'Saving Hope' Recap: Episode 1.13 "Pink Clouds" – Season Finale
Well, summer is pretty much over. The good news is, our Fall TV favorites are making their ways back onto our televisions. The bad news? Summer shows – like Saving Hope – are coming to an end. While we are all very excited about our returning Fall favorites – and anticipating a few promising new series’ – I, for one, am going to miss this Canadian-born medical drama. I’m going to say this now: if you don’t want to know what has happened yet – stop reading. If not, you can catch up on last week’s episode or continue reading for the season finale of Saving Hope!
Condensed Version:
Charlie and Alex have to make some adjustments now that Charlie is no longer in a coma – for Alex, it means that for some reason she is now having difficulty breaking bad news to patients and for Charlie, he has to learn basic functions again, like how to walk. Charlie also seems to remember his time from being in the coma – and talks with Shahir about what this could mean. Shahir explains it away as likely being dreams and Charlie goes along with that – until he discovers he can still see the dead. Meanwhile, Alex’s patient has stage four cancer, and Joel, with Dana’s assistance, has to do an emergency amputation on a patient with a flesh-eating disease. Dr. Miller fails at his attempt at hitting on Maggie, and Gavin inadvertently hurts Maggie’s feelings as they enter the beginning stages of their new relationship. The season cliffhangers: Joel is offered Dana’s position as Chief of Surgery – though he doesn’t say whether or not he took the position – and Charlie and Alex make plans to get married – but Charlie’s revelation about still seeing dead people makes him late – and it’s unclear whether or not he will end up making an appearance at his own wedding.
Extended Version:
Medical Problem #1
Zachary Miller (Benjamin Ayres) and Maggie Lin (Julia Tayor-Ross) attempt to treat a patient who was brought into the ER after overdosing. The patient Wes (Will Bowes) has to be restrained, and they notice his track marks appear infected. Before they get a chance to treat them, the situation quickly escalates when it is discovered that he actually has contracted a flesh-eating disease. They call Joel Goran (Daniel Gillies) in to do an emergency surgery. When Dana Kinney discovers he is doing a surgery, she decides to scrub in with him. In the end, Joel, Maggie, Dana, and Reycraft (K.C. Collins) have to work together to amputate Wes’ arm, but otherwise save his life. The situation also ends up bringing Wes closer with his father – with whom he had previously been estranged for several years.
Medical Problem #2
Jackie (Sabrina Grdevich) comes into Hope-Z with some stomach pains. She has had a feeding tube inserted through her nose to lose weight before her wedding. Alex determines that the pain has been caused by the feeding tube perforating her stomach, but when Alex goes in to repair the damage, they discover some tumors. Alex has a quick biopsy done – and the results say that Jackie has stage four cancer. They remove what they can, but there is little they can do to help her. Alex has a hard time telling her – but eventually, after speaking with Dr. Miller, finds a way to let her know. Jackie ultimately decides not to undergo treatment in favor of spending every last possible minute with her family.
Hope-Zion Drama
Maggie and Gavin hit a bit of a rough patch [a bit too early in their relationship, in my opinion] when Gavin hurts her feelings. Mid-makeout, Gavin tells her that she doesn’t have to “try so hard” with him. Maggie doesn’t think she is “trying too hard”, and ends up storming off. In the end, it is revealed that Maggie thinks Gavin believes her to be a slut. She proceeds to tell him that’s just how she behaves, and they seem to recover from the mishap. We’ll have to wait and see if their relationship survives to the second season.
Meanwhile, Joel re-thinks his plan to quit when he is offered Dana Kinney’s job as Chief of Surgery. He later tells Kinney this and, although we are not explicitly told whether or not he actually accepts the job, it is implied that he did accept the offer. Either way, I’m sure this is going to cause some problems between the two – especially as Kinney was just praising their “chemistry” together. [Skip ahead to avoid possible Season 2 Spoiler: That said, if you read TVGuide Canada’s interview with Morwyn Brebner, it sort of implies that he does take the job – but that Kinney still works at Hope-Z.]
Of course, the major drama this episode is between Charlie and Alex. Charlie has some problems accepting that he is not going to be able to immediately jump back into the foray and be as he was before the accident. As he has spent several months lying in a hospital bed, he has to re-learn how to walk. It is clear that he is embarassed of his condition – and thus doesn’t want Alex to accompany him to his PT or OT appointments.
Instead, Shahir (Huse Madhavji) takes him – and Charlie uses the opportunity to discuss the possibility of him being able to remember what happened while he was in the coma [and it is at this point that we learn that he does, in fact, remember everything]. Of course, Shahir has an explanation – that basically suggests that he was dreaming, but because he didn’t wake up, it felt real to him at the time. Charlie seems willing to accept this, and lets it go. However, he later talks with Dawn about the situation, and she believes him.
In his first physical therapy session, he meets Pamela (Natalie Lisinska), who has some trouble with her leg – which causes her to have a limp. She encourages him, tells him how well he’s doing for his first attempt. Later on, she tracks him down and chats with him – and they get along well – and it seems as though Charlie may have just made a friend who will be able to help him get through his physical therapy sessions.
In a moment that tips us off to something being off about the situation, she also accompanies him to his pool therapy session. What makes this scene so strange initially is that it seems to be a private session [as only Charlie and his therapist are there], yet Pamela also tags along and just sits on the side of the pool, chatting with Charlie. As they converse, it quickly becomes clear that Charlie’s physical therapist cannot see Pamela, and we learn that Charlie can still see the dead – even though he is no longer in a coma. [Was anyone else really glad to learn this – because I was. I think it is going to make the show a lot more interesting if Charlie retains this ability.]
Anyway, once Charlie realizes that his therapist cannot see her, he goes down to the morgue, where he finds her body. She gets upset, but Charlie informs her that he can’t do anything for her, and she needs to move on. At this point, we see Alex waiting for him out in the gardens where they are to meet to marry – but it would seem that Charlie must be late. She places a call and, though we’re not informed who it is, I think we can assume it’s Charlie she’s calling. However, it is at this juncture that the episode – and the first season – comes to an end.
Final Thoughts:
-Though this season finale cliffhanger was not as major as I thought it would be, I am mostly glad for that fact because we now have to wait until next summer to find out what happens next. Of course, next summer is a long way off, and we’re also not even sure if we’re going to be able to watch it here in the US as NBC is no longer working with CTV or connected to Saving Hope.
-I am going out on a limb here and stating it now: depending on how much time is going to have passed, I don’t think Maggie and Gavin are going to make it to the second season. If they are having problems this early on, I can’t help but feel we’re being set up for failure on that relationship. But, I could be wrong.
-I cannot wait to see how things progress with Charlie’s new abilities next season. Having him retain the ability to see the dead after he woke up gives the writers an amazing opportunity and a plethora of possible storylines to pursue each week!
-I feel bad for Dana – and I’m not entirely sure why Joel would have accepted that job. It seems as though his main problem with staying at Hope-Z was his lack of freedom with his surgeries, and I don’t see how taking a higher position within the hospital [meaning much more paperwork and red tape to move through] is going to make him happier. Though, I can’t say I’m upset that he is staying, because [and I don’t think I’m alone in saying this] I’m not ready for Daniel Gillies to be off Saving Hope so soon.
-What did you think of the finale? What are the odds of Charlie and Alex getting married anytime soon? How long do you think Joel will last as the new Chief – and how much is that going to mess up his relationship with Dana? Will Maggie and Gavin make it to the season 2 premiere – or will something else get in their way?
No previews – I suppose it’s too soon to hope for a season 2 preview yet… but know that as soon as that becomes available, we’ll let you know! See you next season!