The loss of Carol Austin hit hard.

It was an emotional hour with The Resident Season 5 Episode 19, and it led to some great performances and big life changes.

Join Carissa Pavlica, Meaghan Frey, and Jasmine Blu as they discuss the hour.

How intrigued were you by Conrad and Devon's rabies patient and their ability to pull off the impossible by saving him?

Carissa: Honestly, I was more annoyed than intrigued. It's practically unheard of for someone to survive rabies after they've started showing signs. With how far the guy's symptoms had progressed, it would have been better if this was one of the cases they didn't win.

Meaghan: I was definitely intrigued because it isn't something that I can immediately recall another medical show covering, which is a feat in itself.

That said, I'm with Carissa on this one. Conrad and Devon are excellent physicians, but the fact that they very rarely fail impacts the realism of the series.

Instead of having Devon and Conrad figure out what was wrong fairly quickly, everyone involved in the case could have missed subtle clues to what was going on, further worsening the patient's odds.

They could have used it to highlight how wrong things can go if doctors don't take thorough histories. Sometimes the losses are just as important as the wins.

Jasmine: Oh, Meaghan, them rarely failing has bugged me for seasons, but I resigned myself to it being an unpopular opinion.

The case had some interesting aspects, but overall, I just wish they spent all their time on AJ and his mother. As terrible as it sounds since I reviewed it, I blanked out for most of the case.

What are your thoughts on Bell officially becoming a whistle-blower? Are you concerned about potential ramifications from it?

Carissa: Even Bell kind of said it. It's quite the arc he's had from standing beside the worst of the worst in medicine and getting his hands very dirty to the path he's on now.

I'm not worried about ramifications because they'll make excellent television. I'm glad they mentioned Dr. Death and how hard it was to bring down that guy.

It's a great use of their stories to continue reminding people how some professions are shielded while others wouldn't have the same treatment.

Meaghan: I love that Bell -- the man that easily could've been one of the physicians he is taking a stand against back during The Resident Season 1 -- is the one taking on this cause.

It highlights his character's journey so well. The Bell of the first season would have been right there with the medical board supporting the choice to look the other way. This Bell is so far removed from that man he was.

I wonder if what we could see happen, now that Bell has opened this can of worms, is that the medical board will open up old complaints made against Bell. I'm sure there must have been some from back in the day. That's the only way I could see the medical board actually coming after him.

Jasmine: You two have basically said it all! I, too, loved that they mentioned Dr. Death. It's crazy to think about how long and what it took to nab him.

But yes, Bell's journey is remarkable, and I loved this as a next move for him. I can envision them bringing up his past to use against him, but he's stood in his faults. I'm still worried about him, though.

Do you think Devon and Leela have reached a wall in their relationship? What are the odds that they can overcome the kid issue they refuse to discuss?

Carissa: I don't see anything between them anymore. They're no fun. They're on diverging paths.

And, frankly, everything about Padma having a child with Leela's egg makes me very uncomfortable. It's not going to end well for Leela. She hasn't thought it through any more than Padma.

Failing to see what it would do to Devon or even understanding how much he wants children was a fatal mistake, in my opinion.

Meaghan: I agree with Carissa. I used to be such a fan of Devon and Leela, and they have completely lost that spark.

Between Leela's focus on her career and their differences in what they want for their future when it comes to children, their relationship has taken a significant beating. They are in completely different places in their lives right now, and they have to face that fact.

The two of them need to sit down and actually talk about it. Leela needs to be bluntly honest about whether she actually can see herself wanting kids someday, and if she does, Devon has to decide if he is willing to wait.

If she doesn't, they might have to admit it's time to cut their losses and move on with their lives without each other.

Either way, the reality is neither one should have to compromise on what they want for their future, not when it comes to something this big.

Jasmine: Devon and Leela were one of my favorite couples, and now I'm so disenchanted with this pairing. The spark is definitely gone, and they're not even in the same book anymore, let alone the same page.

I am just ready for them to sit down and actually talk about where they are and call it quits if that's what they need because it's not fair to either of them right now what's happening.

I don't believe Leela wants children, and she should just say that so they can part ways now. It's not something either of them should have to compromise on, but man, I thought we were finally done with Devon's messy love life. I love them both but hate this.

Discuss AJ and Carol's arc and Carol's tragic death.

Carissa: It was beautiful. Death is coming for all of us. How we accept it makes the difference.

I'm so glad AJ listened to the hospice nurse and really heard what she had said. He was no longer angry and fighting the inevitable and got to spend some quality time with his mom before saying goodbye. It was done very well.

Meaghan: I'm going to be honest; I didn't love the first part of their arc during this episode. It all felt cold and clinical, which left me having a hard time getting emotionally invested.

While I appreciated them explaining the dying process so that viewers could better understand it, it felt more expositional than it needed to.

However, once it became more focused on AJ and Carol's final moments together, it began to hit all the right notes for me. Those moments left me wishing it had been a bottle episode that just focused on the two of them.

With how much build-up we've gotten to this moment for Carol and AJ, it felt almost disrespectful to the storyline to not give it the audience's full attention.

All of that aside, I was completely heartbroken for AJ. Him telling Padma that he is alone now was one of the saddest moments of the hour. I think this loss, and the need it left in him, will show us a side of AJ we haven't seen before.

Jasmine: I agree with Meaghan. They devoted a lot of time to this arc. It was heartbreaking throughout its entirety, so because we invested so much in it, I would've preferred if they devoted the whole hour to it and done a bottle episode.

It was hard sometimes because I would be so into everything with AJ and his mother, and this process of him accepting what was happening and spending this time with her in this tragically beautiful way, and then they'd rip us out of that for the rabies case or the twins disagreeing or Leela giving Devon the cold shoulder.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Summer Selby were exceptional. Beautiful work by both; I'm still touched by their performances.

Will Padma agree to AJ's conditions regarding becoming her sperm donor? How do you feel about this potential co-parenting storyline?

Carissa: I'm not sure I need Leela and Padma full time, but it seems we're heading there. Padma is going to accept. She has to. She can't very well turn him down and then turn to Devon, who will want the same thing.

Did I mention how much I dislike this story? It's too interconnected and feels too dramatic just for drama's sake.

Meaghan: Padma is absolutely going to agree. How could she not? AJ wants to help Padma for the same reason that Padma needs AJ's help: they both want children.

Neither one wants to wait to get into a relationship and settle down. Why can't they both give that to each other?

The most important part of this storyline is going to be them setting boundaries with each other and coming to agreements on how they want to parent their child.

If they can do that, I think this storyline has the potential to work. It will be a great way to show a non-traditional family that isn't represented much, if at all, in the media.

Jasmine: I believe she will, and I'm shockingly not hating this development. The majority of it is ...eek, but I'm intrigued by the notion of Padma and AJ forming a non-traditional family by having and raising a child together. Like, I don't hate that? I don't know.

I'm inundated with non-traditional family arcs and babies on so many shows, but I can maybe get behind this one for the Padma and AJ portion of it, namely because AJ would be an amazing father.

What was your favorite moment, arc, or character from the hour? Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?

Carissa: My favorite moment was when Carol had her last gasp of life outside with AJ. That will be so precious to AJ as he navigates his grief.

Meaghan: I loved the moment between AJ and Carol outside. That was the moment the arc flipped for me.

I also loved Conrad offering to rent out Gigi to him for a week. It was a much-needed light-hearted moment to break up the heaviness.

Jasmine: I'm with Meaghan. I loved both the moment outside with AJ and his mother and also Conrad, AJ, and Gigi. Gigi is so precious, and it warmed my heart when she was so tender and sweet to Uncle AJ.

Over to you, The Resident Fanatics. Did you agree with us? Do you disagree? Sound off below!

The Resident airs Tuesdays on FOX.

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.