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This week’s episode of Saving Hope, “The Law of Contagion,” centered on a potential outbreak virus spreading through the hospital. A man was brought in off a plane, complaining of symptoms that seemed like appendicitis. But then he died in the operating room and the doctors learned he’d passed through Mumbai where a medical alert had just been issued. Another passenger from the plane got sick as well as the first doctor who treated him at Hope Zion. Both of them also died.
But the outbreak itself was not really the focus of the episode so much as a catalyst to put certain characters together and resolve some storyline issues. As usual, it felt like a jumbled mess and there was a lot of skipping around and tossing in random supporting characters who the audience barely knows anything about. This show frustrates me so much because the actors are so talented and the writing and pacing do nothing to showcase how fantastic they are. I’ve been sitting here for twenty minutes trying to figure out the best way to format this recap and nothing is coming to mind so I’m just going to break it down by characters/couples.
Alex and Charlie
Alex asked Shahir to do some kind of treatment on Charlie that would basically stimulate his brain and shock him into waking up or something. She had to leave to take care of the patient so Charlie was basically sitting back and waiting for the treatment to work. But instead of waking him up, it took tuxedo-Charlie out of the hospital and back to the scene of the accident that killed his parents. Charlie was really confused, but then it turned out that Charlie had buried the memory of the accident and he’d been there too, in the backseat and he watched them die. It was traumatic and sad, but seriously, what was the point? It sort of woke Charlie up, or at least it made him open his eyes and roll over so when Alex saw that he’d moved she had fresh hope that he was going to wake up. But tuxedo-Charlie just seemed sad.
Joel and Alex Part 1
Joel cornered Alex and apologized for making things weird between them. He asked if they could be friends again and she said yes. He asked if she’d stop avoiding him and again she said yes, but she didn’t seem all that overly enthused about it. They didn’t have much time to talk before they both went in to help with the plane patient’s surgery, which eventually landed the two of them in quarantine together (see Joel and Alex Part 2).
Joel and Maggie Part 1
Maggie was presenting a patient to Joel and trying to squeeze in some personal stuff, but he wanted to keep things professional. She invited him to go away with her for the weekend and he told her that she needed to be better at her job. He also told her that it was a no go on the weekend. She was confused and hurt, but then she opened her big mouth and told the frightened patient, who already had anxiety and superstition issues, that the hospital was on lockdown and she might have been exposed to a virus. Maggie continues to be the worst.
Gavin and Maggie
Maggie seemed a little upset when Gavin was sort of flirting with a med student named Hannah. Apparently, she just wants all the guys to herself. Later, during the quarantine, Maggie and Gavin were hanging out together and I admittedly zoned out completely on any and all dialogue between them, but they decided to share a hospital bed for the night and there was some cuddling. The next morning, Maggie seemed a little starry-eyed as she watched Gavin helping the patient.
Shahir and Victor
Victor was upset because Shahir’s mother was coming to town and even though they’d been dating for two years, Victor had never met her. He assumed it was because they were gay, but Shahir said it was actually because Victor was a nurse. Victor called him pathetic, the two fought and Shahir left the hospital right before Victor came down with the virus. He couldn’t get back in and Victor was frantic to talk to him as Joel and Alex treated him. Luckily, his strain wasn’t as bad as the people who died earlier in the episode and he survived. The two had an adorable reunion and Shahir said, “I love you” for the first time. These two should be on more often.
Joel and Alex Part 2
While trapped in quarantine, Alex was worried about Charlie and his weakened immune system and Joel tried to assure her that Charlie would be fine. Alex asked about Maggie and Joel pretty much gave her a blank look like he had no idea who that was. Alex immediately surmised (correctly) that Joel had cheated and that was why he was avoiding Maggie. Alex was mad and started ranting about how great Maggie was (not so much, Alex) and then she yelled at Joel for cheating on her while they were living together and accused him of breaking her heart. She also called him a coward and said he was afraid to ever take a chance so Joel took the opportunity to kiss her and Alex slapped the hell out of him. They worked together to help Victor afterward, but something tells me their truce is not going to stick.
Joel and Maggie Part 2
After the quarantine was lifted, Joel and Maggie sat down to have a talk and Maggie told him that he was a good guy, but a terrible boyfriend and she deserved better. Joel agreed so I guess that means they’re broken up? It’s hard to keep track when I couldn’t care less about Maggie and all I can think when I look at Joel is that Daniel Gillies has gotten too thin and someone should get him a sandwich.
There are only two more episodes left this season and I have no idea where the show is going with anything or anyone. I’m forever disappointed that it’s not more awesome because I love the actors so much, but the plot is not working for me at all. Another programming note, NBC has changed the schedule again for the final two episodes:
Episode 12 “Ride Hard or Go Home” will air Saturday Sept. 8
Episode 13 “Pink Clouds” will air Saturday, Sept. 15
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