“I felt what it would feel for life to go on, my life, and what terrified me was that it could.”

First of all, I have to apologize for this VERY late recap, but there was a terrible internet blackout in all of the country. Thank God, it’s all better now and I finally got to watch last week’s episode of Saving Hope today and let me tell you, this show is proving to be worth watching. Every episode is better than the one before; hopefully, by the season finale, we’ll have a brilliant show in our hands.

The episode dealt with something new for once (YAY!), other than whether Charlie will wake up or not, and I loved that. It was basically about moving on. What would Alex do if Charlie stays in a coma longer than she expects him to? Will she forget all about him? Will she let go? Or will she stay right by his side? (We all know the answer to all those questions, don’t we?)

We learn that Alex has not been home since the accident, weeks ago. We can see the letter Charlie wrote to her in the pilot about the cufflings still on the fridge, and she’s surprised when she sees it. She only visits her home because the new chief of surgery, Dr. Kinney, orders her to. She slept during a meeting; she obviously needs rest . But Joel wants her to help him in the hand reconstruction surgery that everyone is talking about in the hospital and everyone wants in on, like he really wants HER. Even when Dr. Kinney suggests other competent doctors, he insists on Dr. Reed.

And the love triangle that everyone’s been waiting for finally comes to life. The only reason she returns to work is because Joel gives her a pep talk that encourages her and gives her the enthusiasm she needs to learn how to live without Charlie, even if for a bit. Even Dr. Kinney notices the change in Alex’s attitude and asks her if she’s on something.

“Show her why Charlie made you chief resident in the first place.”

Of course, she aces the surgery. And she even does the job of her opponent, Dr. Reycraft, when he screws up the hands they’re sewing. Now, it’s all cliched and corny, I know. But I like triumphant moments, and seeing her kill that surgery was really awesome.

After the surgery, Dr. Kinney invites everyone over to Alex’s home to celebrate the victory. And for once, you see her happy. She’s smiling and enjoying her time until she breaks into tears and we totally understand why: she’s scared she’ll forget him. She’s scared that those moments she feels free in will make her neglect Charlie. That’s foolish, definitely, but it’s totally understandable especially that Charlie feels the same way.

When Charlie is joined by another vegetable (he’s brought into the hospital because he has pneumonia), everything goes downhill. The man has been in a coma for 27 years. (Oh, by the way, it turns out spirits don’t grow old. The man is as young as he was when he first got in a coma, but his resting figure is OLD, like really really OLD.) His wife is no longer his wife and the only reason she’s back for him is to tell them to pull the plug on him. He tells Charlie to wake up; to fight as hard as he can because his loved ones will soon forget about him.

And so the theme of the episode becomes clear. But the theme of the show is the winner in this episode because Alex will not let go of Charlie. She will not forget him. And she tells him that. And you can’t help but go, “aww” at the scene.

This episode was not only Alex/Charlie/Joel centered. We got a lot of Maggie, too. The endearing resident finally gets to feel like a doctor. She begs Joel to allow her to scrub in with him in the hand-reconstruction surgery, but Joel is too distracted by getting Dr. Reed to join him that he forgets to ask Dr. Kinney about Maggie.

But that doesn’t stop Maggie from proving that she’s worth being called a doctor. When a Jane Doe, Maggie calls him Mr. Darcy because he’s so mysterious, presents with a distended abdomen, Maggie quickly infers that he has Abdominal Compartment Syndrome. Her boss shrugs it off and tells Maggie she shouldn’t focus too much on getting everyone’s attention; she should save lives instead. That’s why it’s pretty beautiful when it turns out Maggie’s right and she ends up saving the man’s life.

All in all, I enjoyed the episode. I enjoyed the gory scenes with the amputated hands. I enjoyed seeing Alex laugh her ass off. I enjoyed seeing Maggie more than just Joel’s accessory. With less cliches and less predictable plot-lines, this show can really be one of the summer’s best. It just has to take itself a bit more seriously.

What did you guys think of the episode?