Knowing that AJ’s mother was going to die didn’t lessen the blow on The Resident Season 5 Episode 19.
As we lived out Carol’s final days, we experienced the same pain, agony, and heartache right along with AJ.
It didn’t help that we knew it was coming. And knowing the signs to look out for — feeling much better, the unexpected talks, and planning a trip — only made it worse.
However, it was nice that AJ had someone on hand to guide him through the process and ensure that he was going to be okay at the end of it.
The hospice nurse was obviously there to help Carol in her final days, but she was also a source of support for AJ, who was going through this big moment alone and needed reassurance.
AJ is a doctor, so he’s programmed to fight till the very end to save a life. Letting go was a foreign concept to him, and it was even harder to convince him to let go of someone that he personally cared about.
Accepting that you cannot control a situation and save someone from death is not an easy feat. He was feeling hopeless.
And yet, it was the only thing AJ could do for her.
Carol was at the end of the road, and she finally accepted it. She needed her son to do the same.
There was something so beautiful about the fact that her death was ordinary. There was no big talk or big moment.
Even though they had the luxury of saying goodbye, Carol died peacefully in her sleep.
And it was beautiful because that’s real life. There are so many times where TV shows exaggerate a death simply because they can, but in this case, the fact that it happened so naturally and quietly was such a reflection of reality.
AJ was there in her final moments, but he didn’t even know when her final moments were as she slipped away from him.
You can anticipate a death and still be utterly and completely destroyed by the moment when it happens.
For AJ, I don’t think the reality ever really sunk in until she was no longer there and the silence crept in.
At that point, AJ realized that he wanted to start a family just as his mother suggested. And he also had the perfect situation fall right into his lap with Padman and Leela.
I know that he made the decision from a place of grief, but I think AJ is level-headed enough to stick by it.
Padma asked him to be the sperm donor that fertilizes Leela’s egg, and he was hesitant on signing off on it until he realized that without his mother, he was completely alone in this world.
When he finally agreed to it, he said there was one stipulation: he wanted to be more than a donor — he wants to be a father.
This likely isn’t what Padma had in mind when she propositioned AJ, but honestly, I hope she takes him up on the offer.
AJ would be a wonderful father, and it’s not exactly an odd situation considering the two of them did have a fling.
Padma has men lining up left and right to father her child.
Of course, when Pravesh suggested that he would be the donor, it was slightly more strange considering he’s dating Leela.
While the child would technically be their DNA, it would belong to Padma, so I understand why Leela shot it down and said it would make all of her relationships, including the one with her sister and the one with him, too complicated.
Though, it definitely raises a concern about where Pravesh is at. Leela is thinking about her career right now, first and foremost, but Pravesh clearly wants to start a family.
Will this break them? Will Leela realize that she also wants to start a family?
Pravesh’s wild suggestion about fathering his girlfriend’s sister’s baby should likely be chalked up to his lack of sleep.
Pravesh, Conrad, and Dr. Bonner teamed up to treat a patient that tested positive for rabies.
And after witnessing that, I’m absolutely certain no one ever wants to get rabies. The poor patient was near death as the virus was spreading before they could even control it.
Whereas AJ’s storyline was about accepting death and letting go of situations beyond your control, Pravesh and Conrad’s lesson was all about never giving up and finding a solution.
The duo ran every hypothetical situation in hopes of treating their patient knowing that time was of the essence. The moment the virus got to the brain, the patient was as good as dead.
In a miraculous feat, they were able to reverse the virus and save the patient after several strenuous days and a lot of effort.
With most rabies patients succumbing to their injury, he was pretty much a walking miracle, which is just a testament to how incredible Pravesh and Conrad are when they work side-by-side.
Elsewhere, Dr. Bell was wreaking havoc on bad doctors in Atlanta, the medical board, and anyone who turned a blind eye to malpractice in order to turn a quick buck.
Bell, who once abused his white coat privileges, decided to burn the whole rigged system to the ground in order to get justice for the patients who were wrong, to hold those who were responsible accountable, and to redeem the turst in the medical system.
And he put his name and reputation on the line to do so.
In the words of Kit Voss… “that’s my man.”
Honestly, I can’t even express how proud I am of how far Bell has come. He’s fighting for the little people — money and reputation be damned.
He didn’t even stop at the medical board, he even fired shots at the governor.
Obviously, his stint won’t sit well with everyone he’s destroyed, but it will hopefully bring about real change.
He tried to go through the proper channels and get everything squared away the right way, but when he was ignored, pushed aside, and silenced, he leaked it to the press knowing that it would be the only way that corruption would ever be exposed and handled.
Now, let’s hope the blowback isn’t too bad on Bell and Chastain in general.
It also seems that now that Bell has MS, he’s throwing caution to the wind and fixing the mistakes of his past.
What did you think of the episode? Let us know in the comments below!