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Watson Season 2 Episode 20 Begins Wrapping Things Up, But Why Did We Need That Weird Cliffhanger?

Critic's Rating: 4 / 5.0
4

If it wasn’t obvious before that Watson is ending, it is now.

Watson Season 2 Episode 20 ended Mary’s storyline, suggested that Watson needs a resolution to his brain tumor, and that Ingrid likely is going to be arrested for Beck’s murder.

It also had a weird, random, and soap-like cliffhanger that didn’t seem necessary with only one episode left.

(Colin Bentley/CBS)

Watson Season 2 Episode 20 Offered a Strange Birth Story

Television births are going to be dramatic, messy, and life-threatening in one way or another. That’s a given on every medical drama.

Watson Season 2 Episode 20 took an unusual path by having the OBGYN be the one in crisis long before Lauren or the babies were.

I have to hand it to them — that was way more original than having one of the triplets die or be in extremely bad shape.

There won’t be much time to have any type of story surrounding the triplets now, since this was the penultimate episode, so my hopes for a realistic NICU afterbirth story are mostly dashed.

(Colin Bentley/CBS)

Watson did put them in the NICU instead of whisking them away and magically making them the same as full-term babies, which was a good start.

There is a lot of potential drama in NICUs, and not just from medical issues. When my nieces and nephew were first born, they weren’t all discharged from the NICU at the same time, and it’s common for preemie parents to have to split their time between home and the hospital when they have kids in both places.

That can be beyond exhausting, especially while trying to bond with multiple new babies at once, and brand-new parents like Adam and Lauren are likely to need help.

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If only Watson were getting a third season, it could explore some of this alongside new cases at the hospital. What a shame!

I haven’t been thrilled with Watson Season 2, yet I’m heartbroken there’s only one more episode left, especially since we’re missing out on some potential storylines and wrapping up others in weird ways.

(Colin Bentley/CBS )

We did have some of the mandatory dramatic labor drama, which, once again, used the trope of an inexperienced person being talked through a medical procedure over the phone.

I’ll never love that trope, but at least Mary was talking to an intern, not a layperson who had never heard of any of the medical procedures she was describing.

Thankfully, it all worked out fine, and Lauren’s subsequent crisis was merely a stepping stone to Watson encouraging Adam to use the skills he taught him to figure out what was wrong.

I wouldn’t have been able to take it if Lauren had died. I’m not all that attached to her as a character, but Adam’s grief would have been too much to bear so close to the end, especially since Watson is severely ill himself.

Watson’s Road Trip Was One Of The Strangest Parts of The Hour

(Colin Bentley/CBS )

Mary convinced Watson to drive with her to a specialist in Baltimore, but heavy rain and the need to communicate with Adam ruined her plan.

I know it was necessary to advance the triplets’ birth plot, but it seemed ridiculous that Mary and Watson spent hours at the pie restaurant just to be close to the owner’s phone in case a doctor needed them.

Maybe it’s me, but I couldn’t imagine a restaurant owner allowing his phone and a table to be tied up like that. Then again, there were almost no customers in the store, so they weren’t taking up too much room or interfering with business.

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It was also weird that they didn’t have a specific appointment with this doctor — they could hang around for hours, and then Mary had to convince Watson to keep heading toward Baltimore instead of going back to UHOP.

Of course, since Watson promised to bring back a dozen pies, I could hardly blame him for wanting to head that way immediately!

(Colin Bentley/CBS)

Although the whole pie shop plot was unrealistic, it was forgivable because it led to something extremely important: Mary’s exit story.

I love the idea of Mary going to LA to become Chief of Medicine. It closes her story perfectly and also forces Watson to stop fantasizing about her.

Of course, Watson’s own exit story could be far more depressing. Let’s hope the final episode doesn’t include any time jumps to a dead or dying Watson!

Meanwhile, Watson Season 2 Episode 20 Had Two Ridiculous Cliffhangers

The Ingrid/Beck storyline has annoyed me for a while, and Ingrid casually talking to Sasha about how she killed Beck, but it was self-defense didn’t help matters. Additionally, Sasha learning that Beck impersonated her birth mother should have been on-screen so that she could react emotionally.

(Colin Bentley/CBS)

Lestrade showing up at the end was even worse. For some reason, people on TV never call a lawyer in these situations, and Ingrid agreeing to talk without one seems like an especially bad idea.

Hopefully, the finale doesn’t end with Ingrid in jail. That would be a horrible ending for a seriously maligned character.

Worse yet was this Sherlock business.

First, he’s only a figment of Watson’s imagination, created via the brain tumor. Now he’s real… but has amnesia.

What kind of soap opera-like nonsense is this? And by the way, is Mycroft real? Because his running the hospital like a business seems to have disappeared.

(Colin Bentley/CBS)

That’s how I see things, anyway. What about you?

I’d love to hear your opinions on how Watson will wrap up and whether you like the direction it seems to be heading!

Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation.

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Watson airs on CBS on Sundays at 10/9c and streams on Paramount+ on Mondays. The series finale will air on May 3, 2026.


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Kai

Sunday 3rd of May 2026

I'm sorry the show is ending, too, but once they announced that Watson had glioblastoma, it was game over. Glioblastoma is uncurable, and the only question is how long does the patient have. Most people die within 3 years of diagnosis, but that's related to how far the disease had progressed before they were diagnosed. Once the patient starts having audio and visual hallucinations, if the patient doesn't get treatment asap, their days of continuing to function are quite limited. If Watson is determined to avoid treatment, then he might as well hire a trustworthy caretaker and retire to Sussex to keep bees in the time he has left.

Marcia

Tuesday 28th of April 2026

I think it's a shame that this show is ending early. I was really looking forward to more episodes next season and I think the writers and the actors have done a great job.

WatsonWatcher

Tuesday 28th of April 2026

As an Ingrid fan, I am sure that she'll get away with murder. Lestrade chose the sound proof conference room to talk to her so I'm sure that she has something to say that she doesn't want anyone else to hear. In other words, "I know you killed the perp on purpose but I'm gonna let you off..."

Having said that, the pie restaurant was a metaphor for the number of plots simultaneously unfolding! Many pies, many plots. Get it?

So glad Adam's grief and implosion was mitigated...for now. His character's struggle with addiction and absentee parenting has been heart wrenching enough.

I already gave my opinion about Watson's illness last week so I'll skip over to

Enough with weird sex things from Dr Sasha Lubbock and Lestrade!!!!

No surprise that Sherlock ended up a homeless rag and his brother is MIA. This crazy show could make any genius go berserk.

HL Jones

Monday 27th of April 2026

I agree that this episode would have had more space to deal with the triplets' birth and Watson/Mary coming to completion, if it wasn't for the two weird cliffhangers. But really: Did anyone expect Ingrid to get off from killing Beck, scot-free?

For me, watching Adam in the scenes leading up to the birth was amazing and beautiful. He went from the fun, "free spirit" twin to a man with four dependents in the span of just a few hours, and you could SEE him growing up. Incredible performance from Peter Mark Kendall.

And Sherlock is there to throw a monkey wrench into the works. Frankly, I feel more annoyed than invested in that mystery.

I'm sad that this program is ending. It feels as if it's just starting to hit its stride. I wonder if Netflix can come to the rescue to give is a Season 3?

Shaun

Monday 27th of April 2026

Well enjoy this cliffhanger with Sherlock in the ER. And Shinwell arrived after the nurse goes looking for him .saying we have a patient whi has you name snd number. Shinwell does a double look. Walk over to Sherlock to get this attention. Asked,in another way Gov... Sherlock goes who are you... Be interesting with Watson and Sherlock both not doing well. With the last story May 3. And Sebastian Moran finished the run and story????

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