The Resident Season 2 Episode 17 Review: Betrayal
Jasmine Blu
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The first and last five minutes of The Resident Season 2 Episode 17 were the definition of action-packed!
This series knows how to make your pulse race and leave you on the edge of your seat leaning so close to the screen you risk bumping into it.
While most of the hour was a bit humdrum as we awaited the real action, the last ten minutes or so made everything worth it.
It pays off to have a little faith. Marshall is not a traitor. Better than that, Marshall is alive and well!
We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief over this unexpectedly beloved character remaining on the up and up, and the relationship between Conrad and his father stays intact.
It doesn't get more satisfying than learning Marshall and Conrad were working together and working an angle with Gordon. Marshall was the big guns, as we noted during The Resident Season 2 Episode 16.
Related: The Resident Season 2 Episode 16 Review: Adverse Events
He was their last ditch effort to take down Gordon once and for all, and they should've put their money on Marshall and relied on him early on. The truth is there is no logical explanation for benching Marshall; aside from the QuoVadis storyline getting wrapped up much sooner.
I am curious what the chairman of the board of the hospital who just stabbed QuoVadis in the back wants from me.
Gordon
Gordon's attempts to clean up his mess recklessly via sending his goons after Abe was enough for Marshall to step up his game and go to the FBI. Did Abe need to get shot for Marshall to do it, though? Not really.
It raised the stakes again, but the stakes were already high. It also provided us with some quality AJ screentime and moments and the chance for everyone to work together to save Abe.
The hour started with AJ dropping by to visit Abe's lavish home, and it was evident how things would play out the moment he didn't get a response.
Abe was desperate, guilty, and scared the last time Mina and Devon saw him. However, there was nothing about the man to suggest he would kill himself.
The seasoned cardio doctor sure as hell wouldn't shoot himself in the chest and miss his heart. What kind of amateur goons did Gordon employ?
AJ's emotions getting the better of him the entire hour while he worked tirelessly to save his mentor was moving. He felt terrible about how they left things, and he wanted his mentor to live long enough to redeem himself. He knew the Abe he respected was still there and ready to make amends.
Things got complicated. Never in a million years did I think we would end up like this. I'm sorry, brother.
AJ
It was beautiful to see the AJ and Mina partnership at work again. AJ was there for Mina during her most vulnerable moments, the latest being the aftermath of her mother's visit on The Resident Season 2 Episode 15.
Mina was able to step up and be a support to AJ during this trying time. Mina is the Raptor whisperer, and she has grown accustomed to his eccentricities (like yelling in the OR to clear his head) and reading him. They work together like a well-oiled machine while operating together.
It made sense for Abe to be in such a grave state he couldn't withstand more surgery, but it was no less jarring when he was lying there with his chest open. It also wasn't a surprise he required the ecmo to keep him going.
The conflict with the machine was standard, and the solution was obvious. It was a tough call; one machine was available, and there were two time-sensitive cases.
No one wants to choose whose life is more than the other, but it came down to the numbers; Evan was the obvious choice. He was young and had higher prospects of living.
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AJ didn't want to accept it, but he knew it was the right call, and his emotions getting the better of him was understandable. On the other hand, Devon was a colossal pain in the ass for the entire hour.
Abe was fighting for his damn life, a college kid was on the brink of death because of contracting mono in the least fun manner imaginable, and Marshall was about to be in peril. No one gave a damn about Devon's drive to figure out what happened to his paramour.
I'm not saying f**k Julian; I'm typing it instead. He lacked all sense of professionalism and lost sight of the oath he swore to uphold in his attempt to get information from Abe by any means necessary about QuoVadis.
Perhaps it's frustrating because of his intentions; his intentions were self-serving and had more to do with his (random) love for Julian than anything else. The only thing he cared about was waking Abe up, screw his condition and health, to interrogate him.
No one wants to take Quovadis down more than I do, but Mina's right.
Conrad
I'm still wondering why the investigation into Julian's disappearance was flimsy. Did the authorities Gordon send after Devon ever speak to Devon? If so, he was never in real danger of being a suspect, which is odd.
Devon himself waffled when it came to looking into Julian's disappearance. It would hit him at random, and he half-assed looking into things for a while.
To Devon's credit, he did come up with the, um, rotisserie chicken method of flipping Abe over so he could breathe better in lieu or the ECMO. He only did it so he could have Abe wake up and jot down "sever," but a great moment there, Dev.
If all Abe gave them was the word "sever," it only showed he didn't need to be disturbed at all. It didn't play a significant role when Conrad and Marshall were ganging up on Gordon. Conrad recited all the other information they found out, so wouldn't it have sufficed?
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Perhaps there is more to "sever," than we know, and it'll come up later. The combination of everything Conrad was spilling, Marshall getting into Gordon's head, and the revelation of Abe's survival had Gordon shook.
The only entity which irritated my entire spirit more than Devon during this hour was the FBI who dropped the ball sending someone as flashy as Marshall with a bugged Apple watch.
It sounded all the alarms in Gordon's head since he was reasonably paranoid.
To make it worse, they took their sweet time coming into QuoVadis after Marshall blew his cover. What the actual hell?
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No way in hell a shootout should have happened. While we're at it, how did Gordon manage to lead them on a full-blown high-speed chase? Although, the car crash and explosion were fantastic. Enjoy hell, Gordon!
Additional Notes:
- So, when does Julian come out of hiding?
- I cannot rave enough about Malcolm-Jamal Warner. He plays the hell out of this role, and AJ is phenomenal. Once again, he showed off such incredible range.
- Evan and Sydney's storyline was filler and a contrivance for Abe, but they were adorable. I hope Sydney gets to tell him how much she loves him.
- If Gordon was supposed to be on the FBI's radar, then why did it require Marshall going to them for them to stand a chance at snatching him up? How was Gordon this powerful?
- What happens to QuoVadis now, and what does this mean for the remainder of the season?
- Name a better scene than Conrad and Marshall hugging each other; I'll wait. Talk about all the feels!
It's your turn, Resident Fanatics; was the wait worth it?! Are you thrilled about Gordon's demise? Are you happy Marshall didn't betray anyone? Hit the comments below!
You can watch The Resident online here via TV Fanatic!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
