Conrad is still going through the stages of grief, and it’s absolutely devastating.
On The Resident Season 5 Episode 4, Conrad was desperate to get to the bottom of Nic’s accident, and it sent him down a heartbreaking rabbit hole before maybe he got a sign for closure.
Meanwhile, the Raptor was the pinnacle of wisdom and grace. How can you not love AJ to pieces?
Conrad is a diagnostician. He’s a problem-solver by trade. He unravels mysteries and fixes things, so it’s not the least bit surprising that he’s been taking this same approach to figuring out what happened to Nic.
And you can understand where he’s coming from. He knew his wife better than anyone, from the cautious way she drove to many of her habits.
The notion that she got into this mysterious accident that didn’t lead to any answers would drive anyone insane. And Conrad wants to know what happened for his own peace of mind.
He also wants to have something to tell Gigi when she grows up, and he has to explain how senseless Nic’s death was. It’s Conrad’s way of grieving, and while Marshall and Devon saw how much he was spiraling, they had to give him some space and let him do things in his way.
It warms the heart that Marshall is there helping Conrad out with Gigi and keeping a close eye on his son. And the Conrad and Devon scenes have been spectacular this season.
More than in previous seasons, the brotherhood between them is so strong. You can feel the years of going through hell and back together between them, and Nic’s loss is another thing that’s bringing them a bit closer together.
Those books don’t have the answers I need when Gigi asks me how her mother died.
Conrad
Conrad was there to pull Devon back from the edge when he was grieving his father, and it’s tragic how the tables have turned.
As much as you can understand how much it was tearing Devon apart seeing his friend like that, and the fatigue from picking up Conrad’s shifts to give him time were taking their toll on him, he had to let Conrad work through his process as he needed.
It was hard to see Conrad with his equivalent of a murder board covering an entire room as he poured over books and relayed every aspect of Nic’s life to determine how the accident happened.
Billie is in a similar boat as Conrad, mourning her friend and likely craving some answers too. She was useful, serving as the middlewoman between Conrad and Kyle to get more information about Nic’s childhood medical history.
It sucks that Kyle is still not speaking to Conrad, but he’ll come around at some point. For the sake of Gigi, he knows he has to set his feelings aside or work through him, but with his history, it’s also worrisome that he’s isolating himself.
And despite Conrad going down a rabbit hole, it wasn’t as if he wasn’t coming up with plausible things.
When he pieced together that Nic’s mother used to faint in the summer when dehydrated the way Nic did or factored in her panic attacks and other such things, it was well within reason for him to believe that they were all connected and meant something.
Taking Gigi in for a harmless test to get some answers wasn’t overkill, especially if resulted in something. It would’ve been better to know for Gigi’s health than not.
But there were no answers this time. Conrad didn’t get to bottom of anything by the end of the hour. And it’s chalked up to the uncertainty of life.
The opening shot of Conrad at the scene of the accident was gorgeous in appearance and heavy with tone. But the last of him there and seeing the deer felt like closure.
The seconds he spent making eye contact with that deer felt like it was a sign, and maybe this chapter of him attempting to dissect the scene and get answers is over.
Czuchry is killing it, as per usual. The final moments, Freya Ridings’ “Lost Without You” playing in the background, were enough to make you teary-eyed.
For Bell’s part, the longer a series continues, the more space there is to reflect on character growth, and that’s how the Cranepool/Bell storyline felt.
We all still remember the days when he was the threat to those on his table as HODAD. He didn’t want to believe that his mentor lost his touch and didn’t have any business operating.
For whatever reason, he had an attachment to the rude, vaguely sexist, arrogant curmudgeon who spent most of the hour berating Leela for showing him up.
And it’s not lost that Jessica was there to hype Leela when needed, but she witnessed Cranepool’s dangerous actions too. She was there with Bell before.
Leela struggling with what to say and how to share the news felt true to her character, and her discussion with Devon made you think about how similar they are sometimes.
But doing the right thing overcomes everything for her, so her attempt to tell Kit what happened only using the way she ate chips was hilarious.
I’m not the same person I was four years ago!
Bell
Kit is such a good boss, and it’s reassuring that her staff feel comfortable enough to come to her with anything and can trust that she will do the right thing and take them seriously, too.
Can we get more of Kit mentoring the women of the series? Billie and Leela are already becoming fast friends, which is endearing. And Kit expressed an interest in both women, so some sisterhood mentoring would be the best.
Cranepool was a hot mess, and every second he spent in the OR was nerve-wracking. But it was a beautiful way to highlight how far Bell has come.
He needed to be the one to tell his mentor to turn in his scalpel. Cranepool didn’t hesitate to bring up that Bell was in a similar boat not that long ago, but it was such a gratifying moment when Bell admitted that he wished his mentor was the one to call him out back then.
Bell beating Cranepool’s ass during that squash game was hot, don’t judge. And he got a back massage from Kit as a reward for getting Cranepool to retire. He and Kit are also finally getting that dinner!
And we love that for them.
Speaking of love, AJ was the best during this installment. The hour was riddled with all of these Raptorisms. The man could write an inspirational book, or maybe audio since his voice is godly, and trust and believe this girl would purchase it.
With age and experience comes wisdom and reason (most of the time), and that’s what he can bestow upon Trevor, who desperately needs that.
The mentorship relationship building between the two is touching. Trevor is so many things, one of those characters who can have you frustrated and cursing him out one minute and wanting to hug him the next.
But one thing he does need is the consistency, stability, and support that AJ can provide for him.
He needs to know that someone will stick around and nurture the best in him. AJ was right about Trevor’s abandonment issues. They run so deep that they dictate every single aspect of his life right now.
AJ read the kid like a book, and it was enough to make the viewer get goosebumps.
The situation with the cop was rough. Why is it always a broken tail light?
Some will debate why the cop pulled them over. The tail light should’ve warranted a ticket. The whole getting out of the car so he can search it, and all that jazz suggested that it was something else. And sadly, that comes with the territory sometimes, especially with two Black men in a vintage car.
However, Trevor’s anger and temper could’ve literally been the death of them both. Regardless of how things are supposed to be, reality suggests that’s not what they always are.
It didn’t matter if the cop was wrong or right in what he did. Trevor’s goading him only jeopardized their lives needlessly, and the exchange served as one of those fascinating differences between the two generations but also possibly revealed how little Trevor learned when he grew up.
When the world around me is irredeemable, I am a righteous man. What kind of man do you want to be?
AJ
Maybe he didn’t get “the Talk,” or he was too angry to heed it, but the only thing more intense than those moments when the cop pulled the gun out as AJ stood in front of Trevor was the motorist running the officer down.
Something, something, karma, and life comes at you fast. But AJ and Trevor working together to trach the cop in the field was exciting. What is it about medical dramas doing trachs with only the things they can find around them? It gets me every time.
One understands what the show was likely getting at as AJ spent the rest of the hour dropping pearls of wisdom and exuding grace. By focusing on all the things Trevor needed to learn and embrace, they made it about the life lessons derived from the incident for characters who mattered.
But it still would’ve been a teeny bit satisfying when the cop learned that AJ and Trevor were the ones who saved him. He almost died after all.
To answer your question, I’m not angry at him. I’m trying to protect him. He’s not the product of love I was raped. By a neighbor. I was 13 and he was a grown man. Billie wants to know who his father is? Is that an answer he needs?
Billie
As a doctor, AJ knows that it doesn’t matter who crosses your path. Your job is to do no harm. You check all the other stuff at the door. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
AJ had so many incredible lines during this hour. A personal fave was when he commented on staying a righteous man when the world is irredeemable. Is there anything more resonant or worth striving for during this time?
In the perfect world, we’d all be that evolved.
AJ has a way of getting through to Trevor. Trevor listens to him, and AJ is exactly what Trevor needs. And AJ probably needs that too.
And that’s why the Billie thing is complicated. But weirdly, it doesn’t feel as if it needs to be.
One of the bizarre things that keep happening is that Trevor will mind his business, and Billie inserts himself where he is in issues pertaining to him, willingly triggering herself in the process, then getting upset.
So much of this with Trevor would work if Billie avoided him and went the other way when she saw him.
She didn’t even interact with him directly during this installment, but she kept approaching AJ about him, upset that AJ was involved with the boy.
But AJ and Trevor’s relationship isn’t connected to Billie in any way, so it was confusing that she kept telling AJ that he needed to stay in his lane.
Isn’t he in his lane? He and Trevor have a lane of their own.
It’s okay that Billie doesn’t want any involvement with Trevor, but she also can’t dictate what AJ has going on with the boy either, especially when it has nothing to do with her.
But it was brave and vulnerable of her to share her story of rape with AJ, and he handled it and responded well.
Her neighbor raped her when she was 13, and that’s traumatic beyond words. Can you imagine not feeling safe in your home after something like that?
Your safe space is probably a trigger.
Billie claims that part of the reason she wants to push Trevor away is that learning the truth will destroy him. And it’s an awful thing to share, and Billie has every right to tell that truth in her time.
But Trevor is hurting either way. He’s already suffering a great deal right now. She’s not sparing him anything with the secret and treating him as if she hates him.
My excellence is the best revenge.
AJ
The kid was crying when AJ told him that they couldn’t be near the hospital anymore because of Billie, and he genuinely believes that Billie hates him for no reason other than his existence.
They’re both so damaged and hurt right now. It’s heartbreaking for both of them.
And AJ is somewhere in the middle of it.
At some point, for both of their healing, Billie and Trevor need to talk things through. Over to you, Resident Fanatics.
How was the first episode without Nic? What are your thoughts on this AJ, Billie, Trevor thing? Hit the comments below!
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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.