‘The Resident’: Will Conrad Go Too Far to Get Answers About Jessie’s Death? (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Season 3, Episode 5 of The Resident, “Choice Words.”]
To break the glass or not to break the glass, that is the question.
At least, that’s the question for Conrad (Matt Czuchry) in Tuesday’s episode of The Resident, as he and Nic (Emily VanCamp) continue to look into Jessie’s (Julianna Guill) death. As they’ve learned, she isn’t the only dialysis patient to die of a pulmonary embolism at Chastain.
And in “Choice Words,” it appears they may have found the cause of the P.E. — but alas, red tape may stop their investigation in its tracks. Conrad has been looking into the recent deaths and found that there’s a safety record for every medication the patients were on except for Hemopleatin. Those types of drugs can increase the risk of clots, but does it increase the risk more than others? He doesn’t know.
Hemopleatin has been the standard of care for anemic patients for the past six months, and there are about 200 patients currently on it. But in order to check their records, they need to submit a request to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which will take months to process with Red Rock in charge.
There is another option, Conrad suggests: Breaking the Glass, a.k.a. viewing a patient’s record deemed confidential. His name would be logged, and “if anyone notices” (which he isn’t terribly worried will happen), he could be fired for accessing records for patients that aren’t his. Nic refuses to let that hang over his head and wants to explore other options first.
(Guy D’Alema/FOX)
Conrad agrees, at least for the time being. But they may have to prepare to take on Red Rock, and Nic wonders what her sister would want her to do. Jessie was fearless, Nic recalls, and she always wanted the truth. Conrad then promises they won’t stop until they get it. And after Nic walks away, he pulls up that patient’s record again and stares at the Break the Glass screen. Will he do it?
It could go either way, but it would be a major risk and he’d be going behind Nic’s back if he does. Considering their relationship is solid now — and executive producer Todd Harthan told TV Insider that they’re showing them “in that pocket of a healthy chapter in their relationship” — we doubt it. But it may at least be an option that remains at the forefront in Conrad’s mind.
The EP also teased that this “mini thriller arc,” which culminates in the midseason finale, “really fuels some of the complications that ultimately affect all of our heroes” and Conrad will turn to “an unlikely ally,” especially with the cracks in his and Devon’s (Manish Datal) relationship at the moment. Perhaps that person will be able to help Conrad in such a way that he won’t have to Break the Glass.
The Resident, Tuesdays, 8/7c, Fox
