‘The Resident’ Romances: Looking Ahead to Season 5
The Resident ended its fourth season with everyone, for the most part, in a good place. Sure, there are some lingering questions — Will Dr. Barrett Cain (Morris Chestnut) leave Chastain? How will Dr. Billie Sutton (Jessica Lucas) handle meeting the son she had after being raped as a young girl? — but we’re feeling pretty hopeful, especially when it comes to the relationships.
After all, Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) and nurse practitioner Nic Nevin (Emily VanCamp) kicked off the season with their wedding, while Dr. Irving Feldman (Tasso Feldman) and nurse Jessica Moore (Jessica Miesel) tied the knot in a much smaller, intimate ceremony. In the finale, Nic gave birth to her and Conrad’s daughter, while Dr. Jake Wong (Conrad Ricamora) and his husband Gregg (Christopher J. Hanke), after a heartbreaking bump in the road, finally adopted Sammie (Chedi Chang). (Plus, there’s good news: Sammie’s surgeries were successful.)
Meanwhile, after spending the season wondering when something would happen between Drs. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal) and Leela Devi (Anuja Joshi), they finally kissed in the finale. And with Joshi a series regular for next season (via Deadline), there’s no way that was a one-time thing.
But what about Drs. Kit Voss (Jane Leeves) and Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood)? And how about the broken-hearted Dr. AJ Austin (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) after his girlfriend, Dr. Mina Okafor (Shaunette Renée Wilson) returned to Nigeria?
We take a look at where all these relationships left off in Season 4 and speculate about what could be next below.
The Resident, Season 5, Fall 2021, Fox
Conrad and Nic
Where we left off: The season began with the couple getting married and ended with them bringing their newborn daughter home.
What could be next: It’ll all depend on when Season 5 picks up. Will there be a time jump and will both be back at work already? Will one of them still be home with Georgiana Grace? Whatever the case, we have a feeling that Conrad and Nic are going to remain the stable couple they’ve become. After all, there’s plenty of drama to be found in the other relationships and from external forces for them to deal with together.
Devon and Leela
Where we left off: After co-creator Amy Holden Jones teased back after the premiere that Leela would be a new love interest for Devon, fans watched the two bond once she was introduced. It wasn’t until near the end of the finale that the two finally kissed.
What could be next: “We love them together, and we’re going to tell a really fun story in Season 5 between them,” co-showrunner and executive producer Peter Elkoff said after the finale. “There’s going to be lots of medicine and romance.” We don’t expect it to be smooth sailing, but we do hope that it results in happiness for both of them, especially after we watched Devon lose his father at the beginning of Season 4.
Kit and Bell
Where we left off: These two continue to do that dance where we’re not quite sure if they’re ever going to get together and we think it’s just a matter of time before they do. After all, we saw Kit joining Bell for dinner with his estranged stepson Jake and Gregg and she was there when the couple adopted Sammie.
What could be next: It sounds like that dance will continue, given Elkoff’s “We’re going to leave that up in the air.” We just hope we see some sort of progress forward at this point.
AJ and Mina
Where we left off: Rather than be deported, with her visa expiring, Mina chose to return to Nigeria on her own. AJ was supposed to go with her — until his mother’s cancer diagnosis. The two stayed in touch via text.
What could be next: A breakup seemed inevitable the moment Mina left and AJ stayed, so we expect that to be made official on-screen in Season 5.
Cain and Rose
Where we left off: Cain showed his softer side — he’s human! — when he fell for Rose (Cara Ricketts), a fellow patient in physical therapy suffering from sickle cell disease. And to everyone’s surprise, he stayed by her side during her treatments (she was cured!). But with a job offer from Johns Hopkins, he may be leaving.
What could be next: It’s unclear how much we’ll see of Cain — Chestnut is a series regular on the new Fox drama Our Kind of People, airing after The Resident on Tuesdays — but we do hope that Rose remains part of his life because she was good for him.
Jessica and Feldman
Where we left off: The couple married without any of their friends present, in an aquarium, but it was fitting considering the elaborate, public proposal.
What could be next: Their relationship plays out mostly in the background, and we expect that to remain the case. But we also expect to see a couple more sweet moments between them, as we’ve gotten (like their wedding and the time they’ve taken away from work in the hospital).
Jake and Gregg
Where we left off: The couple adopted Sammie!
What could be next: With the plan for Ricamora to continue to recur as he did in Season 4, we expect to see more of Jake and Gregg — and their family that now includes their daughter. “I like to think it’ll be some smooth sailing,” Elkoff said. We’ve seen nothing to suggest any drama in Jake and Gregg’s relationship, so all we can do is hope that remains true.
