Don’t believe everything you read. That’s what Kit Voss was trying to tell people on The Resident Season 6 Episode 9, but Gov. Betz’s smear campaign about Dr. Bell already did its fair share of damage. 

While there may have been some truth to the gutter press—HODAD was a danger to Chastain at one point—most of it was exaggerated and sensationalized in order to destroy Bell. And unfortunately, it kind of worked. 

You could be the world’s best surgeon behind closed doors, but one negative story or review, and your credibility’s shot. In the public’s eyes, Bell was a bad doctor, and no amount of damage control was going to convince them otherwise. 

Even Bell began to question himself and his abilities, taking the safe route with Conrad’s patient, Wolf, simply because he was too scared to make a wrong move and put a patient’s life at risk.

Of course, Bell’s still got it, and Conrad was there to help him overcome the crippling anxiety. He reminded him that he’s one of the few people who knew then and now and can vouch that he’s not the same person/doctor that’s being profiled in the smear piece.

That seemed to put Bell at ease and pull him back to reality just in time for him to make another remarkable save, which was caught on camera from the sidelines by the documentary team. As Conrad pointed out, the footage doesn’t lie, and once they release it, it’s enough to redeem him in the eyes of the public and put him back on top.

But the truth is, the negative press forced Bell to take a hard look at himself and face a reality he was putting off. He may be a great doctor, but the fact is that he’s a doctor who is sick, and his illustrious career may be coming to an end sooner than he wanted to accept. 

Kit’s optimism is sweet because she believes in him so much, but it’s not going to make him better or lessen the symptoms of his MS. The stress from the article triggered symptoms as Bell heard a high-pitched ringing, began to see double, and even got dizzy, and all of this made him realize that he’s pushing off the inevitable—his MS progressing and forcing him to hang up the scrubs and white coat, especially since it wasn’t an isolated incident. 

When he finally confided in Kit, she was taken aback but, ultimately, supportive, which is the best thing about her. She has a heart of gold and always knows the right thing to say, even if she doesn’t believe it. She worried about him, but she’ll put on a brave face because she loves him and wants the best for him.

If Chastain loses Bell, it will be a huge loss, but after introducing this MS storyline, I don’t know if The Resident will find a way to keep him on as a main character, which bodes the question…. Is Bell leaving? Only time will tell. For now, he’s going to Minnesota for more treatment.

Bell was crucial in saving Wolf’s (William Mark McCullough)  life, the man who was brought into the ED with a gnarly scratch on his arm that definitely wasn’t from a Maine Coon. Absolutely no one believed Wolf and Cricket (Rich Hutchman), but the duo wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the truth. As Wolf’s condition worsened and pancreatitis set in, Conrad pushed on Cricket to tell him what really caused the scratch, and it was a Tiger King-sized nightmare. 

The men seemed to be inspired by the Netflix series so much so that they opened their own home zoo with exotic animals, which is, absolutely illegal. Conrad bit his tongue for a bit as he went through the list of animals that could have possibly injured Wolf in hopes of saving his life, and thankfully, Cricket informed him about the Brazilian scorpions right in the nick of time. 

When Wolf finally regained consciousness, Conrad took all the pleasure in informing the duo that he reported them to the state wildlife department. It’s for the best. If they were putting themselves in that much danger and being so careless with these wild animals, just imagine how much danger they were putting their guests and visitors in. Conrad did the right thing for everyone.

The scathing article on Bell impacted Pravesh’s patient, Tessa, who was initially part of his clinical trial before she got cancer and needed a titanium set of ribs created by Inman Park Tech’s robotics team, a new partner of Chastain’s. 

It was a very exciting opportunity for Chastain to prove, once again and amid all the budget cut threats, that they remain a cutting-edge hospital. Pravesh even convinced Kit Voss to sign off on a documentary crew to film the momentous moment in hopes that it would bring the hospital some much-needed positive PR. 

Unfortunately, Tessa experienced some complications before she could go through with the rib replacement that would eventually transform her into a bionic woman of sorts. Let’s be honest, she was already a bionic woman way before—her strength to stay hopeful and positive in the face of so many setbacks was inspiring. 

And it’s also why her daughter, Wendy, demanded that Bell be taken off of her mother’s case. I honestly can’t blame Wendy for her reaction after reading the hit piece. She was terrified of the possibility of losing her mother, and the article did not put those anxieties at ease. All she saw when she read the piece was that her mother was going to be operated on by a dangerous doctor. I wish that people would just trust the staff that has worked with Bell and can personally vouch for his abilities, but that’s just looking at the world through rose-colored glasses. And the fact that Kit is Bell’s wife doesn’t help his case because it seems like she’s biased, even though we know she wouldn’t do anything to harm her patients or put the hospital in jeopardy. She tells it like it is! 

Even Kit knew it was a losing battle, and since the risk of the titanium rib procedure was so high regardless of the doctor’s expertise, it was best for Bell to get taken off to minimize any negative PR. 

It was fun to see Kit step in for Bell because it proves that being CEO hasn’t stopped her from getting into the thick of the action. And if Bell can’t do it, there really isn’t anyone better for the job than his wife!

Lastly, AJ felt the brunt of childcare that most new parents feel. Only he had double the trouble as he tried to find someone to watch his twins. AJ took on the childcare duties to give Padma a break, which was very sweet of him, but I can’t say that I think the ER is the best place for two newborns. I know that everyone there meant well and pitched in—and he’s lucky to have such a supportive team—but there are a lot of germs and dangers lurking around!

Unfortunately, Padma’s absence throughout the day was concerning, and Hundley’s comment about AJ agreeing to have kids with a friend wasn’t overly reassuring. It all culminated in AJ coming home at the end of a very stressful shift to find that Padma still wasn’t home and her phone was going to voicemail.

There could be an easy explanation, or it could be the worst-case situation that comes to mind almost immediately: something happened to her or she skipped town and left her twins behind. My guess is that it’s the last one considering Padma has been under a lot of stress and struggling to adjust to motherhood. 

A prior episode showed her crying on the bathroom floor after a very exhausting day, lending itself to a storyline about postpartum depression, which is much more common than people believe. However, I don’t ever want to imagine that Padma would abandon the children she so badly wanted, so I’m hoping that once she gets the necessary help, she’ll begin to come around to motherhood and maybe even bond with the babies. 

What did you think of the episode? Are enjoying the storylines of the season so far?

The week leading up to Thanksgiving is kind of a terrible week for fans of primetime television because all of your favorite shows are on hiatus. 

And that goes for The Resident as well. The medical drama will not be airing a new episode on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. FOX will be airing the season 6 premiere episode titled “Two Hearts” in its place. 

But don’t fret—Conrad Hawkins and the rest of Chastain’s finest will be back the following week on November 29 with an episode titled “No Pressure No Diamonds.”

Here’s the synopsis for The Resident Season 6 Episode 9:

You can catch up on reviews of The Resident right here. 

The Resident Season 6 Episode 8 brought the battle between Bell and Governor Betz to a head. And the truth is, Bell absolutely messed with the wrong man. While Bell had every right to call out Betz, who initially staged a meeting with Kit Voss in order to embarrass her, he needed to be prepared and aware of who he was dealing with— a very fragile man who can’t handle his ego being bruised. 

Betz stooped to a petty level simply because he felt wronged and insulted, which is pathetic for anyone in a position of power, and yet, feels so familiar and relatable. When Bell aired Betz’s dirty laundry publicly, the governor felt that he had no choice but to retaliate by digging up every single piece of dirt on Bell, including his infamous HODAD nickname (remember that?!), before deposing him in a lawsuit over Claire’s death. 

Everyone knows that Claire’s sepsis was so far gone that she would’ve died regardless of what they did, but in this case, Betz and his slimy, cutthroat lawyer Costican only care about optics. They want to paint Bell in a bad light to ruin his reputation and cost him his job. Betz admitted that much himself, telling Kit that he wanted revenge and to make an example out of Bell; he wants to destroy him, his career, and his name. 

I loved that Kit “lost it” after realizing that there was no point in arguing or rationalizing with Betz, but part of me wishes she had a recording device and captured everything he said and leaked it to the press. It seems the only way to win here is to stoop to his level and beat him at his own game. 

There are definitely skeletons in Bell’s closet—the hubbub around the HODAD nickname resurfacing is proof of that—but the case also proves that HODAD Bell is not present-day Bell. He’s not the same man or doctor that he was when the show was starting out. The fact that everyone was standing up for Bell and going above and beyond to protect him means that he’s changed and become the kind of doctor that puts his patients first. 

He may have done the wrong thing back in the day, but he’s righted his wrongs and found purpose, which is more than could be said for Betz. Betz’s crusade against Bell is also hurting the very people he’s been elected to represent because he’s taking a genuinely good doctor and surgeon away from the people that need him most. The whole thing is completely selfish, which is just further proof of Betz’s character. 

It’s also a terrible time considering stress flares up Bell’s MS. He got it under control after his involvement in a clinical trial, so this case is the last thing he needs right now while he’s simply trying to be the best version of himself. He began experiencing numbness and tremors, and since he didn’t want to worry Kit, he asked Conrad to prescribe him something. But that’s only a temporary bandaid, and as Betz and Costican push, Bell will have to be honest with Kit about his ailing health, even if it’s the last thing she needs to hear.

Bell isn’t the only person whose career was on the line as Ian Sullivan’s addiction spiraled to a point where he no longer had control. When he was caught stealing meds from the cart, it was clear that Ian needed help. Dr. Jayci Lee seemingly saw the signs and figured out that Ian was addicted, but it’s unclear if she reported the strange encounter. However, Ian immediately called Cade for help, and the whole scene was truly heartbreaking. Ian kept rationalizing his addiction instead of calling it what it was and admitting that he needed professional help.

I love that Cade stood her ground and informed her father that she wasn’t going to bargain with him. She’s dealt with addiction before, so she knew that she couldn’t give into his demands and pleas as it was only going to make things worse. Cade offered up two choices—either he went to rehab or she would report her father to Dr. Voss. After some back and forth, Ian finally agreed to go to rehab as it was his only shot as surviving and saving his career, but will it be effective? He reached out for help, sure, but since he’s not the one who wanted to go in the first place, it might not make a difference in the long run. 

As Jayci stated, addiction does not discriminate, and it’s not unheard of for brilliant doctors to become addicted. Cade even promised to keep his rehab a secret from Conrad (who has dealt with addiction before with Nic’s sister, so I’m surprised he’s not picking up on the signs), and when she bailed on their date night, she didn’t tell him it was because she was going to drive her father to an out-of-state rehab designed specifically for those in the medical field. 

I’m just glad Ian came clean before it led to a disaster, and I’m hoping he finally gets the help he needs. 

Conrad dealt with a handful of addiction cases during the hour, which started when a 13-year-old named Malik was brought in following an overdose. His best friend, Tally, called for help after he became unresponsive, and her split second decision saved her best friend’s life. When Conrad learned that the pills Malik took were laced with fentanyl, and when Tally informed them that he got them from his older brother, Amir, Conrad raced over to the high school where he found several football players who had overdosed,  with one already too far gone. When Amir passed out, he took a tumble down the steps, which made his situation much worse, and while Billie and AJ gave it their all and seemingly got the him in the knick of time, Amir was a “wait-and-see” case, which meant that there was a possibility he would wake up with permanent brain damage. 

The whole storyline was heartbreaking, though important as it brought to light the very real opioid crisis affecting the youth in America today, including counterfeit drugs that are usually laced with something extremely dangerous and deadly. 

Conrad and AJ had a sweet moment where they both acknowledged just how differently these cases hit now that they are parents, and honestly, while it’s an important PSA for the teens watching, it’s also a reminder to their parents to stay vigilante and involved. You can’t monitor your kids every moment of every single day (though yes, hugging them till their 18 would be ideal), but there are steps you can take to make them aware of the dangers that are lurking out there.

Other Thoughts

• Bell was served his deposition while accepting the Lifetime Service Award in front of all of his peers… similar to Olivia Wilde getting served while on stage at a fan convention. I’m not sure if the series did that on purpose, but it was juicy. 
• The moment Bell realized the scrub tech Donald was the plant, man, I thought he was going to go in for the kill. I would’ve loved to see it.
• It’s nice seeing the doctors having a human moment and decompressing in the lounge. They even made time to crack some jokes.
• I’m still feeling the tension between Billie and Conrad even when they barely have any scenes together! When Malik mentioned Tally was his best friend and he didn’t know what he would do without her, Conrad knew exactly what he meant because he feels that way about Billie!

What did you think of the episode? Do you think Gov. Betz is the absolute worst thing to happen to Bell and Chastain? How will they find a way to beat this lawsuit and get the public funding they need for Chastain?

Share your thoughts in the comments, and I’ll see you all in two weeks on Tuesday, November 29!