Where is home? That is the question that faced two of our favorite doctors on Transplant Season 1 Episode 7.
While Theo struggled to decide if he wanted his home to be where he grew up or where he is now, Bash struggled to keep Amira and himself under the same roof — or any roof.
These seem like different problems, but they’re not. One is clearly more extreme than the other, but what it comes down to is what makes a place into a home.
Theo: I have two bedrooms.
Bash: Excuse me?
Theo: I know. Mags told me, and you hate that, but just get over it. All right, Amira can have one room, you can be on the couch until you sort things out and uh at least that way you’ll both be under the same roof.
Bash: Honestly, Theo, I couldn’t possibly-
Theo: Bash, I don’t wanna fight you on this, but I will if I have to so just let me help.
Is it just where you hang your hat? A common argument is that home is where your loved ones are.
That’s how Amira felt. She didn’t care where she slept, as long as her brother was sleeping nearby.
We don’t see Amira as much as some of the other characters because she isn’t at the hospital. She’s so young and therefore easy to dismiss, but that girl has seen things. She’s been through a lot, and she knows the value of families.
Bash tries to keep Amira in the dark, but he needs to stop protecting her from how bad things are. She can handle it. As long as they stay together, she’ll be okay.
Theo’s family is his for the taking. He’s so close to getting to move home and to being able to be with those he loves most. We’ve seen how much he wants that. We know he loves his wife and his kids. He misses them a lot. So why is he hesitating?
Mr. Watson: I’m in construction, I work on my feet. I haven’t smoked a day in my life. What is this?
Theo: There’s a few possibilities. But the procedure is fast and non-invasive. When I release the air from around the lung, hopefully, it will re-expand, and you should feel much, much better.
Mr. Watson: You said hopefully. What if it doesn’t?
Theo: Well, if the needle aspiration and pigtail doesn’t work, then you’ll need a chest tube.
Mr. Watson: You do that?
Theo: No, that’s a consult for thoracics.
Mr. Watson: You look like you know what you’re doing. You never know what I’ll get if you send me somewhere else.
Theo: You mean who you’ll get.
He said it was about the sort of cases you see in a hospital versus in a small family practice. That’s probably a part of it. Still, it seems like there’s more to it.
The way he reacted to Mr. Watson, the racist patient, saying that he’s known many people like that growing up was telling. Theo may love his family, but he doesn’t seem so fond of his hometown.
Maybe he felt a little sheltered. He was living in a bubble. Now he’s in the real world, where he can learn, grow, and make a difference. He wants a taste of what life has to offer.
He doesn’t want to sit back and enjoy a predictable job in a small town full of the same people he’s known his whole life. He’s hungry for more.
That’s not a bad thing.
Mel: My dad’s waiting to retire until you take over. We have a plan! A life we dreamed about!
Theo: We made that plan when we were 20.
Mel: Has something changed?
Theo: Just, I don’t know, I stayed close to home for med school, my residency, just lately felt like, maybe there’s room for us to expand a little.
Mel: Are you unhappy? With us?
Theo: No, Mel. Not at all.
Me: Because home is home. That’ll never change. Not for me. Not for the girls. I don’t want it to.
The bad thing is that he and his wife aren’t on the same page. They love each other. That’s clear. But that isn’t always enough.
One of them will have to compromise, and then they’ll have to see if their marriage can survive because a compromise that big might breed resentment.
These problems aren’t insurmountable if they both put in the work. However, the show just began, and their relationship already has these cracks. Are the writers just trying to create drama, or is this the show’s way of making Theo single? It’s early to tell yet.
Theo is a good guy, and he and Mel deserve to be happy. Here’s hoping they make it work, and that Theo doesn’t outgrow the relationship the way he’s outgrown their dreams from their twenties.
Theo isn’t the only one hungry for life. Selena’s case was fascinating. I’ve heard of cases like that before, people who can’t feel pain, and it sounds great in theory until you realize how useful pain really is.
June: Okay, I get it. Your mother is … She’s super intense. But my concern is you and your fever.
Selena: You don’t get it. I’ve never dated. I didn’t have a friend that wasn’t my sister until I was 17 years old. When I moved out, everything changed. I went on a hike last weekend. Can you imagine what she would say if she found out that I did that?
It was easy to sympathize both with Selena and with Mrs. Ruiz. It’s natural to feel protective when somebody you love is vulnerable.
Over-protection can be stiffling, though. Selena and Mrs. Ruiz came to a compromise in the end.
It”s a shame it wasn’t Theo’s case, as it was, in some ways, applicable to his own life. Though that would have robbed the audience of Theo owning Mr. Watson in that epic scene. Theo is an ally in the best way.
Theo: You’re willing to risk your own health, instead of having someone else treat you?
Mr. Watson: I have a right to decide who my doctor is.
Theo: No, George. You have a right to treatment. And we’re offering you that. Now, if you decide not to accept it. We’ll discharge you, you can go home and let your lungs fail. Otherwise, someone will be down shortly to take you to thoracics. So go, don’t go. It’s your call.
His and Bashir’s bromance is also adorable. He’s just letting them live with him, refusing to take no for an answer.
And do you get the feeling that’s he’s really going to like having the company? I look forward to seeing the three of them become a weird little family.
Mrs. Ruiz: I know I can be overbearing.
June: We have protocols to follow, even for rare disorders.
Mrs. Ruiz: See, that’s the thing. Most CIPA kids are lucky to make it to 25. Where you see a rare disorder, I see Selena at five, burning the flesh off her hand on the stove, or walking on a broken ankle for a week without even knowing until it wouldn’t hold her anymore. I just want her safe and sound.
June: I want the same thing, Mrs. Ruiz. I do. But Selena’s 20. Okay? So her medical decisions are in her hands.
It’s good Theo swooped in.
It’s good Mags told Theo, and that Bash told Mags.
I wasn’t expecting him to do that. He’s too proud and self-sacrificing for his own good. He’s got such a good heart, but he needs to learn to accept help.
It’s harder to accept help if you aren’t used to people offering. Bash saw another example of someone who will always look at him sideways courtesy of the delightful Mr Waston. I get prefering one doctor to another, but if you go to a hospital, you take who they give you.
There was a lot of good Bash stuff this episode, as there often is; he is the star, after all. It felt more Theo-centric to me though. I feel like the writers really wanted us to learn about him this go-around.
Dr. Bishop: Well this patient doesn’t have any insurance. We’ll cover the emergent costs if we need to, but do you do you know if he even can pay for surgery? Or, ideed, if he wants it?
Mags: Dr. Bishop, I really think in this case, I –
Dr. Bishop: I think you’re trying to solve a problem that he might not want solved Dr. Leblanc. Run the antibiotics. If tht clears the abscess … Well, go.
We’ve learned a lot about the lives of the male doctors outside the hospital, but we still don’t know where Mags or June lays their heads.
We do know about the incredibly shippable June and Lou, so that’s something about her home life. It would be nice to learn a little more, though.
As for Mags, there’s a lot we still don’t know about her, like how she got into medicine, or what chronic condition she has. Hopefully, we’ll get a Mags centric episode very soon.
We did learn a little about Dr. Bishop, though it was nothing we couldn’t have predicted. His son is estranged because he was too busy being a doctor to be a good father. It’s a tale as old as time. It was a nice scene, though.
Speaking of predictable, they’ve been dropping a lot of hints about Bishop’s concussion. Who thinks he’ll end up on the operating table again before the end of Transplant Season 1? Possibly, that’ll be how the season ends. Hands?
Claire: I have something to tell you.
Dr. Bishop: Mm-hmm.
Claire: I left Eric.
Dr. Bishop: You left your husband?
Claire: A few months ago.
Dr. Bishop: A few months ago? And you didn’t say anything?
Claire: Well, it wasn’t about you. And I need some time to figure out my life on my own.
If Dr. Bishop’s goal was to get all his ducks in a row before his final bow, he’s making strides. Still, he’s got a few stray ducks. Claire, for example, left her husband months ago, but aside from dinner and sex on Transplant Season 1 Episode 6, she doesn’t want to persue things with him.
She needs time to get her shit together. I get it.
But if she knew that was the case, maybe she shouldn’t have hooked up with him. She had left her husband before that. She knew where she stood.
Speaking of sex, are we getting a follow-up with Vivian? They interacted, but there was no allusion to what went down between them. I get that they had other priorities, but was it a one-time thing, or is it going to be a thing?
I’d assumed, going in, that Bash was going to be with Mags. I think a lot of people did.
Bash: When was the last time you took a day off?
Mags: Um, last week or the week before? I don’t know.
Bash: If you did have one, and you were forced not to work on it, what would you do?
Mags: Oh my god. I’d, um, see the friends that I’ve been ignoring since my residency started? Um, I’d read a book that isn’t a medical text. i’d drive to the bluffs, blare out loud music.
It could have been a one-time thing, or it could be Vivian’s the temporary love-interest, where Mags is the long term love-interest, or Vivian could be the one we should invest in. Right now, it’s very unclear.
I’m cool with both, because I like Mags and Vivian. Both have an interesting dynamic with Bash. Still, some clarity would be appreciated.
Either way, Vivian was useful. That story with Harmony and Mr. Shao was just gut-wrenching. How horrible would it be to have your child ripped away from you like that? At least, now they can have a relationship.
Lou and June seem to be doing okay. Who would have thought they’d be the healthy ‘ship?
The more the show progresses, the more I grow to care for the doctors of this Toronto hospital. The patients also had compelling cases to pull on the heartstrings. Overall, I’d say another good episode for a good show.
Mrs. Ruiz: Why is it so hard for her to let me in?
June: I know, I mean. Maybe, maybe because you’re so focused on keeping Selena from dying, when all she really wants to do is live, you know?
So, what do you think, Fanatics? Will Theo and his wife work things out? How will the Hameds and Theo deal with living together? Is Dr. Bishop safe? And what about all the shipping?
Let us know in the comments section, and remember, you can watch Transplant online right here via TV Fanatic.
Transplant airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
Leora W is a staff writer for TV Fanatic..