'Saving Hope' Recap Episode 1.04: The Fight

This episode was great for showcasing some of the background characters. We finally get to see what we’ve already been told – Shahir and Nurse Victor are in a relationship – and, of course, their interesting dynamic was also emphasized. It was great getting to see more into their outside lives, and in a shocking twist – Alex finally saw Charlie for herself! If you missed last week’s episode, catch up with the recap here.

The Condensed Version:

Several of the Hope-Zion crew head out to a bar to celebrate Shahir Hamza’s birthday while Dr. Reid and Dr. Miller (Benjamin Ayres) stay behind to work the night shift. Dr. Reid helps to talk down a hard-headed hockey player, making him realize the danger of continuing his sport. After a patient pulls out a gun and shoot a couple of other patients, Dr. Goran is called back to the hospital to help sort out the mess left behind. Goran almost lets his ego get the best of him when he wants to try a risky surgery on one of the gunshot victims, but sees sense just in time. Meanwhile, Alex and Melanda deal with Charlie’s case of pneumonia. Charlie, used to helping other people in the between, ends up reciving a bit of help himself from Eddie Marks, a fiery thug-type. Fortunately, Charlie manages to make it through the fever from the pneumonia, and Alex goes off to get some much-need rest. Whether due to her extreme exhaustion or something else, for just a few seconds she catches a glimpse of Charlie – who realizes that she can finally see him. The moment passes, and the episode ends with Joel coming in to convince her to get some rest.

The Extended Version:

Medical Problem #1

Todd Fahey (Daniel Petronijevic) is a famous hockey player, who comes in after being jumped leaving a restaurant. He has a cracked rib and a concussion, which Dr. Reid finds worrisome. When Todd seizes in the middle of their conversation due to an aneurysm, Dr. Hamza is called in from his birthday party to do an emergency surgery. Dr. Hazma is able to repair a couple of them, but finds one of the aneurysms unreachable, meaning Todd has to give up hockey or he may die. Unfortunately, Todd is adamant that he is not quitting hockey because he has too many people relying on him. Alex really puts him in his place and shames him into backing down from his position by drawing attention to his girlfriend Amanda (Courtney White) and all that he would be leaving behind if he were to die. They don’t really say what happens with him, but it seems like he got the message, and I think it’s safe to say he gave up hockey.

Medical Problem #2

When Irene (Rena Polley) is shot while sitting with her husband Anthony (Neil Crone) in the E.R. waiting room, Dr. Goran is called in to help save her. The bullet doesn’t travel all the way through her body, and ends up lodged in her spine. Dr. Goran (Daniel Gillies) tells Anthony that he wants to do a very risky surgery on Irene’s spine that could avoid paralysis. The downside is that she isn’t really stable enough to go through with the surgery, so her chances of dying from it are high. Irene, unwilling to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, is willing to accept the risk – despite the worry her husband feels about it. Her husband relents, but begs Dr. Goran to not let Irene die just as they’re wheeling her into surgery. As Dr. Goran is about to cut into Irene, he realizes that he is taking too great a risk and does the less-risky surgery instead because, as he later confesses to Alex, it’s what Charlie would have done.

The Hope-Zion Hosptial Drama

Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks), in attempting to help another coma patient, ends up face-to-face with some of his own problems. Alex discovers that Charlie has pneumonia, which often signals the beginning of the decline for coma patients. Her friend and fellow doctor Melanda Tolliver (Glenda Braganza) tries to lift her spirits and assure her that Charlie will be fine. Meanwhile, Eddie Marks (Tyler Johnston) is stabbed by a rival drug dealer and winds up in a coma – which lands him with Charlie in the between space.

Naturally, Eddie is a little angry with Bojan (Josh Madryga), the punk who stabbed him, and desperately wants to wake up so he can kill him. Eddie also seems a little high-strung, and Charlie ends up spending the majority of the episode chasing Eddie around Hope-Z. Charlie tries to make Eddie see the stupidity in trying to kill Bojan. Just when it seems we’re going to have a breakthrough for Eddie, he fires back at Charlie, accusing him of having given up. Charlie denies it, but soon realizes that Eddie is right. When Charlie sees Eddie practically berate himself into waking from his coma, Charlie is forced to acknowledge that he is no longer trying as hard to make himself wake from his own coma. Eddie’s ribbing seems to pay off as Charlie tries Eddie’s method and manages to fight off the pneumonia.

Another big focal point in this week’s episode was Dr. Shahir Hamza’s (Huse Madhavji) 32nd birthday party. Of course, the drama in this story: it was a surprise for Shahir, who hates crowds – and thus parties. Victor (Salvatore Antonio), who set the whole thing up, doesn’t seem to understand why Shahir is not happy about the party – and blames it on his discomfort with having his co-workers see him watching a drag show at a bar. Shahir gets angry at Victor for still not knowing him well enough – a year and a half into their relationship –  to know that it is his intense crowd-anxiety that is the problem – not the fact that he is gay, or activities going on around them. Their drama is left unresolved when Shahir is called into the hospital.

Of course, there is also the drama between Maggie, Joel, and Gavin. It’s very clear that Maggie (Julia Taylor-Ross) cares more about Joel than Joel does for her – and I think she realizes that as well after she kisses him and he doesn’t really respond. So later on, when Gavin (Kristopher Turner) talks to her about Shahir’s upcoming party, she tells him that she is not with Joel, and would be happy to hang out with Gavin at the party. [It is hard to tell for sure, but it seems like this is a situation where Maggie is going to lead Gavin on until Joel decides to give her some attention. Of course, you can’t help but feel bad for Gavin.] While Joel is still at the hospital, Gavin and Maggie hang out and do some dancing, which was a cute little scene – and a great glimpse into how cute those two would be together.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Melanda and Alex (Erica Durance) discover that Charlie’s fever broke – meaning he’s going to recover from the pneumonia. Melanda convinces Alex to celebrate by going to get some rest. Alex goes off to the staff area, and we’re treated to another flashback – in which Charlie tells Alex all of the things he loves about her. She comes back to the present – and sees Charlie. The two share a brief moment – both a bit in awe that they can see each other – before Joel walks into the room, causing her to lose sight of Charlie. We’re left on a bit of a cliffhanger this week – wondering whether her seeing Charlie was a fluke [maybe from lack of sleep] and whether she’ll see him again [which I’m personally hoping for].

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