S04.E01: Frontline (1)

[helenamonster]

Quote

Dr. Murphy treats a patient who has an illness that is not only unpredictable in nature, but also unlike anything he or the team has seen before. Dr. Claire Brown continues to work through her grief, still reeling from Dr. Neil Melendez's death.

Original airdate: 11/2/20

[Avabelle]

I’m looking forward to this being back. Having said that I’m in the minority who doesn’t adore St Claire so I’m not looking forward to more Of the depressing drama that centers around her. I think Beau Garrett is back for this episode too.

[greekmom]

Goddam it. All the feels.  Way better season opener with covid related stories than This is Us.  

I felt so bad for all the doctors.  I knew the lady that came in when Morgan examined her and asked if she had covid and Morgan said not... I was yelling at the tv "She has covid!!!"

The fact they can't get PPE equipment, the poor pregnant woman (she better make it through!!!), the rumors, the doctors trying whatever they can to ease suffering and hoping that people get through it and last but not least the celebration when a patient gets well.

Damn...... just damn.

[mtlchick]

(Punches hole in Lochlyn Munro's "I will be on ALL OF THE VANCOUVER SHOT SHOWS!" card.)  

[Annber03]

Welcome back, "Good Doctor"! And what a note to return on, too, huh? 

"Who's your least favorite Yankee?"

"Uh, I never cared for Paul Revere." 

I LOL'd.

Whew. That was...intense, to say the very least. I appreciate the message in place of the opening theme, though, and I also appreciate them showing just how serious this illness is, and the stress and struggles the doctors went through (and are still going through). This is one big reason why I think it's understandable and important for some shows to touch on the pandemic. It's necessary to see and hear these stories. I really hope things turn out okay with the other patients still struggling. Everything with the mother and her baby broke my heart. 

I also appreciated Lim just telling that one woman to, "Put on your damn mask" :p. And I don't blame Claire for deciding to try and find that necklace for the woman who lost her mom. I'd probably do the same. I didn't really think about how people's stuff would've been stored away like that, but given all the unknowns about the virus at the time, it makes total sense that they did that. 

Interesting that she's having visions of Melendez, too. I like her and Lim bonding as they mourn his death-their discussion about grieving then forgetting versus grieving and moving on nicely dovetailed and tied well into people's struggles as they lost loved ones to the virus, eerily enough. 

So Shaun and Lea are struggling with being separated, while Glassman and Debbie struggle with being too close. Interesting way to explore both of those extremes. I get Debbie wanting to just kinda try and take her mind off all of this, but I sympathize with Glassman's frustration, too. Lea bringing that mask for Shaun at the end was nice. 

Here's hoping for some happy outcomes in the second half of this story, for everyone. Look forward to seeing how this season will play out. 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Annber03

[Driad]

An effective reminder of how things were this spring, and how they could be again if people are not careful.

Lea and Debbie were irritating. It's not about you, deal with it.

The "we need X, would you trade some for Y?" conversations reminded us of MASH.

[Annber03]

7 minutes ago, Driad said:

Lea and Debbie were irritating. It's not about you, deal with it.

Did fit well with one of the many issues with this virus, though-people not taking it seriously enough and complaining about trivial things and all. I do think Lea adjusted to the situation a little more easily than Debbie did, though. She clearly wanted to be with Shaun, too, but she did also understand the importance of distancing. 

[thuganomics85]

If nothing else, this is going to be an interesting show for me, since it is the first one I'm watching that is filming after the initial shutdowns, so the way things are going to be filmed and made will be understandably different.  Luckily for this show, being set in a hospital gives them an easy way to have the actors wear masks and characters not interact with others ones that they don't need to, but even then, I noticed a few different minor details, like how even though there were still a few background characters/extras, there wasn't as many as there was in the past, and it also felt like there were more scenes with only two characters interacting.  It will be interesting to see how this (and other shows) go forward, but, again, at least this show has the advantage with its setting.

Misgivings over last season's finale aside, I thought this was a solid premiere, and thought they addressed the COVID-19 world in a timely and effective way.  Really shows how the lack of preparation and information really put medical workers at a disadvantage, and they were pretty much flying by the seat of their pants at times, despite their best effort.  And, sadly, we might see more deaths that would have been preventable, had more assistance been available.  It might have gotten close to the show's typical overly-sappy and dramatic territory, but I'm glad it is being addressed.

All the cases were good at showing the different ways COVID-19 can effective everyone.  Of course, I wasn't surprised that Claire's patient would end up dying, because bad things always happen to Claire first.  But I'm curious to see if they will go through with killing both Park and Shaun's patients as well.  Good seeing Lochlyn Munro and Carly Pope in their respected roles.

I do love the idea of Park and Shaun being roommates.  Even if Park apparently sucks at making pancakes!

Not wild about either Shaun/Lea or Glassman/Debbie, but I guess their stuff works with showing how relationships can be tested in different ways, with the former dealing with being apart, while the latter is actually struggling due to being stuck in the house together for too long.  Actually surprised they remembered Andrews is married as well!

Jessica/Beau Garrett's appearance was extremely brief.  I wonder if she'll factor in more next week.

Nicholas Gonzalez's name in the credits pretty much spoiled that we were either going to be getting a Ghost or Hallucination Melendez, but it was still nice seeing him (even though I still think it was dumb killing him off.)

Episode ends with both Reznick and Nurse Deena possibly being infected.  Since only one of them is a regular, I'm quite worried for the other one!

[Diana Berry]

The ghost of Dr. Melendez.  They must be sorry they cut him.

[Annber03]

12 minutes ago, thuganomics85 said:

Of course, I wasn't surprised that Claire's patient would end up dying, because bad things always happen to Claire first.  But I'm curious to see if they will go through with killing both Park and Shaun's patients as well.  

I also wonder if they'll discuss the whole thing about how this virus is hitting minorities especially hard, either in the next episode or if they make any references to the pandemic in future ones. That'd be another worthwhile aspect to bring up. 

[bros402]

This was a good episode. I liked how they addressed it - although Glassman's wife should be a bit more understanding because of his history of cancer. He isn't super far off from chemo - his immune system could still be a bit weak, so she shouldn't be going out to the fish market or walking with friends.

I like that someone in the writers room is a fan of The Good Place (the person that won the poker game Glassman was playing was GoodPlaceFan, followed by some numbers)

[greekmom]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Nicholas Gonzalez's name in the credits pretty much spoiled that we were either going to be getting a Ghost or Hallucination Melendez, but it was still nice seeing him (even though I still think it was dumb killing him off.)

I cannot like this enough. I loved Melendez and was hoping the death was a dream or something (ala Dallas).

Damn you show. You could have kept him.

[meatball77]

I'm glad we got a pandemic episode and I hope they continue to address it throughout the season because it's the new reality in hospitals.  It would be absurd if they suddenly went to pretending there's no virus and staying unmasked unless the show takes place in the year 2023.  A regular drama ignoring the Virus is much different than a medical show.  We'll have to see how all the medical shows handle it.

[Spartan Girl]

Oy this was so hard to watch. WEAR YOUR DAMN MASKS!

[Lady Calypso]

So....against my better judgement, I decided to watch. I told myself last season that I was done but obviously things have changed and I was curious to see how things played out from the events of last season.

Clearly they already regret killing off Melendez (maybe due to the fan backlash) with how quickly they brought him back as a Ghost. I wasn't mad to see him appear. I just feel bad for the actor who had to return after being let go for creative reasons. 

The inclusion of COVID-19 was decent. It's a scary time we're living in, and this episode reflected that well. No surprise Debbie annoyed the shit out of me with her hypocrisy. But I guess it's good that they have Debbie with Glassman, especially with them being a real life couple, so I imagine we'll continue to see more of them together this season as Glassman stays home to work. 

Lea....was alright for me. Shaun has been pissing me off way more, but I also understood their issues and why it was so difficult for Shaun to adjust to a new situation where he can't physically be with Lea. I don't like them as a couple, but Lea as a character was ok.

My favourite scene was Andrews going home and what HIS new normal was like. It was so utterly depressing and showed that hospital workers have a new normal as well. 

I'm still curious to how they deal with Park leaving. He can't stay with Shaun forever but they've also written him into a corner where he either has to rescind his move or leave at some point. 

 

[A.Ham]

I wasn't sure I was going to watch this season after the season finale either, I was so disgusted with them having gotten rid of Melendez. I could have sworn I had deleted it from my DVR, but was surprised to see it on the channel guide as an upcoming recording.

I was also surprised at how much I liked it. And it was amazing to hear doctors say things that we now know to be untrue (hindsight is 2020 and all that). One that stuck out to me was the thinking that children/babies do not get it--at my job we learned of a case for an infant--6 months old, as well as many children. So no, babies are not immune to this.

Also, weeks into the shutdown and people are walking around maskless in the "non-covid" wards. Perhaps that was to indicate the short supply of PPE. But my recollection of the time (early May) around here (NY/NJ area) was different--I had to go take my mother to the ER for an urgent non-covid issue and everyone had masks, thankfully. Last place I wanted to be in. But then again, we had seen the horrific refrigerated trucks outside the hospitals in NY and everyone was much more vigilant then. 

The hospital having less people did track for me; in those initial months, people really did not want to go to hospitals unless they really needed it. 

[cinsays]

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Did fit well with one of the many issues with this virus, though-people not taking it seriously enough and complaining about trivial things and all. I do think Lea adjusted to the situation a little more easily than Debbie did, though. She clearly wanted to be with Shaun, too, but she did also understand the importance of distancing. 

Yeah, I was hoping we would never see Debbie again and this just reinforced that feeling for me. But great and touching episode.

[Driad]

Medical N95 masks have elastic that goes behind the ears, but if you make cloth masks (or alter existing masks) you can have elastic or ties that go around the back of the head and neck. Many people find this more comfortable.  I made masks this year for community groups, using a back tie design.

[rmontro]

All right, this is driving me crazy.  What is the name of the actor who played the male Covid patient, the guy who kept his wife on the phone with him all the time?  I know I've seen him before, and I can't figure out where.

[Fable]

Well, this was a little close to home and made me a bit sad, but I thought it was realistic and poignant.  Maybe I should have waited a day or two to watch this because I was really trying to wrap myself in a bubble today and pretend everything was Zen for a while.  And of course Claire lost her patient, because you know, why not?  I also never need to see Shaun and Lea navigating phone sex, ever again. 

[methodwriter85]

22 minutes ago, rmontro said:

All right, this is driving me crazy.  What is the name of the actor who played the male Covid patient, the guy who kept his wife on the phone with him all the time?  I know I've seen him before, and I can't figure out where.

Lochlyn Munro. He is the quintessential "Hey, it's that guy" of television shows that are filmed in Canada.

[rmontro]

57 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

Lochlyn Munro. He is the quintessential "Hey, it's that guy" of television shows that are filmed in Canada.

Okay, thanks.  I looked at the beginning credits to try to figure out who he was, and I saw that name, but I thought it must be a girl's name.

As for the episode, it was pretty good.  Brought back some memories of the early days of the pandemic.  Although I don't care if I never see another "zoom call" screen on TV again.

Am I supposed to feel sorry for Shaun because he can't have sex with his hottie girlfriend?  Meh.

Nice to see Dr. Melendez on the show, even if it was just as a ghost.  Maybe they should keep featuring him on the show, and work him more and more into the show.  And then eventually everybody forgets that he's dead so he comes back to life.  Then in five seasons they can kill him off again.

[Lsk02]

4 hours ago, rmontro said:

All right, this is driving me crazy.  What is the name of the actor who played the male Covid patient, the guy who kept his wife on the phone with him all the time?  I know I've seen him before, and I can't figure out where.

I know him best from Dead Man on Campus, Scary Movie, and A Night At the Roxbury (please excuse my taste in late 90s movies), but he has 249 IMDb credits, so you really could have seen him in anything. 

[greekmom]

11 minutes ago, Lsk02 said:

I know him best from Dead Man on Campus, Scary Movie, and A Night At the Roxbury (please excuse my taste in late 90s movies), but he has 249 IMDb credits, so you really could have seen him in anything. 

He had a promising career when he started in Northwood back in the early 90s (Vancouver's version of Degrassi) . Guess he does better as "that guy" now.

[toomuchtv]

It was good, but still feels too soon. I know it’s realistic, but .... 

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, toomuchtv said:

It was good, but still feels too soon. I know it’s realistic, but .... 

I certainly wasn't sitting around hoping for some Covid episodes, but really they couldn't ignore it.  

[The Wild Sow]

10 hours ago, rmontro said:

All right, this is driving me crazy.  What is the name of the actor who played the male Covid patient, the guy who kept his wife on the phone with him all the time?  I know I've seen him before, and I can't figure out where.

He’s Betty’s Dad Hal Cooper on Riverdale.

[methodwriter85]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

I certainly wasn't sitting around hoping for some Covid episodes, but really they couldn't ignore it.  

I can't even imagine how New Amsterdam is going to cover it. They are at Ground Zero as it's set in New York at a hospital mostly aimed towards minorities. Anyway, I thought this was solid, and I was someone who was planning to drop the show after they killed off Melendez. The moment where Claire sees the bags of the belongings of Covid19 victims was really touching. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by methodwriter85

[bros402]

16 hours ago, A.Ham said:

I wasn't sure I was going to watch this season after the season finale either, I was so disgusted with them having gotten rid of Melendez. I could have sworn I had deleted it from my DVR, but was surprised to see it on the channel guide as an upcoming recording.

I was also surprised at how much I liked it. And it was amazing to hear doctors say things that we now know to be untrue (hindsight is 2020 and all that). One that stuck out to me was the thinking that children/babies do not get it--at my job we learned of a case for an infant--6 months old, as well as many children. So no, babies are not immune to this.

Also, weeks into the shutdown and people are walking around maskless in the "non-covid" wards. Perhaps that was to indicate the short supply of PPE. But my recollection of the time (early May) around here (NY/NJ area) was different--I had to go take my mother to the ER for an urgent non-covid issue and everyone had masks, thankfully. Last place I wanted to be in. But then again, we had seen the horrific refrigerated trucks outside the hospitals in NY and everyone was much more vigilant then. 

The hospital having less people did track for me; in those initial months, people really did not want to go to hospitals unless they really needed it. 

Keep in mind, the furthest this episode got was 5 weeks into the lockdowns - CA started it March 19th - so by the end of the episode we were in April

58 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I can't even imagine how New Amsterdam is going to cover it. They are at Ground Zero as it's set in New York at a hospital mostly aimed towards minorities. Anyway, I thought this was solid, and I was someone who was planning to drop the show after they killed off Melendez. The moment where Claire sees the bags of the belongings of Covid19 victims was really touching. 

Remember how New Amsterdam didn't air an episode last season because it involved a mysterious disease like COVID?

[mtlchick]

11 hours ago, bros402 said:

Remember how New Amsterdam didn't air an episode last season because it involved a mysterious disease like COVID?

And in an ironic twist, Daniel Dae Kim who was guest starring on New Amsterdam AND is a producer on this one, got hit with it while filming said episode. 

 

I gave up on this show midway through last season...not enough time, had my own medical issues and it was getting soooo slow.  And I figured with Melendez gone, I wouldn't be back. 

 But with most shows waiting to come back, I had time and I watched.  And I was pleasantly surprised on how much I "liked it"  (not that you want to like anything with COVID these days but you get my point.)  However, still not feeling Shaun and Lea together.  

[Avabelle]

I’m not buying him at all with Lea. There’s just no chemistry and the relationship feels like more of a Older sister/kid brother vibe. Or maybe the crush a kid has on his cool babysitter. 

I didn’t really get why they even bothered to promote Beau Garretts return. It was the most irrelevant cameo ever. I wouldn’t have even recognised her only id read the article on tv line. 

Claire continues to drag me down. Didn’t appreciate her snapping at Sean and Morgan for “enjoying“ the pandemic. I know Tensions were high but there’s a vibe off Her where it’s like she thinks she’s the only one who cares and empathises with patients. 

 

[SunnyBeBe]

4 hours ago, Avabelle said:

I’m not buying him at all with Lea. There’s just no chemistry and the relationship feels like more of a Older sister/kid brother vibe. Or maybe the crush a kid has on his cool babysitter. 

I didn’t really get why they even bothered to promote Beau Garretts return. It was the most irrelevant cameo ever. I wouldn’t have even recognised her only id read the article on tv line. 

Claire continues to drag me down. Didn’t appreciate her snapping at Sean and Morgan for “enjoying“ the pandemic. I know Tensions were high but there’s a vibe off Her where it’s like she thinks she’s the only one who cares and empathises with patients. 

 

Sean and Lea .....so off. .creepy vibes. Sean like a petchulant child about sex again and his cupboards. It’s painful. 
 

I found Melendez ghosts insulting to the viewers. Those writers suck. I don’t think the show can fix what’s wrong with it. 

[woodstock]

On 11/3/2020 at 9:07 AM, Lady Calypso said:

My favourite scene was Andrews going home and what HIS new normal was like. It was so utterly depressing and showed that hospital workers have a new normal as well. 

This was the scene that really got to me.

Still not feeling Shaun and Lea but overall this was a good season premiere.

[rmontro]

19 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

He’s Betty’s Dad Hal Cooper on Riverdale.

That's where I know him from!  I've seen him on several different things, but that's what I was associating his face with.  Silly show, Riverdale, but I find it entertaining.   

[kicotan]

2 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

Sean and Lea .....so off. .creepy vibes. Sean like a petchulant child about sex again and his cupboards. It’s painful. 

I cringed watching the interactions between them.  Especially when it came to trying to figure out what in the hell Lea’s character could possibly find sexually attractive about Sean’s character behaving like a junior high school age adolescent.

On 11/3/2020 at 6:07 AM, Lady Calypso said:

My favourite scene was Andrews going home and what HIS new normal was like. It was so utterly depressing and showed that hospital workers have a new normal as well. 

Indeed!  Reduced to the isolation of a cot and card table in the garage...sad.

[CarpeFelis]

On 11/2/2020 at 8:24 PM, Driad said:

An effective reminder of how things were this spring, and how they could be again if people are not careful.

Lea and Debbie were irritating. It's not about you, deal with it.

The "we need X, would you trade some for Y?" conversations reminded us of MASH.

Yes! I immediately flashed to Klinger’s wheeling and dealing. Almost imagined Lim in the crazy outfits and makeup he’d wear in his never-ending quest for a Section 8.

Normally Lea and Debbie both irritate the living hell out of me, but in this episode Lea was being fairly sensible about the virus and willing to respect Shaun’s wishes about not getting together in person. Debbie OTOH demonstrated every stereotypically annoying behavior of an idiot who acts like the virus doesn’t exist whenever she feels like it. She also seems incapable of giving her spouse any space whatsoever, even when he’s IN THE MIDDLE OF A HOSPITAL BOARD MEETING, FFS. She and Glassman have never seemed compatible to me and COVID just makes it even more obvious. When she stole Glassman’s nightstand I almost hoped he’d grab the lamp off it and hit her over the head with it, THAT’S how freaking annoying she is. “You’d rather play poker online with your friends than be with me?” I’d rather have a root canal than spend two minutes with her!

LOL’d at Shaun and Lea’s attempt to have phone sex. Given what a literal thinker he is, that went about as well as I figured it would.

Nice to see even a small cameo by Melendez, but I am SO disappointed Nick Gonzalez doesn’t have a new series...

Oh, and Lim rocks! “Put on your damn mask.”

[rmontro]

9 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

LOL’d at Shaun and Lea’s attempt to have phone sex. Given what a literal thinker he is, that went about as well as I figured it would.

Might have helped if she would have showed him some skin.

[bros402]

I enjoy Shaun and Lea together, but the relationship just feels weird. Definitely more of a sibling vibe than a romance vibe.

[gail56]

I am also one of those who wasn't going to watch anymore because they killed off Melendez. Then I saw it recorded on my DVR and decided to check the thread here to see what everyone thought.  Decided to watch and agree this was  a very well done episode! So for now they won we back. Good to see Melendez and hopefully he hangs around in ghost form for awhile!

[rmontro]

5 hours ago, gail56 said:

Good to see Melendez and hopefully he hangs around in ghost form for awhile!

I can't help but wonder if Covid resulted in less acting opportunities, which freed him up to do more appearances on the show.  I mean if they're going to keep him around as a ghost anyway, why kill him off?

[jabRI]

I think we need to give Debbie a break here.  As much as she can come across as just annoying (90% of the time, granted), I think this episode showed an interesting aspect to how extroverts are not dealing well with the pandemic.  Introverts are just fine working from home and only going out as needed, but for extroverts like her it's a true, physical challenge to stay in place and stay away from people. It's something we don't hear about and needs to be acknowledged.

[Madding crowd]

I agree about Debbie, I have a terrible time being house bound. And experts have always said it was OK to get outside and take walks. She said she had a mask and was six feet away from her friend. All anyone can do is take walks and try to think of home projects like cooking or decorating.

[Avabelle]

Plus I didn’t think she was asking too much asking Glassy to have a lovely dinner she’d cooked for them both. I thought he was an asshole about it. 

[mtlchick]

On 11/5/2020 at 3:15 PM, rmontro said:

I can't help but wonder if Covid resulted in less acting opportunities, which freed him up to do more appearances on the show.  I mean if they're going to keep him around as a ghost anyway, why kill him off?

More to the point, all actors coming to Canada must quarantine for 2 weeks, so I’m hoping the show made it worth his time. 

[Pepper the Cat]

As a front line worker I was in tears right from the start with the message about wearing your mask.

The bits about proning the people with Covid were very accurate so cudos to the writers for that.

The part about staff on the non-Covid floors not wearing masks did not sit well with me. 
The hospital I work at has had everyone picking up a mask on entrance to the building and wearing it for their whole shift. No matter what your role. Now, I am Canadian and work at a hospital hit very hard from SARS so it is possible that my hospital is just much more cautious.

overall, a very good episode. I hope the next one follows up on pregnant lady and guy with the wife on FaceTime.

[Gramto6]

I haven't seen the episode (fell asleep)  but my personal experience here in Montana every hospital visit I have had to make they took my temp upon entry and put a wristband on  that it was normal/or the number didn't really look. I had to have a mask on at all times as did all staff. Chairs were marked clean or not clean with a placard you turned it to not clean when you were called in for your appointment. Probably going to the doctor at this time is one of the safest things we can do...

[CarpeFelis]

On 11/6/2020 at 7:14 AM, Madding crowd said:

I agree about Debbie, I have a terrible time being house bound. And experts have always said it was OK to get outside and take walks. She said she had a mask and was six feet away from her friend. All anyone can do is take walks and try to think of home projects like cooking or decorating.

I completely agree that going for a walk outside with a mask on and 6 feet apart is not something Glassman should have given her a hard time about. It’s her whininess, barging in while he was working and insisting on interacting with the other people onscreen instead of backing off as she should have, and vindictively taking his nightstand (like she doesn’t have one of her own??)  that really bugged me.

[bros402]

11 hours ago, CarpeFelis said:

I completely agree that going for a walk outside with a mask on and 6 feet apart is not something Glassman should have given her a hard time about. It’s her whininess, barging in while he was working and insisting on interacting with the other people onscreen instead of backing off as she should have, and vindictively taking his nightstand (like she doesn’t have one of her own??)  that really bugged me.

She had one of her own - it was visible when it showed the whole bed with Glassy's nightstand missing

[tennisgurl]

This was definitely one of the better pandemic episodes (in general watching TV having to deal with the pandemic now that shows are coming back has been interesting) and they did a great job at showing how things seemed to escalate so quickly, and the many frustrations and struggles of patients, essential workers, and their families and loved ones. They showed the really heartbreaking stuff, like the loss of life, and the more mundane crappiness, like feeling stuck in your house for long periods of time and feeling stir crazy. 

I am still not really feeling Shaun and Lea as a couple, it just comes off as weird. They still feel more like friends or siblings than a couple, and I still don't really feel like Lea likes him that way and that they only really got together because of all the drama from the end of last season. Having them talk about all the sex they had before quarantine just makes it seem like the writers are relying on tell instead of show, because I don't see any heat between them at all. I liked the chemistry between Carly and Shaun a lot more.  

"Wear a mask." Lim you are a woman after my own heart. 

I normally find Debbie to be kind of annoying, but I thought she made some good points this week. Glassman did have work to do and was clearly upset that he couldn't help at the hospital, but Debbie is really extraverted and was clearly bouncing off the walls stuck inside, Glassman could have taken a few minutes to indulge her themed dinner night or take some time to do something with her. He really just seemed annoyed with her and how she wanted to spend time doing something the whole episode, and yeah I too get annoyed by Debbie, I didn't freaking marry her! I also thought that his "its a pandemic, not a vacation" line was pretty mean. Yes its a serious situation, but for someone like Debbie, who really can only stay inside and isn't a medical professional or anything, its not like she should sit there and read updates all day, that would just make her feel terrible for no reason, so why not try to lighten the mood sometimes? It doesn't mean your not taking things seriously, it just means you have to fill your day with something. He was even giving her crap for going out on a walk with her friend while social distancing and wearing a mask, just let her have this one little thing Glassman damn. Really this whole episode just seems to confirm what I thought last season, that she and Glassman just do not work as a couple. Some opposites might attract, but they seem so different that they can hardly function as a couple, especially stuck together in a house for long periods of time. They always seem to be fighting or bickering and he drives her nuts because of how grumpy and introverted he is and he drives him nuts because of how free spirited and extroverted she is, it just does not seem to make sense for them to be together. They haven't even been married that long, it shouldn't be this miserable already! If anything, they seem to be an example of the "manic pixie dream girl falls for stuff closed off serious guy" pairing that deconstructs the whole concept, that people that different would probably not work out or survive a real challenge. 

Of course the one couple that I liked last season, Claire and Melendez, is already over because, you know, he died, while the two couples that I didn't care for are still here to annoy me. I always knew I would watch the show again (I am too invested to quit now) but I am still very salty about Melendez dying pointlessly for the sake of cheap drama and to give Claire even more angst. Even as a ghost or spirit guide or whatever, the show just isn't the same without him, and even though I think they did a good job with this episode dealing with the pandemic, I just don't trust this show to make good story choices anymore. Killing him off was stupid and mean spirited, and I would forget that. 

[aemom]

On 11/2/2020 at 11:07 PM, Annber03 said:

And I don't blame Claire for deciding to try and find that necklace for the woman who lost her mom. I'd probably do the same. I didn't really think about how people's stuff would've been stored away like that, but given all the unknowns about the virus at the time, it makes total sense that they did that. 

That actually surprised me. My mother-in-law died of Covid at a senior's residence the third week of April and they called us a few days later to pick up her belongings.

On 11/6/2020 at 9:19 PM, Pepper the Cat said:

The hospital I work at has had everyone picking up a mask on entrance to the building and wearing it for their whole shift. No matter what your role. Now, I am Canadian and work at a hospital hit very hard from SARS so it is possible that my hospital is just much more cautious.

I am also Canadian (in Quebec), and anyone who comes to the hospital for treatment has to take a Covid test and wear a mask. I'm not sure when that protocol was put into place, but I'm pretty sure that it was early on.

Edited to add: I've already been feeling kind of depressed lately and this episode did not help. It was very well done, and unsurprising, but I hate feeling worse after watching a TV show.

Edited November 16, 2020 by aemom
Forgot something