of his legs. It was the glaring difference of perspective between doctor and patient.

The fear of losing his brother and the despair over letting down his patient sent Simon straight to the Chaplain. Simon may not believe in God, but he wanted to believe in something more than himself. Thankfully, having her biggest detractor come to her for guidance helped restore some of Audrey's faith.

We didn't see very much of Rebecca this week, but I did love her conversation with Pedersen about wearing a burqa. I appreciated her question about why it's a woman's responsibility to control what a man thinks when he looks at her and I wished we could have heard more of that discussion.

Bobby Trang was a fool. Susie pegged his behavior perfectly. 

You don't break up with girls, do you. You make them do your dirty work for you. | permalink

He was scared so he was going to be distant and aloof and force her to break up with him. She decided to forgo the painful process and broke up with him now. Good for her.

There were lots of great moments, but my favorite was Simon's breakdown. It's about time we got into what drives this complex character. Hopefully we get more scenes that let Luke Mably shine in the episodes to come.

Reason to Believe Review

Editor Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
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Rating: 4.7 / 5.0 (19 Votes)

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.

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Combat Hospital Season 1 Episode 10 Quotes

You don't break up with girls, do you. You make them do your dirty work for you.

Susie

There are really only two prayers we can offer to God. One is thank you, the other is Help.

Audrey