"Hero Complex" tackles rape and the right to die – two of the most difficult and divisive topics any medical drama can handle. But this being Code Black, it does justice to them both.
College student Joy Samton (True O'Brien) wakes up at Angels Memorial with no idea of how she got there; it's up to Malaya (Melanie Chandra) to tell her that she was found being raped outside of a frat party. Meanwhile, the guy who saved her and the one who is presumed to have attacked her are being treated downstairs, which creates all sorts of ethical issues on top of the emotional drama. Malaya is almost as shell-shocked as her patient since she went through a similar situation with Gordon Heshman in Season 1, but Leanne (Marcia Gay Harden) tells her that common ground is what makes her the exact right doctor for the job. This isn't just about treating Joy's injuries; it's about helping her heal emotionally. Joy is desperate to know the details of her assault. She goes so far as to drag herself downstairs and confront her apparent rapist, telling him "I hope you're broken, just like me." But one wound proves that the roles were reversed; the guy who claimed to save her is the one who attacked her, and the accused is the actual hero.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Willis (Rob Lowe) treats a young cancer patient, Whitney (Jonna Walsh), who's a former patient of Campbell (Boris Kodjoe). Naturally, Campbell has his idea of what should be done for her and Willis has his. These two probably couldn't agree on the time of day and they get a humdinger of a talking point when Whitney asks Campbell to help her end her life. Campbell refuses outright and calls Whitney's mother Geraldine (Annabeth Gish), who wants to take her daughter home. But Willis, while first conceding that Campbell has a point, is more open to what his patient wants. He talks to Geraldine and she comes around to the idea of letting Whitney go, while she and Willis stay with her until the very end. "It's okay," Whitney insists as her mother fights back tears.
And finally, Mike Leighton (Tommy Dewey) regains consciousness. That sound you heard during this scene was probably some squealing because thank heaven he's not dead. But Mike's not out of the woods yet as his first words are "I can't feel my legs." He tells Campbell that he wants to opt for surgery despite the significant risk, which finally makes Desmond (Steven Culp) show that he actually has a heart. Mike makes it through the surgery and onto the road to recovery.
"Hero Complex" is a gut punch any way you slice it and a class act from the entire Code Black cast and crew. The two issues it addresses are very sensitive for many people, and it's obvious in the writing and the performances that the show respects that. It doesn't manipulate the audience's emotions for dramatic value, but it doesn't shrink away from the hard parts either. And the result is an episode worthy of tears.
It's about time to see Malaya Pineda front and center in a Season 2 episode. Aside from the Gordon story line, sometimes Malaya felt underwritten last year and she had not yet had an episode of her own this year until "Hero Complex." The connection of her patient to her own assault experience is the clearest, but the script doesn't belabor the point. It accepts that connection is there and asks what it can do with it; the plot is about the patient, not Malaya's past, except for the few brief flashback beats to catch up folks who may not have seen those episodes. Plus, the speech that Malaya gives to Joy in order to reassure her is one of the most poignantly written, as well as best delivered scenes of the entire season.
Patient: "I screamed at him. I called him terrible things. He saved my life, and...I told him I want him to die." Malaya: "You can't blame yourself for this." Heather: "The only villain here is Justin." Patient: "I don't know. Maybe this is who I am now...the girl who got raped. That's the worst part. Someday I'll have to tell my husband. Malaya: "No. He took one night from you. Don't let him have another second. You are more than the bad things that have happened to you. You are the grace that follows."
"Hero Complex" really fills in some gaps for several players, which is the sign of a writer who really knows the show and knows what the characters need to move forward.
Season 2 of Code Black hasn't been shy about upping the stakes and continuing to push the limits of its stories. It just killed off one of its own new characters, for crying out loud. But episodes like "Hero Complex" speak to what made this show such a gem in the first place. It digs into the truth behind these stories – it's not just about saving or not saving patients, but the emotional and ethical realities of patients, doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
If the show can keep spreading the wealth around like this and delivering scripts this good, there's no reason it can't be the hit CBS wants it to be. In fact why it isn't already remains something of a mystery. This is a series about people who are trying to be heroes and save lives, and for the most part, they succeed.
College student Joy Samton (True O'Brien) wakes up at Angels Memorial with no idea of how she got there; it's up to Malaya (Melanie Chandra) to tell her that she was found being raped outside of a frat party. Meanwhile, the guy who saved her and the one who is presumed to have attacked her are being treated downstairs, which creates all sorts of ethical issues on top of the emotional drama. Malaya is almost as shell-shocked as her patient since she went through a similar situation with Gordon Heshman in Season 1, but Leanne (Marcia Gay Harden) tells her that common ground is what makes her the exact right doctor for the job. This isn't just about treating Joy's injuries; it's about helping her heal emotionally. Joy is desperate to know the details of her assault. She goes so far as to drag herself downstairs and confront her apparent rapist, telling him "I hope you're broken, just like me." But one wound proves that the roles were reversed; the guy who claimed to save her is the one who attacked her, and the accused is the actual hero.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Willis (Rob Lowe) treats a young cancer patient, Whitney (Jonna Walsh), who's a former patient of Campbell (Boris Kodjoe). Naturally, Campbell has his idea of what should be done for her and Willis has his. These two probably couldn't agree on the time of day and they get a humdinger of a talking point when Whitney asks Campbell to help her end her life. Campbell refuses outright and calls Whitney's mother Geraldine (Annabeth Gish), who wants to take her daughter home. But Willis, while first conceding that Campbell has a point, is more open to what his patient wants. He talks to Geraldine and she comes around to the idea of letting Whitney go, while she and Willis stay with her until the very end. "It's okay," Whitney insists as her mother fights back tears.
And finally, Mike Leighton (Tommy Dewey) regains consciousness. That sound you heard during this scene was probably some squealing because thank heaven he's not dead. But Mike's not out of the woods yet as his first words are "I can't feel my legs." He tells Campbell that he wants to opt for surgery despite the significant risk, which finally makes Desmond (Steven Culp) show that he actually has a heart. Mike makes it through the surgery and onto the road to recovery.
"Hero Complex" is a gut punch any way you slice it and a class act from the entire Code Black cast and crew. The two issues it addresses are very sensitive for many people, and it's obvious in the writing and the performances that the show respects that. It doesn't manipulate the audience's emotions for dramatic value, but it doesn't shrink away from the hard parts either. And the result is an episode worthy of tears.
It's about time to see Malaya Pineda front and center in a Season 2 episode. Aside from the Gordon story line, sometimes Malaya felt underwritten last year and she had not yet had an episode of her own this year until "Hero Complex." The connection of her patient to her own assault experience is the clearest, but the script doesn't belabor the point. It accepts that connection is there and asks what it can do with it; the plot is about the patient, not Malaya's past, except for the few brief flashback beats to catch up folks who may not have seen those episodes. Plus, the speech that Malaya gives to Joy in order to reassure her is one of the most poignantly written, as well as best delivered scenes of the entire season.
Patient: "I screamed at him. I called him terrible things. He saved my life, and...I told him I want him to die." Malaya: "You can't blame yourself for this." Heather: "The only villain here is Justin." Patient: "I don't know. Maybe this is who I am now...the girl who got raped. That's the worst part. Someday I'll have to tell my husband. Malaya: "No. He took one night from you. Don't let him have another second. You are more than the bad things that have happened to you. You are the grace that follows."
"Hero Complex" really fills in some gaps for several players, which is the sign of a writer who really knows the show and knows what the characters need to move forward.
Season 2 of Code Black hasn't been shy about upping the stakes and continuing to push the limits of its stories. It just killed off one of its own new characters, for crying out loud. But episodes like "Hero Complex" speak to what made this show such a gem in the first place. It digs into the truth behind these stories – it's not just about saving or not saving patients, but the emotional and ethical realities of patients, doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
If the show can keep spreading the wealth around like this and delivering scripts this good, there's no reason it can't be the hit CBS wants it to be. In fact why it isn't already remains something of a mystery. This is a series about people who are trying to be heroes and save lives, and for the most part, they succeed.