By 
The first season of Saving Hope has come to an end and the final episode, “Pink Clouds,” felt like it was all over the place. But that seems fitting for a show that doesn’t quite know what it wants its voice to be. The emotional connections between the characters felt off and once again, it seemed like the characters were different people than they were in the last episode(s).Charlie was out of his coma, but things weren’t exactly the way he left them. Alex was anxious to get married and Joel planned on following through with his decision to quit Hope Zion.
Alex was happy and relieved to have Charlie back. Shahir was trying to examine him, but Alex kept getting in his way, wanting to do everything herself. Shahir left them alone so Alex could help Charlie get ready to go to therapy to learn how to walk again. Joel popped in for a very awkward scene where he told Charlie he was happy to see that he was awake and then asked Alex if he could speak with her. Joel told her that he’d quit and Alex wasn’t overly surprised by the decision, nor did she seem to care all that much. Again, this scene felt clunky and awkward, despite the actors’ chemistry.
Maggie and Gavin were making out on the job, but Gavin attempted to put the brakes on things. He basically told Maggie that she didn’t have to try so hard and that hurt her feelings. She told him later that she was the kind of person who was always going and always trying and that was just who she was (Frankly, I didn’t care. Any good will I had for Maggie in the last episode was long gone. There might have been more to their conversation, but I mentally tuned out).
A woman named Jackie (two weeks in a row the show was better about names!) had a tube down her throat to help her lose weight before her wedding. Alex was confused as to why she paid to have that procedure done and then they needed to operate on her because something was wrong. When they opened her up, Alex discovered that she had stage 4 gastric cancer. They removed some of the tumors, but it was too late. Alex had to let the woman know she didn’t have a lot of time left, but Alex hesitated instead of telling her the truth (It felt out of character for her since she’s been so straightforward in the past). Eventually, she talked about it with Zach and he suggested the scenario was a little too close to home for her. Alex broke the bad news to the patient and after an angry initial reaction; Jackie declined treatment and decided to just live what was left of her life to the fullest.
Charlie had to do physical therapy and it wasn’t going very well. He met another patient, Pamela, and the two bonded over their situations (It even seemed like they were flirting a little, which felt very wrong). Charlie needed some alone time after therapy and Alex freaked out when she couldn’t find him. Some of the emotions she’d been holding in all season came to the surface and Charlie reassured her that he wasn’t going to break. She wanted to get married. He wasn’t crazy about the idea of being in a wheel chair, but they agreed it was just going to be the two of them in the hospital gardens and Charlie made it clear that he was not going to wear a tux (ha!).
Dawn arrives to see Charlie and he’s not happy with her since she took him off the ventilator and almost killed him. She asks him if Alex told him and he tells her that Alex has too much class to do that. Dawn wants to know how he found out and Charlie sarcastically tells her that he was walking around the hospital in a tux and saw and heard everything. He also tells her about talking to ghosts. Dawn believes him and lets him know that she’s taken a job at the hospital. Later, she runs into Alex and hints that Charlie is keeping secrets from her. Alex is not amused and doesn’t take well to Dawn’s suggestion that Dawn could be her mentor. She’s also not happy when Dawn walks away and makes Alex pay for her coffee.
A young man named Wes was brought in after a heroin overdose and the doctors quickly discovered that he had much bigger problems. He had a flesh eating virus (ew!) and Joel had to operate to try and stop the disease from spreading. First, he had to cut off Wes’s arm (way too graphic) and then when it continued to spread, he wanted to cut into the shoulder and the put a hole in his chest. Dana looked like she was on the fence about the whole thing, especially when Joel admitted that he’d never done it before or seen it done, but then she surprised him by wanting to scrub in. Joel completed the procedure and when he walked out of the OR, his confidence was back and there was a glimpse of the arrogant ‘cowboy’ surgeon he’d been when he’d first arrived.
But that didn’t last long. Joel sat with Wes and had a very emo discussion about a novel and life philosophies with him. Later, Joel went to see Dana and told her they needed to talk. She admitted that she was going to miss him and suggested they go for a drink sometime, but not as many as the last time they had drinks together (I can ship it). Joel surprised her (and me) by telling her that he’d been offered a new job: hers. Dana was not pleased and walked away from the conversation before Joel could say whether or not he actually planned on taking it.
Charlie was doing his physical therapy in the pool and chatting with Pamela as she sat on the sidelines. He told her that he was getting married and his fiancée was a doctor at the hospital. The therapist seemed confused and asked Charlie who he was talking to since they were alone in the pool. Realization set in and as soon as Charlie got the chance, he went to the morgue and found Pamela’s body there. Even though he was awake, he was still seeing ghosts. As he pondered that in horror, poor Alex was sitting in the garden in a pink dress, waiting for him so they could get married.
That brings us to the end of Season 1 and possibly the end for U.S. viewers altogether. Considering NBC declined to air the last two episodes of the season, I’d say it’s a safe bet the network will not be buying Season 2. There’s always a chance another network could pick up the series (paging The CW), but only time will tell. I’ll be back next week with my Best and Worst of Season 1 column, but until then, hit the comments below and tell us what you thought of the show.
i loved it