Even though Nic has been gone for about five years on The Resident, her presence is still felt, particularly on the midseason finale, which saw her father, Kyle Nevins, arriving at Chastain after a health scare.
This is the first time that anyone has seen Kyle since Nic’s death, including Gigi, which is heartbreaking considering all the strides he made to be a better father to his daughter before her tragic death. He has no established connection with his granddaughter as he turned his back on everyone following Nic’s death.
Kyle simply couldn’t get over the loss of his daughter, and he blamed Conrad for not saving his baby girl. It’s definitely not fair considering that when Nic died, a part of Conrad died as well. Even Gigi informs her grandfather of that, telling him that Conrad “tried” to save Nic and misses her so much.
It’s also nice to see that Conrad doesn’t hold it against Kyle either when he has every right to be mad and hurt by his absence.
Conrad took the high road with Kyle, and their fraught relationship didn’t stop him from showing Gigi pictures of her grandfather because he wanted her to know him, nor did it stop him from doing everything he could to figure out what was causing Kyle’s dangerously low heart rate.
Kyle’s case on The Resident Season 6 Episode 10 brought together some of the best minds Chastain had to offer—Conrad, Pravesh, AJ Austin, and Dr. Yamada. And while there may have been a bit of a power clash between the resident trio and the new guy, ultimately, they all played a role in getting Kyle the necessary care. By the end of the hour, Kyle not only got a diagnosis that would allow him to get his health back, but he got his family back. Some might say Gigi is the best medicine anyone could ask for. The sweet little girl was there for her grandfather the whole time, and she reminded him a lot of Nic, which helped Kyle realize that he has been missing out on her life because of some petty grudge he couldn’t let go of. The truth is, Conrad and the rest of Nic’s friends and co-workers at Chastain did everything in their power to help her, but some cases are too far gone.
Accepting reality is crucial when it comes to the hospital setting. It’s great to be positive, but it’s dangerous when that positivity blinds you to the reality of a situation as it did with the sons of Billie’s (Jessica Lucas) cancer patient.
Billie knew that it wasn’t a good idea to go through with the surgery, and she should have followed her instincts instead of being pressured into it by them. She operated anyway because she wanted to give the patient the best possible outcome, but even then, it was a long shot as the tumor was so heavily entangled within the key blood vessels. Billie was upfront about the high risks, but the sons only wanted the right outcome, and when they didn’t get it and their mother died from post-op complications, they played the blame game.
Grief manifests in many ways—Kyle blamed Conrad and disappeared, but the sons blamed Billie and sought revenge. Their grief turned into anger, which quickly turned into violence. They found Billie’s OR and trashed it, putting another patient in the line of danger, and then they took it a step further when they ambushed her on the staircase and attempted to push her off. Honestly, I can’t imagine what was going through their minds, but I am concerned with the lack of security at Chastain. Why couldn’t the security guard find the runaways without Conrad and Leela’s help? And why did it take security so long to get to that staircase? By the time anyone arrived, both Billie and Conrad sustained some significant injuries.
Thankfully, Conrad knows how to fight, so he had it under control, and Billie was able to hold her own until he got there, but it was terrifying and should have never gotten this far in the first place. Kit needs to step up the manpower to protect her doctors.
The moment was surely traumatizing for Billie, but it also left Conrad shaken up as he was close to losing yet another person he truly cared about. And it didn’t help that the incident came at a time when Nic’s loss felt so real and raw as it bubbled up to the surface with her father’s return.
At this point, he could no longer deny the feelings he had for her when she could slip away at any moment.
As he walked her to the door, she assured him that Nic would’ve been proud of him, and his response made me weak in the knees—”I want you to be proud of me.”
Conrad Hawkins finally laying it all out there! They embraced in a romantic kiss—and while I don’t condone cheating—it felt so right. It sounds cheesy, but I think allowing himself to open up to loving Billie also woke his heart up, which has been closed off and guarded since Nic’s death.
So much about his relationship with Billie feels right, including her sweet connection with Gigi. Cade has tried, but she simply doesn’t have that bond with Gigi. Though it’s through no fault of her own, it’s definitely something that likely swayed Conrad’s decision—the idea that he can still have the family he always wanted with Nic, just slightly different. With Billie, he can still keep Nic’s memory alive as she was one of the only people who knew her just as well as he did. They both loved her, they both love Gigi, and now, they can love each other. It works.
It also helps that AJ Austin primed audiences for the moment when he told Yamada point blank that whether or not Conrad and Billie wake up to the truth or not, they are in love with each other, and that love will always come between their other relationships. Austin will forever be the show’s romantic.
Of course, this means that there’s a hard conversation awaiting Conrad when Cade comes back to town, and it’s likely not something she wants to hear after the weekend she had with her father, Ian (Andrew McCarthy). Conrad has preached honesty in the relationship, but now they are both lying and deceiving each other, and, at this point, it’s probably better if it ends.
The good news is that Ian is in rehab and getting the treatment he needs for his addiction. The bad news is that it’s unclear if the program is working on him or if he’s just charming his way through it in the same way he charmed his way through life to get what he wants.
When it came to the honest therapy session during “family week,” Cade pretty much broke up with her father, informing him that she could no longer be a victim of this disease. Cade has been through the emotional rollercoaster all her life, but she no longer wanted to enable him and lie for him at the expense of her own well-being. Cade’s reaction isn’t totally surprising, but it is a bit puzzling considering her father agreed to rehab because she pushed him to go. It’s hard to tell if Ian is being genuine through his recovery, but I don’t think that it’s the right time to give up on him just yet. She needs to see if he’s going to follow through on everything that he’s promising before making any judgments.
The most heartbreaking storyline involved Leela, who lied to AJ that her van broke down in Savannah when she was really just running away. Padma knew something was wrong when her sister didn’t write back or respond to her calls, and despite everyone advising her to give Leela some space, she couldn’t shake the twintuition. She eventually sent her sister an honest text, along with a photo from their childhood, which will hopefully be what convinces Leela to step off the bridge where she was contemplating ending her life.
It pains me that Leela is going through this all on her own and feels like she has no one to talk to, but it’s also such a harsh look at the realities of postpartum depression and mental health. AJ acknowledged that it’s been a hard few months for Leela, but even he wasn’t aware just how dark the situation had become—and he’s a skilled doctor that you’d expect to pick up on the signs.
I’m hoping that Leela is pulled back from the ledge and finally gets the help she deserves so she can be the mother she’s always wanted to be for those babies.
What did you think of The Resident midseason finale? Are we happy for Billie and Conrad? How will Cade take the news? And will Padma reach Leela in time?
New episodes of The Resident return on January 3, so I’ll see you then, Cravers!