Hopefuls’ emotions ran high going into “Rock and a Hard Place.” We’re still heartbroken and shocked by Dawn’s traumatizing experience and we’re very curious to see how she will deal with Lane’s vicious assault. We understand why she must keep things professional (to an extant), but we really hope Lane eventually faces the dire consequences for what he has done. Fans also expected to check a wish off of their “Saving Hope” bucket list when promos teased that Alex and Charlie ghost whisper together. Unfortunately, our blissful bubble bursts when Alex struggles to endure the challenges Charlie faces on a daily basis. Elsewhere, Hope Zion’s newbies start making a big impression, as they strive to impress their teachers and gain more experience by working on some very interesting cases.
Lane sends Dawn flowers and acts as if they had a happy little date. What a slimy creep! Given their professional relationship, Dawn remains level-headed and endures an agonizing meeting with the board. Adding salt to the wound, she has to hear this lady sing Lane’s praises. He nonchalantly asks if everything is “all good” after their heated interaction and she acts like it is. Is this guy serious?! Once the meeting is over and their goal is successfully achieved, Lane approaches Dawn again. Now that the coast is clear and business is taken care of, Dawn lets him have it. Phew! She had us a little worried there for a moment. Given his position on the board and the influence he may have, Dawn may not want to ruffle any feathers. Then again, the Dawn we know and care for would never let anybody get away with treating her with such vulgar disrespect. Dawn has always been so strong and she’s overcome many painful obstacles in her life. A human being can only handle so much before it catches up.
In Dawn’s case, she starts having a panic attack in the E.R. and Zach is luckily there to help. When he asks if he should get Lane, Dawn freaks out even more. Poor thing! She takes a pill to help ease her anxiety. Zach tries to help in earnest, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. So Zach adorably distracts her complaining about the E.R. What makes this moment even sweeter is the way Zach makes a complaint and checks with her to see if this course of conversation is okay. The second she says it’s helpful, he just goes off on every silly little thing. Aww!
After gathering herself, Dawn decides to take a few days off. Hopefully, during that time, she’ll figure out a way to deal with Lane. His behavior cannot go unpunished. Will Zach keep this to himself or will he tell someone that Dawn had a panic attack? Will he watch over her to see if she stresses out again? What would Zach do if he found out about Lane? Would he confide in Charlie or Alex?
Speaking of Charlie and Alex, they reach a new milestone in this episode. One that we’ve been dying to see. Alex is all in on Charlie’s secret and she wants to know more about that part of his life. Charlie even tells Alex about Crenshaw’s whole story and how he will make sure the convict loses his appeal. Alex is unsettled about Crenshaw’s behavior, but she’s still supportive of Charlie’s ghost whispering. She wants to be more aware of his sessions at the hospital, so they come up with a code. Whenever Charlie says he is doing taxes, Alex will know he’s seeing ghosts. Yay! It’s like everything we’ve been dreaming of for the past few seasons. For the first time ever, Alex witnesses exactly how helpful and difficult Charlie’s gift can be.
Zach calls them in to treat Nick Desmond, an adventurer who fell off his ladder while cleaning a storm drain and ended up with a gaping wound in a major leg artery. Nick presents us with another “Saving Hope” first because this explorer is really enjoying his out of body experience. It is a whole new adventure he never even dreamed of. As usual, Charlie’s ghost whispering saves his life. However, this time, Alex reaches out to Charlie for a little supernatural assist.
Nick is a loner. We discover that his mother was a Jehovah’s Witness and he chose to leave that life behind. He happened to leave his identical twin brother behind as well. It turns out that his mother took a huge risk when Nick was a baby. Charlie discovers that Nick had a kidney transplant from his twin. Such medical procedures go against his family’s faith, so Nick never knew about it. He’s touched to learn that his mother risked her whole world to save his life. This piece of information is exactly what Alex needs to save Nick at the last minute. Once Nick wakes up after surgery, Charlie tells him the truth about his family. Charlie called Nick’s mom and arranged an overdue family reunion. As always, Charlie’s ghost whispering heals his patients in many ways. At first, Alex is happy that she is able to save Nick in this special way by working with Charlie. Unfortunately, as the day progresses, her feelings begin to change.
During the surgery, Alex had a nosey-body by her side, newbie Asha. After being snubbed on an earlier surgery, Asha told Alex that she wanted to properly shadow her rotations at the hospital. She wants to gain as much experience as possible, so Alex apologizes and promises they’ll work together as a team. Asha’s high tended awareness makes Alex nervous. She pays too close attention and questions every conclusion Alex mysteriously reaches about Nick. Obviously, Alex can’t cite Charlie’s gift as her source. She plays it cool, but covering for Charlie’s secret takes a toll on her. We were really excited by the prospects of Charlie and Alex’s teamwork in this episode, but now we’re starting worry.
At the end of the night, Alex comes clean and admits that she didn’t like being in a tough spot with Charlie’s ghost doctoring. How does he manage to cover his tracks? He has to fudge paperwork, make excuses for random observations and discoveries, and appear calm and collected in the process. Alex can’t handle it. It is too much pressure and overcomplicates things. She doesn’t feel comfortable lying like this, even if it for the right reasons. She believes there are ghosts in her O.R., but she wants nothing to do with them. She tells Charlie that he can do his own taxes. When he tries warming up to her in bed, she turns her back on him. Oh boo!
This is not the result we wanted to see. Poor Charlie! We understand Alex’s frustration, but we never took her as a quitter. She tried seeing the world through his eyes once, felt overwhelmed, and then gave up. Charlie and Alex are supposed to be a team. It would have been so cool if she became a part of this aspect of his life. How disappointing. Ok, so she couldn’t hack it, but she didn’t need to turn her back on him…literally! At least give the guy a hug and feel sorry about it. Instead she rolls over in a frustrated huff. Ugh! This is going to eat away at us. Time for a breather before delving into ChAlex questions and concerns a little later.
A couple of unique cases gives Hope Zion’s newbies a chance to stand out. At first, Dev and Maggie clash over the care of Anne-Marie Walsh, a pregnant army general who may have ovarian cancer. Maggie instructs Dev to be more aware of his bedside manner, instead of carelessly blurting out troubling facts to their patients. He needs to learn how to care for his patients both emotionally and physically. For example, Maggie encourages Walsh to hold out and wait for a natural birth, whereas Dev matter-of-factly argues that a scheduled C-section would enable them to remove the possibly cancerous mass from her ovary. Of course, as he says this, Anne-Marie’s water breaks and she insists on having a C-section, even though Maggie is against it.
Walsh is a trooper in more ways than one, but at the end of the day, she’s a wife who wants her husband to be by her side during their baby’s birth. After ruffling some feathers, Dev pulls through by giving their patient something she desperately needs. He gets her husband, Marco, on a video call so that he can be there for the birth of their baby. Aww. Maggie admits it was a good save and Dev wants in on the operation to remove Anne-Marie’s ovarian cyst.
Later, Maggie takes a cue from her shadow and stands up for herself. She approaches Dawn and wants to take the lead in the OR instead of being second fiddle to all the other surgeons. Dawn is all for it, but Maggie will have to take it up with Shahir since he’s stepping in for Dawn during her brief break. It’s nice to see Maggie take initiative in her career and fight for some respect. She’s moving on up! While Maggie and Dev make major progress in their careers, Dana and Cassie work together on an extraordinary case.
Eddie Garrett enters the ER after losing his ear in a nasty assault. Eww! Dana is excited to try a new radical surgery in which they take a piece of his rib cartilage, implant it in his arm and grow a new ear. Although they successfully perform the procedure, Eddie believes he deserves being earless since he failed to pay-off his debt. He has a really bad gambling problem. Eddie managed to stay clean for three years after seeking treatment, but he recently relapsed. Dana believes there is still hope for Eddie to turn his life around, especially for the sake of his seven-year-old son. Once again, a patient opens old wounds for Cassie, so she thinks Eddie is a hopeless cause. However, he eventually agrees to get help and they optimistically transfer him to Ontario.
Cassie and Dana really open up to each other in this episode. Dana even brings the newbie into her circle of trust. Dana reveals that she has cancer and a snowball’s chance in hell to beat it, but that doesn’t stop her from trying. In return, Cassie explains why she’s been touchy around certain patients. Dana receives word from Curtis that he’s got a new job in Dublin, but Cassie says he’s lying. Curtis has been MIA for a few episodes, ever since that super awkward run-in with Cassie. He’s been staying away for good reason.
Cassie and Curtis were engaged while they were studying at Oxford. He also had a gambling problem. He blew through two years of her tuition and then disappeared. Wow, real classy. So Cassie isn’t surprised to see him runaway again. Both women promise to keep each other’s secrets. Later, Dev sees Cassie crying in the lounge and she can’t tell him why. Nonetheless, he tries cheering her up by sharing his happy news about Anne-Marie’s baby. Hmmm, could a romance be blossoming between Dev and Cassie?
Hopefuls, what did you think of “Rock and a Hard Place”? Should we worry about Charlie and Alex’s relationship? Is Charlie’s gift going to tear them apart…again? Will Alex still want to hear Charlie talk about his ghost adventures or is she done with the ghost world for good? This is troubling. How do you feel about it, Hopefuls? Do you sympathize with Charlie? Do you think Alex will come around? Are you disappointed in her reaction? Do you like that it is a more realistic response than easily getting with Charlie’s program? Even if she struggled with the supernatural assist, should she give it another chance before giving up? Are you glad Dawn is taking some time off for herself? Do you hope she’ll report Lane? Were you moved by the way Zach helped her? What did you think about the newbies’ storylines and the relationships they’re developing at Hope Zion? Share your thoughts below!
U.S. Hopefuls, catch new episodes of ‘Saving Hope’ Season 4 every Tuesday (re-reuns air on Fridays) at 11/10C on ION Television.
‘Saving Hope’airs on ION Television in the U.S. and on CTV in Canada. Visit ‘Saving Hope’s’ ION TV homepage (HERE) or CTV Homepage (HERE) for details.
Alex’s reaction is a bit disappointing but understandable, especially if she is going to be working with the young residents a lot. She can still support Charlie in and outside the workplace even if she doesn’t team up to ghost-doctor with him.
All the residents have their ups and downs. Cassie can be a bit too emotionally involved but she’s eager to learn and has great chemistry with Dana throughout the season. Asha is by-the-book and will have to learn some practical lessons from her superiors. Dev is a bit unsure but he really cam through in this episode and he’s probably my favorite of the three.
I loved Zach’s way of helping Dawn, and Dawn putting Lane in his place. Unfortunately he’s not going away that easily.
Another great episode.