And with that Fall Finale, the countdown until the next installments begins!

You can say The Resident Season 6 Episode 10 left some fans on the edge of their seats with that Conrad and Billie kiss and poor Padma on the edge of a ledge, so to speak, and we'll have through the holiday season to process what's next for the Chastain crew.

The hour also saw the return of Kyle and his reunion with a granddaughter he hadn't seen in five years. Oh, wherever does one begin with all of this?

Let's dive into the Kyle portion of the hour. It was great to see Corbin Bernsen back in the halls of Chastain, and we definitely need this update for the character.

But why did it have to hurt this badly? It genuinely sucked to learn that he was so deep in his grief that he blamed Conrad for Nic's death five years later and hadn't seen or spoken to him in five years.

But worse yet, a man who has already lost two daughters opted to go five years without seeing his granddaughter, the child that was a literal piece of Nic, the embodiment of her and made in her image.

He couldn't even move past his anger enough to see Gigi and attempt to keep Nic's memory alive and well in this young girl who reminds him so much of her.

Grief is complicated, and it's not pretty, and it can downright be ugly, but even knowing that, it was still tough to process this. A large portion of it is because they worked so hard to redeem Kyle and transition him from this shitty father to a man doing the best he could and finally succeeded in getting his act together.

He and Nic had their amends, and she made peace with her father, and they developed a healthy and wholesome relationship from the poor one they had before. Kyle joined the list of reformed fathers who became fan favorites, along with Marshall.

And then they undid it with this, which is unforgivable, but Conrad is damn near saintly because there wasn't a second of anger, resentment, or anything else from him.

Conrad's ability to forgive Kyle, not for what Kyle did to him, but for what he did to Gigi, is unfathomable. He didn't hesitate. I'd say he was primely in "too good for this world," but the hour did have him technically cheating on Cade, so he wasn't entirely without flaws.

Gigi: You look different from the pictures daddy showed me.
Kyle: More handsome, I hope. You showed her pictures?
Conrad: Of course. I wanted her to know her grandfather.

• Permalink: Of course. I wanted her to know her grandfather.

As viewers, maybe it would've been easier to sympathize with Kyle if we hadn't witnessed his grieving arc before. The man almost took his own life because of grief and loneliness; he's been marred by the losses of the women who were most important to him for decades.

But that's why you'd wish and hope he'd have clung to the one girl in his life he had left. You would have expected that a man who spent time making amends to Nic would do right by her memory and not fail his granddaughter with his absence during grief the way he did to her.

It's that we thought we saw Kyle overcoming these flaws and obstacles and growing through his tenure on the show, but then he bailed, and now it feels like they backtracked all of his growth.

It made it difficult to enjoy his moments with Gigi. The Kyle who earned his way into his daughter's life again did not earn his way back into Gigi and Conrad's lives, but in this display of forgiveness or something, he's there now, and it's frustrating.

When I first got here, you asked where home is. There's your answer.

Kyle

• Permalink: When I first got here, you asked where home is. There's your answer.

What happens if Kyle gets a dog, and it dies, and he goes down another grief bender and disappears from Gigi's life again or something? I should sound ridiculous even implying that, but it's what we've had to work with here, and now I can't put anything past him.

It would be nice if we even heard that he sent Gigi cards over the years instead of cold-turkey cutting cords. The whole thing was so distressing that moments that should've been heartwarming for him and Gigi simply were not.

He kept staring at this child, who he felt was the spitting image of her mother, and she was filled with so much affection, love, and joy. He almost fumbled it, too, when he implied right in front of her that her father didn't do enough to save her mother, and who does that to a child?

Conrad's the family she has left, so did he expect any other reaction beyond her hero worship and fierce love and loyalty to her father?

How do you gloss past never having seen or spoken to grandpa ever?

Kyle just fell off the grid, and while parts of this aren't entirely out of character for him, it played into the worst aspects of his character, leaned into redundancy, impeded his growth, and chipped away at the respect built for his character over time.

Had he not gotten sick and been brought to Chastain, he would've died, for starters, and he'd have gone the rest of his days not seeing his beautiful granddaughter. It was upsetting all around.

Conrad, naturally, proved fruitful in diagnosing Kyle correctly and saving his life, but we didn't even need that to happen to prove some kind of point to Kyle.

Conrad is, always has been, and always will be Conrad. He pours his all into saving his patients, and it's ludicrous to carry on the belief for five years that he didn't do everything he could to save the love of his life.

Kyle: Preschool. What kind of kid would want to go to pre-school at a hospital?
Devon: There's one kid there you might know.
Kyle: Gigi. Gigi?
Devon: She's in kindergarten, so we see her a lot around here.

• Permalink: She's in kindergarten, so we see her a lot around here.

Kyle was just a stubborn older man who needed to blame someone and took it too far. But he's content that he's back in Georgia and will have a relationship with Gigi and Conrad after all this.

I'm glad he survived the ordeal, mainly because Gigi didn't need another loss after just getting to meet him, and she deserves the chance to know her grandfather and more about her mother through him.

It's still shocking that Conrad wasn't more hesitant to reintroduce them. I understand that he's clinging to family and what Nic would've wanted, but still.

Kyle's puzzling case gave us AJ and Yamada in a pissing contest over everything, which had amusing moments. Where did all that bad energy even stem from in the first place?

As the President of the Conrad/Billie fan club, AJ would have some reservations about Yamada in that regard, but they were clashing horns something fierce.

It did seem weird that Yamada swooped in out of nowhere and wanted to completely take over Kyle's case, which would prompt a territorial response.

But in the end, the two men worked well together and saved Kyle because of it. Their animosity built up that moment of AJ letting bygones be bygones and then giving Yamada a heads-up about Billie and Conrad.

AJ's investment in the two is amusing, and he's such a supportive bestie to both. But setting that aside, his way of warning Yamada about Billie and Conrad was something else.

AJ: I believe that you deserve the truth.
Yamuda: Okay. I'm all ears.
AJ: Conrad's wife, Nic, was Billie's best friend. And when he lost her, I don't think he ever got past that, and maybe he never will. But what you need to know is Conrad and Billie love each other. I know that's tough for you and Cade, because whether they wake up to the truth or not, it's always going to come between you.
Yamuda: Thanks.

• Permalink: But what you need to know is Conrad and Billie love each other.

We know nothing about Yamada, but after an hour of him and AJ having an arrogant showdown, it doesn't seem like he'd be the type to hear what AJ said and not try to prove him wrong or something.

I love AJ, and I enjoy how much of a Billie and Billie/Conrad fanboy he is, but that kind of interference in Billie's relationship with Yamada didn't feel right within the frame of the show. Because even assuming she and Conrad couldn't get their act together, it could potentially drive away her shot at a happy, healthy relationship.

He didn't take this approach with Cade, warning her off Conrad.

He should have directed more time into trying to get to the bottom of how to help Padma instead. He was the initial person who noticed how off she was, and he saw the state she was in once before and tried to talk to Leela about it.

But since then, it's like he thought if he increased her help and let her have this time away, it would magically fix things. And Leela is only NOW sensing that her sister isn't well when the signs have been there since before she had the babies.

Now Leela is sounding off the alarms when it could be too late. It's been so frustrating to see Padma surrounded by all of these medical professionals who are vaguely aware that something is off but haven't actively tried to address this situation.

They've all been too busy and preoccupied to give Padma and her deteriorating mental health the attention it deserves. They've all become this family and support system, but then they've been M.I.A. in the ways that Padma has needed it the most, and it's shocking.

Padma not returning home and claiming that her van broke down was the biggest red flag imaginable. Yet, we still have AJ and Devon not taking it as seriously as it requires, and Leela catching on far too late that this is a bad sign but not knowing what to do about it.

We hope that Padma saw that picture and text in time to reconsider her suicide attempt.

I can commend the series for exploring PPD and its devastation, even if the initial storyline with Padma and the twins hasn't been a fan favorite.

And it's been a tricky balance between showcasing a storyline like this that has yet to resonate as strongly with the audience and with a character who has yet to appeal to viewers much and not letting it take over everything.

Ironically, during The Resident Season 5, there was too much of Padma and her story arc. Given the turns that the storyline has taken this season, it's too little of it, and it hasn't been showcased as consistently as the plot requires.

We've dreaded something terrible. Every time they revisit her, there's a sinking feeling that it'll take a tragic or heartbreaking turn, so the fall finale cliffhanger isn't shocking.

We likely saw this coming a dozen times over. All we can hope is that Padma will climb down or someone will stop her, and she'll start getting the help she needs.

Ironically, how her arc has been handled this season captures the level of invisibility and helplessness with Post-Partum depression and how maybe people don't invest in it until it's too late.

And then there's the Cade and Billie of it all.

We got to check in with Ian, and apparently, he did attend rehab and seemingly took some of it seriously. It was easy to assume he'd find some way out of it or something. The Ian storyline is well past its expiration date, and not even Andrew McCarthy can resuscitate it.

But this whole situation compelled Cade to lie and keep secrets to protect Ian, and this isolated storyline sucks for her. They've spent so much time tying them to one another that it feels like such a waste of the characters.

Ian's hold on Cade prevents her from having any real life of her own, which is such a tragedy. When she told Conrad she went on a Girl's Trip to decompress, all I could wonder was how he could believe that Cade had "girls" to hang out with in the first place.

It would be nice if Cade had that, and through that trip, she learned something about her relationship, her desires, and what she needs.

You killed our mother, now we're going to kill you.

Son

• Permalink: You killed our mother, now we're going to kill you.

Instead, she was at Ian's rehab, listening to a bunch of victims of addiction discuss how profoundly wounded they were from this disease and how it continues to destroy their lives, whether they're the addict or someone who loves one.

Cade's realization didn't feel different from what she's said before. She knows she's suffered her whole life because she's spent it protecting Ian's image in other people's eyes at her expense.

We've heard her say as much half a dozen times. And she's also addressed that she never knows what's real about him. He's a charming narcissist and liar; she can buy into what he says a million times, and he'll always fail her.

She can't trust that he's learning his lesson, successfully working through the root of his addiction for the right reasons, or just to get out.

She can't believe that anything he says to or about her is genuinely the truth or only the truth at the moment when it's convenient. It's exhausting. I'm exhausted for her.

And they keep spinning the wheels with this particular plot point, not unlike the experience of dealing with an addict.

It's good that Cade officially wants off of this ride. Hopefully, she, too, can stick to her words on this and leave it there. It's hard to say if she's off this merry-go-round for good or if she'll get sucked into it again.

But she knows she doesn't want to keep lying to protect Ian anymore. What that may or may not do for him and his future as a surgeon? I don't know.

Sadly, Cade's entire life with Ian is why she can't seem to connect with people. She hasn't been able to overcome that, even at Chastain. She got sucked right back into his orbit, and it put wedges between her and others.

It is likely why she can't sustain a romantic relationship on its own. Cade's own issues would surely interfere with whatever romance she embarks on with someone, but on top of that, she has the misfortune of being in a relationship with a man who loves someone else and has now cheated on her. ConCade was doomed.

I'm not the biggest Cade fan because of how hard it has been to connect with her, but good grief, this woman deserves better than literally everything she's gotten since she arrived at Chastain.

And at the end of the day, her longstanding cycle of toxicity with her father that prompted her to cover for him doesn't exempt Conrad and Billie's actions.

It seems it took a traumatic incident and some more trauma bonding to shake something loose for Conrad and Billie. And there's definitely no going back from this.

Billie: Sometimes I don't know how I keep doing this.
Leela: Are you okay?
Billie: I don't want to be okay. That would mean that I lost the ability to feel anything.

• Permalink: I don't want to be okay. That would mean that I lost the ability to feel anything.

Honestly, I thought there would be so much more to the guys who threatened and attacked Billie. They were "off" from the beginning, and you could tell things wouldn't go well for them.

They were the very definition of coded characters because from their every interaction with Billie and Leela to how they carried themselves, and even their attire (and what the combination implies), you could tell they were a certain type of individual who most definitely didn't respect women, among others.

Frankly, it's a wonder Billie didn't have security on standby every time she had to face them because their vibes were off the entire time.

She was in a lose-lose situation with this family. They didn't trust her judgment about the surgery and insisted she perform it, but they also wanted to blame her when Doris died, which she warned them about the first time.

She would never win with those two. If Doris had survived and had the type of damage she would've had long-term, they would've wanted to attack Billie, too.

In hindsight, Billie probably should've refused surgery and allowed them to take their mother elsewhere as they threatened to do. Although, I'm not entirely sure that would've fared better because they were hellbent on unleashing all their rage on Billie no matter what she did.

The way they went off on Leela was disturbing, but their display in the OR was terrifying. It was even worse how at Chastain, a hospital with its fair share of issues over the years, security couldn't seem to track these guys down for the longest time and have them arrested after that display.

How did they even succeed at getting from Leela to Billie in the first place before security got to them? Everyone saw how they were yelling at Leela. Has the dwindling budget killed Chastain's security measures?

How do you feel safe when you have two guys who seemed like they lived on a militia compound somewhere roaming the halls? It's disturbing that it took Conrad checking out the footage to get some action.

The brothers attacking Billie in the stairwell -- that whole sequence was adrenaline-inducing and horrifying. It felt reminiscent of some of the action The Resident had in its early days.

It tells you so much about these brothers that both of them were beating up and trying to throw a single woman over a banister. It was enraging.

But we got heroic Conrad to the rescue, and boy, has he reached his tackle quota this season.

The brawl was good, even if the stakes didn't feel that high during the moment. It was heartbreaking to see Billie huddled on the floor, frozen in fear.

And her words to Leela earlier about not being okay were such a gut punch. I hope she has space not to be okay while also getting to dig into that a bit. They've been letting the walls around Billie slip for a while, and she's been at her most vulnerable, which has been Billie at her most compelling.

The second Conrad told Yamada that he would be the one to take Billie home, it was apparent something would transpire between them, and they'd have one of their moments.

However, with how they've been playing things, I didn't anticipate the kiss. It's what Billie and Conrad shippers have craved all season as they worked to build things up between them.

Billie always invokes Nic's name when she feels like they're getting too close and she's trying to establish a mental boundary. Or Conrad brings up Nic as if he can vicariously have these moments with her through Billie.

Their exchange at the doorstep pulled from a couple of their more meaningful moments. Billie has often used Nic to describe how she feels about Conrad because she felt it was safer to do it that way.

And Conrad has often asked Billie about Nic because he is too afraid to unpack what he desires from Billie specifically. It was a great marker of where they both are and the emotional barriers that are no longer between them that Billie could bring up Nic again, and Conrad specifically wanted to know about her.

It shows that he's not seeing her as some extension of Nic anymore, which is a solid place for him to be if he hopes to pursue something with her that goes beyond that connection. We needed that from him as it felt like Billie was doing most of the heavy lifting with what's been brewing between them.

The fact that Conrad had this moment when Kyle's return brought so many things up about Nic, too, speaks volumes.

It marks a transition for Conrad. And as a grieving husband who can maybe move forward in a significant way, it's great for him.

He hasn't always been the most forthcoming about his own feelings for Billie. He finally put himself out there emotionally with that conversation. And when they kissed, both of them came together, mutually, rather than one or the other making the first move.

And it was a good kiss, a great one. As someone who can appreciate what they're trying to build romantically with these characters or at least understand and see it better with this ship, it was nice.

But I wouldn't be myself if I couldn't express how much the infidelity component takes away from it. My indifference to Cade and disinterest in her romance with Conrad aside, she really doesn't deserve this.

I genuinely don't understand why Conrad hasn't called it quits with her before we got to this point. We haven't seen the passion with her, so outside of having a love triangle for the sake of it, it's hard to comprehend why they're still dating.

Casual sex is something one can understand, but it's been hard enough to buy there were genuine romantic feelings beyond mutual attraction and friendliness between the two.

But now, we get this forward movement with Billie and Conrad, and it's when both of them, but specifically him, are in an actual relationship with another person.

And Cade has spent the season like some kicked dog who has to deal with a series of bad things. Now, we can add this to the list.

I have mixed feelings about getting Conrad and Billie in this manner that has consisted of him cheating after essentially gaslighting Cade into believing there was nothing between him and Billie.

Of course, he didn't do that intentionally, but he still did it. It doesn't sit well for Dr. Death Before Dishonor, a man whose personal ethics has been a stalwart of the series. It's a terrible, dishonorable thing for Conrad to do.

Conrad and Cade were never ideal, but she doesn't deserve to have her feelings toyed with here. Cade is a boring person, but she's not a bad one.

Billie: Thank you, for everything. You came to the rescue.
Conrad: Oh, please, you've rescued me hundreds of times.
Billie: Nic would've been proud of you today.
Conrad: I want you to be proud of me.

• Permalink: I want you to be proud of me.

Billie and Conrad's kiss evoked such mixed feelings because, on the one hand, it finally happened, and we can move forward with what they've been building, and as a pairing, compared to the other options, this feels right.

But on the other hand, how we got there could be better. It sucks that Conrad and Billie don't come out as the best of people through this, and the dogpiling thing on Cade, and that being her entire existence, genuinely sucks.

Is anyone ready for the fallout when the show returns? We got Billie and Conrad, something that many have been clamoring for all season, but it came at a messy and controversial expense, yes?

Over to you, Resident Fanatics.

How do you feel about the Conrad and Billie development? What are your thoughts on Cade's decision to walk away from her father? Are you freaking out about Padma? Sound off below!

To hold you over until The Resident returns, 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.