“Saving Hope’s” “Narrow Margin” was full of scares and surprises. Alex is told to take it easy, so she goes for a walk. As she ventures into the woods, a dog leads Alex to Sam, a teenage boy pinned under tree. So much for getting some R & R! While Alex works on saving Sam, a couple of interesting cases keep the other doctors busy at Hope Zion. Joel and Charlie surprisingly work smoothly together to remove Sou’s cancerous tumor with some disturbing Ghost Doctor assistance on the side. Plus, Zach reveals a huge worrisome secret to his patient, Bernice, as they help each other through a difficult time.
Dr. Katz gives Alex strict orders to rest and stick to doing paperwork in the hospital instead of dangerously running around and vigorously working on patients. Alex feels totally useless, so Maggie suggests she take a walk. That way she can get some fresh air and feel like she’s still doing something. But this is “Saving Hope,” wherever the doctors go to find some peace, trouble will follow.
Alex freshly sets off on her path when a dog named Pharaoh leads her through the woods to Sam. The poor boy has been pinned under a tree and Alex can’t just leave him stuck there. Even though she’s not supposed to do anything too strenuous, she pulls Sam out from under the tree, splints his broken leg and temporarily keeps his adrenaline up with his epi-pen. She keeps him chatting, so that he doesn’t lose consciousness. Alex steps away to get enough reception to call an ambulance. When the paramedics arrive, they want to take Sam to another hospital. Sam suddenly begins to code, so Alex takes charge and saves him.
In the ambulance, Alex takes Sam on as her patient and instructs the paramedics to take the teenager to Hope Zion, where she can properly treat him. She will take full responsibility over Sam’s care. Once they arrive at the ER, Shahir helps Alex set Sam’s spine. Luckily, Alex’s efforts succeeded and young Sam makes a full recovery.
Dr. Katz scolds Alex for disobeying her orders and runs a full body scan to make sure the baby is alright. While viewing the results and sonogram, Katz reveals that Alex is having a perfectly healthy baby boy. The teary-eyed mommy to be is elated and doesn’t mind having the surprise spoiled in advance.
Later, Shahir compliments Alex on her great work in the OR. She excitedly tells him she’s having a boy. He asks about the baby’s father and Alex says she won’t know who it is until after the birth. So Shahir sweetly offers to act as the baby’s dad until she finds out. He will support Alex every step of the way. He thinks having a hypno-birth is flakey, but he will go with it and be there for her. Awww! This is so amazingly kind and sensitive of Shahir. He just keeps showing more and more growth. Sigh. Alex appreciates his support and admits that she is beginning to feel like herself again. The question is: will Alex share the news with Charlie and Joel?
Alex’s possible baby daddies have been handling this awkward situation surprisingly well. They have both agreed to wait and not push Alex into testing the baby’s paternity since it is safer for the baby. Plus, Joel already has a lot on his plate. He still doesn’t know if he will be going on trial for murder and this preoccupation is slightly getting in the way of work.
Charlie sees Sou and her younger sister, Jian, waiting for Joel in the ER. Charlie learns that her teeth are falling out and tells Joel to tend to his patient. Soon we discover that Sou is Cambodian and she’s pulled out her own teeth. What?! When Joel brings Charlie in on this strange case, we are in for another surprise.
Sou’s sister is a ghost! Jian’s spirit will stay with her until Charlie reunites Sou with her son. So Charlie has Joel inform Sou’s next of kin. Charlie fears there is nothing they can do, but Jian won’t hear it. Sou has been through too much to die like this. Brace yourselves Jian’s disturbingly haunting tale.
Sou and Jian escaped Cambodia forty years ago. Jian sadly died beside Sou during their journey over. Eventually Sou ate her sister in order to survive. I know! What!?! When Jian said she was inside of her sister, we didn’t expect it to be like this. For all of these years, Jian takes pride in keeping Sou alive and protecting her. And her sisterly work is not yet done. Sou had nothing when she came over and then she had a precious son. He was her everything and when they took him away she never recovered. Now that he’s gown up, Jian wants Charlie to bring him back to take care of her. Only then will she feel free to part with her beloved sister.
Luckily, Joel gets an idea while helping Zach in the ER. There is a new tumor removal surgery they can try. Charlie is totally game and believes Sou is strong enough to handle it. Joel makes the operation his priority, he even ignores an important call from his lawyer. The surgery is a success and as they wrap up Joel gets another call. This time Charlie insists that he answers.
Security footage corroborates Joel’s story and the charges are dropped. Phew! Joel and Charlie sort of celebrate over a beer. Joel may have escaped a prison sentence, but nothing will change the fact that he killed someone. This will clearly weigh heavily on Joel’s soul. Strangely enough, Charlie is the one offering him a sense of comfort and understanding during this trying time.
Isn’t it ironic how Alex’s pregnancy is bringing these two rivals closer together? It will be interesting to see how their bizarre bromance evolves through the course of her pregnancy. What will happen when they find out which one of them is the father? Will the resentment drive one of them away? We are all going to be on edge until that baby is born and we know who the daddy is.
Getting back to Sou. She makes a full recovery and is ecstatic to see her son again. Now that he has returned to care for his mother, perhaps Jian’s spirit can finally be at peace. Speaking of finding peace, Zach has a secret weighing him down.
Zach treats a stripper, Bernice, who he eventually realizes was poisoned by her crazy ex-boyfriend. Until an ethanol drip arrives from another hospital, Zach has her drink alcohol to counteract the methanol. Zach may not partake in the booze, but he does surprisingly open up to this stranger.
Earlier in the day, Melanda wanted to “play paintball” with Zach and he abruptly shut her down. He tells Bernice that he may have prostate cancer and he’s waiting for the results (notice how the test was listed under his mother’s maiden name?). They make us worry for a bit, but the results come in soon enough and Zach is cancer free. Well, that’s a relief! He is so excited that he starts undressing on his way to the doctors’ chambers and makes up for lost hanky-panky time with Melanda.
Just when you think their relationship is purely physical, Zach comes clean to Melanda. He tells her about his cancer scare and admits he felt like he needed to suppress his true feelings. It would be great to see more of what their relationship is like outside of the workplace. They’ve been hooking-up for a while, but there is more to it than just sex. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to learn even more about them this season.
What did you think, Hopefuls? Are you surprised to see Joel and Charlie getting along? Were you disturbed by Sou and Jian’s story? Do you wish to see Zach and Melanda’s relationship develop beyond a casual fling? Were you moved by Shahir’s sweet gesture? Are you excited to see him help Alex? Share your thoughts below!
“Saving Hope” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on CTV.
This article was originally published on Examiner.com on January 23, 2015.
UPDATE (Summer 2016): ‘Saving Hope’ now airs on ION Television in the U.S. and still airs on CTV in Canada. Visit ‘Saving Hope’s’ ION TV homepage (HERE) or CTV Homepage (HERE) for details.
