S03.E10: Do No Harm

[AnimeMania]

When the mother of a patient dying of a rare brain disease holds a hospital hostage in an attempt to get her daughter a lifesaving surgery, McCall races to resolve the situation peacefully while dealing with pushback from government forces

Premiere Date: SUNDAY, March 5, 2023     8pm     CBS

Jake Boyd as Andrew Beale
Gabriella Fanuele as Denise Swanson
Barrett Martin as Uni

[janeta]

🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ There was so much wrong with this ep I can’t even begin… there's suspension of disbelief, and then there’s stringing it up on Chinese spy balloon.

When is Delilah's father going to come get her? That’ll teach me to compose before the ep's over. 😊 And when is Rob going to go catch that Randall guy for Dante?

 

[statsgirl]

It's a good thing that this episode is three seasons in because if this were in season 1, I don't think that I would stick around.

"My mom really wanted me to carry on her restaurant [but she didn't write down any of the recipes so that I actually could do it]". That's okay, Mary Sue Aunt Vi is going to fix everything.

Why didn't Robyn ask the senator's son to call his mom and get her to call off the police?

Iranian doctor tells Harry that he can't do the operation because he's not authorized in the US. Harry appeals to his feelings. Better would have been to say that he's going to get him emergency authorization.

Did Delilah's father tell her that he wants sole custody?  What is she? 16? I'm pretty sure that any judge is going to take her wishes into consideration.

[stonehaven]

This was boring and bad on so many levels. Sometimes Aunt Vi can save it but tonight, I was yelling at her to put a hairnet on in the kitchen. 

That and they ripped off the plot from John Q.....Just a dumb episode. This is still a fun watch every now and then and they don't get many episodes per season and this is what they gave us tonight?

Sheeesh...

[possibilities]

Emily's mom was a single parent. Now she's in jail. I wonder what happens to Emily.

[Trini]

Well I enjoyed the Aunt Vi/gumbo  B-plot more than the main plot. However, I did like that it wasn't the usual plot where Robyn has to beat up some thugs.

I hope one day TV writers will finally retire 'crawling through air ducts' as a plot point.

[AnimeMania]

Robyn should have just thrown $100,000 in the woman's "go fund me" page and called it a night.

Of course you hold a woman hostage who has a gun in her purse.

You would think they would need more than 2 people to perform that complex surgery.

That was the longest hour I have ever seen.

Robyn should get some "Letters of Recommendation" from the President, Governors, Senators, etc. when she goes to the custody hearing.

[zoey1996]

I loved this episode! Interesting hospital plot with a good resolution. Robyn and Dante knowing something was up to make the lead officer so anxious to go in, and good for her being able to call in a favor to discover the reason behind it. And I loved Aunt Vi taking Dee to the old school restaurant, only to be disappointed because the traditional recipes were no longer on the menu. I admired her ability to recreate the dish, and her willingness to help out with the recipes. 

I'm pretty sure Dee's father won't get full custody, or if he does, it won't stick, but not looking forward to the drama and angst a custody battle will no doubt bring.

[Good Queen Jane]

This episode was so awful on so many levels I am just going to pretend it never happened.

[marceline]

Something about this show just feels off now. I feel like with the loss of Chris Noth they've just abandoned the "former CIA" part of Robyn's background.

Watching Vi and Dee cooking in the kitchen without hairnets drove me crazy. When the owner told them, "Well let's get you an apron!" I said "And hairnets too, please!"

Edited March 6, 2023 by marceline

[12catcrazy]

Did all of the good TV show writers quit since COVID and the production companies hire people at a job fair or something?   If so, I wish they'd pick me because I could come up with something much better than what we saw this past Sunday night. 

A woman taking some hostages in a hospital because her insurance won't cover the operation for her child and the meanies won't give her the operation for free?    So many ways to shake one's head at that and the usual trope of there is only one doctor in 4000 miles who can do this surgery (and then he gets shot by the Karen who packs a gun in her handbag).  And the other doctor within 4000 miles who can do that surgery happens to be driving a cab somewhere in NYC..... and he's going to do a brain surgery with just one nurse, another wounded doctor and nobody else .....   the mind boggles with the stupidity here.    I could possibly understand if all this was taking place in some jerkwater burg in Alabama but a New York City hospital???

The second story about Aunt Vi and Dee at the now Vegan restaurant would normally be a tad eye rolling on a regular episode where the main plot would make some sense but here it was like Chekov in comparison to the idiocy with that story.  Yeah, you go Aunt Vi - show that young punk-ass owner how to cook his Mom's food (and I guess that the Vegan place had some shrimp laying around for that gumbo) and get the original neighborhood cliental back through the doors, even though they'd probably keel over from what that bowl of gumbo will now cost.    And did anybody else cringe when Aunt Vi tasted the stew and then put the spoon back in the pot to give Dee a taste?  Ewwww (and yeah, no hair coverings). 

Don't know what really is going on with The Equalizer but it isn't going in a good direction, sad to say.   

[Trini]

4 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

And did anybody else cringe when Aunt Vi tasted the stew and then put the spoon back in the pot to give Dee a taste?  Ewwww (and yeah, no hair coverings). 

Yes, me!

[ribboninthesky1]

20 hours ago, Trini said:

Well I enjoyed the Aunt Vi/gumbo  B-plot more than the main plot.

I've often preferred the family/relationship dynamics since season one.

That said, it's like the show decided, "You thought last week was nonsensical? Hold our beer!"

The showrunner(s) changed between season 2 and 3, and unfortunately, it's not for the better.  Latifah and Tory Kittles seemed to be phoning it in, probably because they went "WTF?" at the script like some of us.  I've been wondering if the show is greenlit for another season.    

I'm sure Dee will have a strong opinion on staying with Robyn, and all will end well. Still, I sympathize with the ex on custody.  

21 hours ago, possibilities said:

Emily's mom was a single parent. Now she's in jail. I wonder what happens to Emily.

I kept thinking, isn't this NYC, with several level 1 trauma hospitals?  Why not try another hospital before her condition got worse? 

4 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

And did anybody else cringe when Aunt Vi tasted the stew and then put the spoon back in the pot to give Dee a taste?  Ewwww (and yeah, no hair coverings). 

Not gonna lie, that bothered me more than lack of hair nets.  I kept yelling, "Where are the separate tasting spoons???"

[Trini]

1 hour ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

I've been wondering if the show is greenlit for another season.    

Last year it was renewed for two seasons (Seasons 3 & 4).

Huh - I forgot about the showrunner change.

[andromeda331]

I liked the episode but I do wish they had come back to the woman's point about if she gets the surgery what's to prevent other people doing the same thing. Flashpoint brought up that point and answered it. 

I thought the tack guy was being given money to breach sooner. I wonder if it ever gets out that Senator Beale wanted the hospital breached because her son was in there. Seems like that would be bad for the Senator. Really one hour?  

I'm surprised someone else had a gun. Of course she decides to do something stupid. 

I liked hearing why Aunt Vi stopped going back to the restaurant she loved. My mom loved Red Lobster and I've never been able to go back. I don't think I ever will. 

Nelson's lucky. My great-grandmother didn't write down any of her recipes either. None of us have ever been able to recreate any of her dishes. What I wouldn't give for her fried chicken and mash potatoes.

[possibilities]

Does NYC allow concealed carrying of guns?

I agree the show has been different this season, and not in a good way. The info that they changed showrunners explains that, I guess. Disappointing.

[blackwing]

I'm going to talk about pretty much the only good thing in this episode.  Aunt Vi and the gumbo.  I loved the stankeye look she had when Delilah mentioned "Bon Appetit".  I loved that she helped recreate the recipe, and I WANT a bowl of that gumbo.  It looked so delicious.  This show shines when it showcases Vi's cooking.  She made me seek out and find cassoulet and want to cook it, and now I have a hankering for gumbo.

This is a nitpick, but I'm wondering why Viola and Robyn have different last names.  Viola's last name is Marsette and I don't think she's ever been married.  She is the sister of Robyn's father, who presumably was named McCall.  Robyn's ex is named Fulton.  Unless there is some backstory that Robyn was married before Fulton to a guy named McCall, shouldn't the family name either be Marsette or McCall?  Maybe Viola and Robyn's dad had different fathers?  I guess it's not a big deal, but the show could at least explain it.

I agree with the sentiment that this was just such an awful episode.  I did feel sympathy for the woman but she went about it all the wrong way.  It's not like her daughter started dying overnight.  She's been having issues for a long time, and clearly the mom had been having issues with paying for the operation and care even before the stereotypical hospital administrator tool denied her again.  She could have set up a Go Fund Me (I see them all the time for things even as mundane as "I need to find a new place to live but I'm on fixed income").  Or a fundraiser night at the school.  Or appeal to the local TV news stations, every one of them has some version of "What's Your Problem" where they will send a reporter to help you get answers or help.

I did agree with the nasty hostage ("what's to stop others from doing the same") but did she really think she was going to be the hero and kill the mom to save them all?  Instead she ended up injuring the doctor.  I'm wondering if there will be any charges pressed against her.

On 3/5/2023 at 9:21 PM, statsgirl said:

It's a good thing that this episode is three seasons in because if this were in season 1, I don't think that I would stick around.

"My mom really wanted me to carry on her restaurant [but she didn't write down any of the recipes so that I actually could do it]". That's okay, Mary Sue Aunt Vi is going to fix everything.

Why didn't Robyn ask the senator's son to call his mom and get her to call off the police?

Iranian doctor tells Harry that he can't do the operation because he's not authorized in the US. Harry appeals to his feelings. Better would have been to say that he's going to get him emergency authorization.

Did Delilah's father tell her that he wants sole custody?  What is she? 16? I'm pretty sure that any judge is going to take her wishes into consideration.

Agree with all of these sentiments.  The restaurant has been in the family for 100 years, did the mom create the gumbo or was it a family recipe?  It seems to me it would have been a family recipe.  The mom would have taught her son those recipes ages ago, like when he was a teenager.  He would have spent every hour after school at the restaurant, doing his homework and being called over to observe what she was making.

I was saying the same thing about the senator's son.  Robyn could have told the mother that this man could call his mom and get her to call off the task force and allow the surgery to proceed.

Since this is a TV show, I would expect that Dee doesn't go anywhere, and the custody battle is all just unnecessary drama.  She is 15 or maybe 16 by now and even if she's not a legal adult, surely she is old enough that her wishes should be taken into consideration.

On 3/5/2023 at 10:33 PM, Trini said:

Well I enjoyed the Aunt Vi/gumbo  B-plot more than the main plot. However, I did like that it wasn't the usual plot where Robyn has to beat up some thugs.

Aunt Vi for the win.  Sometimes it does feel like Vi is shoehorned into the episode, but I think Lorraine Touissant is great, so I don't mind.

14 hours ago, ribboninthesky1 said:

Not gonna lie, that bothered me more than lack of hair nets.  I kept yelling, "Where are the separate tasting spoons???"

The lack of hair nets or the re-using of the spoon should have bothered me.  But after watching Gordon, Nyesha and Richard all dig their forks into the same plate of food on "Next Level Chef", I guess nothing surprises me on TV.  And these are actual world-class chefs and don't seem to be concerned that neither of the other two are sick.  At least with the gumbo it was heating on the stove and perhaps the heat would kill any germs.

[ribboninthesky1]

17 hours ago, Trini said:

Last year it was renewed for two seasons (Seasons 3 & 4).

Ah, thanks! Here's hoping the writer's room makes some changes for season 4.  

[ratgirlagogo]

On 3/6/2023 at 3:33 PM, 12catcrazy said:

Yeah, you go Aunt Vi - show that young punk-ass owner how to cook his Mom's food (and I guess that the Vegan place had some shrimp laying around for that gumbo) and get the original neighborhood cliental back through the doors, even though they'd probably keel over from what that bowl of gumbo will now cost.    

Not just shrimp, but crabs. CRABS!!!!  So, Nelson walked down the corner to the bodega to pick up that fresh seafood?

 

On 3/5/2023 at 10:21 PM, statsgirl said:

"My mom really wanted me to carry on her restaurant [but she didn't write down any of the recipes so that I actually could do it]".

Totally ridiculous.  The restaurant's been around for a hundred years and the OWNER didn't make sure that her family knew her recipes well enough to keep the place going. Kee-rist.

Also, I was kind of wondering if Nelson was going to come out and tell Aunt Vi that he'd turned the place vegan because all that traditional soul food had helped push his mom into an early grave from heart disease and diabetes. At least that would have been more believable than "shucks, I never learned how to cook her food." There is for sure a black vegan movement, esp. in NYC:

https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york/guides/black-owned-vegan-nyc

https://civileats.com/2019/11/22/portraits-of-new-york-citys-black-vegan-movement/

Not being a vegan, I thought the seafood gumbo looked great.  (Although I question how many patrons of a vegan place would think cooked animals smelled delicious.) And when I looked up "gumbo" on Bon Appetit, I think the 3rd one that came up was from Toni Tipton-Martin's book Jubilee : two centuries of African American cooking.  Not that Delilah would have been able to get it anyway - Bon Appetit has had a paywall for quite a while now.

Still, I'll keep hanging on waiting for this show to get back on the tracks.

[Stevie Nicks]

On 3/6/2023 at 1:33 PM, 12catcrazy said:

 

  And did anybody else cringe when Aunt Vi tasted the stew and then put the spoon back in the pot to give Dee a taste?  Ewwww (and yeah, no hair coverings). 

Me. I kept screaming "hair nets!!" 

[Stevie Nicks]

On 3/7/2023 at 8:27 AM, blackwing said:

She could have set up a Go Fund Me 

She did have a Go Fund Me. When Harry was looking into her background, they showed it. She had only raised $2500.00 of her (I believe) $100,000 goal. 

[Trini]

5 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Not just shrimp, but crabs. CRABS!!!!  So, Nelson walked down the corner to the bodega to pick up that fresh seafood?

It's New York City; it very possible he could have found a place that sells crab within walking distance.

5 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Totally ridiculous.  The restaurant's been around for a hundred years and the OWNER didn't make sure that her family knew her recipes well enough to keep the place going. Kee-rist.

This, however, made no sense!

[jabRI]

The Longest Hour... hostage situation started at like 8am, wrapped up 12 hours later.  OK, sure.

[juliet73]

On 3/5/2023 at 9:58 PM, possibilities said:

Emily's mom was a single parent. Now she's in jail. I wonder what happens to Emily.

I think she was released/not charged with a crime.  The cherry on this stupid, beyond ridiculous, completely unrealistic sundae of an episode.

Edited March 30, 2023 by juliet73