Ian reached an all-time low!
Ian’s addiction was front and center on The Resident Season 6 Episode 4, and it was shocking how far he went to keep his issues under wraps and how it impacted Cade. The hour also saw Devon being a great doctor and Conrad and Gigi spending some quality time together.
Join Carissa Pavlica, Leora W., Laura Nowak, and Meaghan Frey as they discuss the hour.
How much did you enjoy watching Conrad and Gigi spend quality time together?
Carissa: It was wonderful. Matt Czuchry seems to love those scenes as much as we love watching them. A terrific little actress portrays Gigi, and they really come across as father and daughter. They’re a shining light in this series.
Leora W: I found it adorable, of course. However, I am curious about its place in the episode. It seemed completely separate from everything else in the episode, and I’m curious why they chose to do that storyline and why in this episode of all episodes.
Was it to show a contrast between a good parent who shows up and a bad parent who doesn’t? Was it to sideline Conrad so he couldn’t interfere in Ian’s storyline? Was it just to be cute? What was the point?
Laura: I always love Conrad and Gigi moments. They’re some of my favorite parts of the series currently. While I understand what Leora meant, I think it was to infer good parenting vs. bad and show that these cute moments won’t last forever, and then she’ll grow up.
Meaghan: I always adore every Conrad and Gigi scene, so I loved this episode.
To be honest, this episode made me wish they had done a spin-off series centered on Conrad as a single dad working as a concierge doctor. They also could’ve brought him in for crossovers with the main series by having him come to the hospital for cases with his patients like he was in the first couple of episodes after the time jump during The Resident Season 5.
They could even still do this if they choose to end the series after this season. I have full faith that Matt Czuchry could carry a series, and they could even bring Manish Dayal with him to continue the Conrad and Devon dynamic. Here’s to wishful thinking!
What did you make of Irving doubting Devon and assuming he was treating his patient like a project?
Carissa: It was odd, but we’ve not seen a lot of Irving of late, so maybe he has his reasons. It felt a little harsh, but it all worked out in the end.
Devon was always a patient-first doctor, and he was still in that mode with his patient, but he was also wearing his research hat, which turned out to be the best thing for her. I like him as a doctor more than a researcher, but watching good doctor-patient interactions is just my pleasure.
Leora W: I’ve been saying forever that we need more Irving, and while I appreciate that we sort of got that here, we got a lot of action without proper motivation.
I think they have Irving play devil’s advocate a lot because they need someone to do it, and he’s there, but there needs to be more of a reason. They wanted to make a point and used Irving to make it, but we need to know why. Here’s hoping for an Irving-centric episode.
Laura: It was odd. When we see Irving lately, he makes these comments without backing them up. Like the others, I want to understand the motivation behind it. I also prefer Devon as a doctor vs researcher. He has such a compassionate bedside manner.
Meaghan: I agree with the rest of the roundtable regarding Irving. It would help to get more context for where he is coming from.
Conrad has taught Devon to be an excellent diagnostician; part of that is going the extra mile to get to the root cause of what is happening. He knows Devon better than to think he would put a patient at harm for his own ego, so there has to be more to it.
Share your thoughts about Ian’s addiction arc withdrawal, risky surgery, urine switcheroo, and more.
Carissa: I’m of two minds with this story after this episode. I liked how addiction was part of Cade’s case and her father’s reality, showing that it can happen to anyone. It’s scary as hell to think of an addicted doctor, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a doctor on TV who needed drugs to perform.
There was an alcoholic who needed it to function, but when drinking, she was as good as any other surgeon. Something must be said about the fact that hospital doctors must be awake for so long and highly functioning in very stressful positions.
It’s as if they’ve been given a get-out-of-jail-free card to do whatever it takes to get the job done. There’s a bigger story about the profession lurking here, but I don’t know if that’s where this is going.
Leora W: I thought it was brilliant, sad, terrifying, etc. I do think that ordering the pee using the hospital’s computer was monumentally stupid because they can monitor that. He can’t keep this up for much longer.
Laura: This was the first episode that I felt some for Cade since they had both her case and Ian’s withdrawal interrelate, and we saw how it affected her, especially when she lectured the mom on getting it together for her kid. I can’t believe the steps Ian took to pass that test, including stealing urine from a patient. He’s running out of chances soon.
Meaghan: I do hope that, as Carissa mentioned, they will explore how the demands of the profession contribute to providers developing addiction issues. With such a high burnout rate in the healthcare industry right now, I feel like this is an important issue to highlight.
I was curious to see how Ian would handle having to retest, but I did not foresee him going cold turkey. It makes me wonder if he actually understands how dependent he is on the drugs or if he is in denial.
I’m with Leora on him ordering the fake pee from the hospital computer. Does he not understand that they can monitor all activity on the network? Then on top of that, he not only has it delivered to his office but stores it there too. The man is getting sloppy, and it is only a matter of time before he slips up enough to get caught.
Now that Ian is on Billie’s radar, how long will it be before everything catches up to Ian?
Carissa: See everything I said above. It depends on where this story is heading. But I did like Billie standing firm on what she needs in her OR. I’m still unsure how she’s supposed to fit into the overall picture. She’s an outlier without much connecting her to anything but surgery. At least she got that here.
Leora W: I was more surprised by Jessica, who knew Bell during his HODAD days, for not speaking up. Learn from your mistakes!
Laura: I’m relieved Billie completed the surgery, so the baby wasn’t harmed. I’m also glad she’s aware that he’s off his game. I think he’s screwed since many people will be watching.
Meaghan: I’m actually surprised that Billie didn’t push it further. It was very clear that something was going on.
With the fact that even the woman in an administrative position could pick up on the fact that he was showing signs of withdrawal, you would think that a doctor would be able to see it too.
It almost felt like she was willing to overlook it as long as they didn’t end up in that situation again where he could not perform surgery because of it.
Unfortunately, I think that’s how many functioning addicts get away with it for so long; as long as they do what they have to do, no one feels the need to question it, regardless of the red flags.
Will Cade and Ian’s relationship ever be able to recover after his outburst and behavior?
Carissa: From Cade’s speech to her patient, growing up with Ian meant sacrificing a lot to have any relationship at all with her father. She’s used to it.
My hope is that she’ll see from Conrad and Gigi how a father-daughter relationship should be and allow herself to either let him go or demand he change. It feels like that’s the connective tissue between the four characters.
Leora W: If it can recover once, it can again. That being said, did it ever recover in the first place? Cade has clearly been keeping a lot inside, and I feel for her.
Ian was super harsh, and I don’t know if he and Cade can ever have a healthy relationship. Then again, we said that about Conrad and his dad, Nic, and hers. (Speaking of, where is he? Why hasn’t he seen his grandkid since the time jump? Did he and Conrad never make up? Is he not a part of Gigi’s life?).
Laura: If he’s honest with Cade, they have a better chance of repairing their relationship. She seems to respect honesty and dislikes lying. However, things may be difficult if he keeps lying and being unethical at Chastain.
Meaghan: I think it depends on how things play out moving forward. I’m sure, regardless, Cade will want to get him help, but if Ian continues to lie to her, she might end up deciding it is healthier to cut him out of her life.
What was your favorite moment from the episode? Do you have additional thoughts or observations?
Carissa: Other than Conrad and Gigi, which is a no-brainer, I’d say Devon working with a patient again. It’s been too long since they all worked together, Dr. House style, to solve the seemingly unsolvable. I love that stuff.
Leora W: I loved Cade’s outburst and loved/hated when Ian went off on her. She was so great in this episode, and I’ve never liked her more. This is the Cade I enjoyed in the beginning before she became no more than Conrad’s love interest. I want more Billie-Conrad scenes, though. They didn’t even interact in this episode!
Laura: Obviously, as Carissa mentioned, the Conrad and Gigi moments. I also loved seeing Devon work with a patient again and seeing Conrad/Devon lean on each other for help. I love their friendship.
Meaghan: Conrad and Gigi’s taekwondo session was the clear winner for me. But, Like Laura and Carissa, I also loved seeing Devon back at it again. It gave me The Resident Season 1 vibes, and I’m all for more of that!
Over to you, Resident Fanatics. Do you agree with us? Disagree? Sound off below!
The Resident airs Tuesdays on FOX.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.