Charlie’s unique methodology has always come into question on ‘Saving Hope,’ yet his brilliance as a surgeon consistently compensates for his unorthodox behavior. Unfortunately, his outburst in the OR isn’t overlooked as a harmless quirk. In “We Need to Talk About Charlie Harris,” a misguided supernatural experience results in a heartbreaking loss. Charlie is so rattled by his mistake, that he walks out in the middle of surgery. When he faces the consequences in “Fix You,” Charlie finds some much needed support from Alex, his colleagues and a persistent ghost.
Revelations
Charlie is driving home after an extra long shift, when he encounters 
Noel, an injured man on the road. He stops to assist the car crash victim and immediately calls for an ambulance. As help arrives, Charlie finds the scene of the crash. Noel is actually the spirit of a drunk driver who struck a boy and sent him flying off his bike. If only Charlie had seen Noel for what he truly was, then maybe he could’ve helped the poor boy. Although it is not his fault, Charlie blames himself for the boy’s death.
Despite having creepy and unnerving supernatural experiences before, Charlie is extremely rattled by this one. Perhaps it is because he feels like his super power failed him. Up until now, his gift has helped him save so many lives. This time, one misconception may have cost a little boy his life. However, it is Charlie’s reaction that nearly jeopardizes his patient’s life, as well as his career.
We’ve seen Charlie overcome great obstacles in the OR, but this time, 
his guilt wins out. He abruptly storms out of the OR in the middle of a surgery and leaves Dev hanging. Dawn follows him and finds Charlie talking to himself in the morgue. Of course, we can see the invisible man on the other end of that conversation.
Just as we guessed, Hope Zion’s new shrink, Amos, is a ghost. He’s really trying to help Charlie work through this unfortunate situation, but the ghost whisperer isn’t having it. Dawn sees Charlie in distress and for a moment we think they may finally have the conversation we’ve been waiting for. She’s known about his gift from the beginning and has been supportive, but they haven’t really talked about it since their chat in Season 1. Dawn comforts Charlie as he admits to feeling overwhelmed by all of the spirits. She’s there as a shoulder to cry on, but nothing is discussed. Dawn fears for the worst and calls the board to talk about Charlie.
The board members investigate Charlie and question his colleagues about his behavior. It is pretty awkward, but the gang has his back. So what if he’s unconventional, Charlie gets the job done better than any other surgeon in his field. Zach cleverly defends his friend by comparing Charlie to iconic geniuses like Einstein and Picasso. Sometimes brilliance comes with a side of crazy. It just adds to Charlie’s charm. Sigh…This is why we love Zach! Meanwhile, Amos is still trying to help an extra miffed Charlie.
Charlie is holding a grudge because Amos lied by not disclosing his supernatural nature. I’m worried about Charlie. Why is his supernatural radar so off? How can he not tell the difference between the living and the supernatural? Even we figured out that Amos was a ghost. So what gives? Is this part of the change Randall warned him about? Will he start putting spirits to a test to make sure he knows what he’s dealing with? Is the nature of Charlie’s gift changing? I have so many questions and concerns!
Amos apologizes and pleads his case. He died five years ago and has been stuck in limbo the whole time. He feels like helping Charlie is his unfinished business. Since he couldn’t finish helping his own patient in life, he hopes to at least help Charlie in death. Maybe then he’ll be able to move on. Since Charlie is in the ghost whispering business, he technically should help Amos out…right? Instead, he ignores Amos and makes a shocking decision.
Charlie walks into the boardroom during Dev’s interview, cops to being a crappy mentor and quits his job. What?!? Wait…he can’t just walk away from his career like this. Amos asks Charlie why he quit and why this boy is the one case who pushed him over the edge. Flashbacks reveal how the boy reminds him of his parents’ fatal car accident. He still blames himself for distracting them from the backseat and feels 
guilty for surviving when he caused the crash.
Looks like Amos is good at his job after all. He tells Charlie that he was just being a kid and the accident was not his fault. A flashback confirms that Charlie didn’t even distract his dad, he did nothing at all to cause his father to swerve like that. Charlie needs to let go of his guilt and finally move on. It is the only way he can heal, but he fears forgiveness will mean turning his back on his parents and forgetting them. Amos reassures Charlie that letting go of the past does not he’s forgetting his parents.
Once Amos has said his piece and sufficiently psychoanalyzed Charlie, his spirit seems to vanish. We can only assume (or hope) that he has moved on. Charlie, on the other hand, still has a lot to sort out in his life. Luckily, Alex will be by his side.
Alex and Dana decide to get a little zen in their lives and take Layla’s (Missy Peregrym) meditative yoga class. In the middle of the session, Layla collapses in pain. She believes she can power through it, mind over matter and all that…But Alex and Dana insist on taking her to Hope Zion.
Layla has a hernia that she’s been powering through for too long and only surgery can fix it. Layla does not want anesthesia because she vowed to always be in control of her body. We learn she was sexually assaulted in college and has worked on taking control of her life, body and spirit ever since.
Alex and Layla reach a compromise and try operating under local anesthetic. When things in the OR intensify, it becomes clear that she needs to go fully under. Layla puts her faith in Alex, allowing her to be in control throughout the surgery and recovery. This experience forged a bit of bond between both ladies. When Layla sees Alex in distress over Charlie’s investigation, she offers her help.
Layla helps Alex see the world through Charlie’s eyes in order to better understand. As she cleverly observes, it isn’t fair for Alex to believe in her curse and doubt Charlie’s ghosts. This time, Alex places her trust in Layla’s care. With a little guided mediation, Alex sees a glimpse of 
limbo. She meets Amos and he asks for her help with Charlie. Tears fall down her cheeks during this intense experience. She’s so overwhelmed by it that she even faints.
Finally, for the first time in five seasons, Alex completely understands Charlie’s struggle and can truly appreciate everything he does. She arrives at his office later that afternoon and wonders why the board room is empty. Charlie says he quit. Alex explains how she understands everything now.
Alex gushes about how amazing he is. Instead of focusing on the one bad case, he should look at the hundreds of lives he’s saved with his gift over the past five years. Yes! This is the kind of support I’ve been wanting Alex to give Charlie from the start. Now they really are on the same page because she gets it. She’s not scared or worried, she’s in awe and loves him.
Charlie really could’ve used this pep talk before rashly quitting 20 minutes earlier. But it’s okay. Alex and Charlie can overcome any 
challenge, even her stupid curse. She welcomes Charlie back home with open arms and it is about dang time.
Alex has messed with Charlie’s heart way too many times over the course of this series. Now that we know the show is coming to an end, we no longer need to worry about another ChAlex break-up. These two were always meant to be a family. So bring on the good times!
Father Figure
Shahir is still struggling with impending fatherhood. He wants to make a good impression on the adoption agency and is having a hard time with his personal video. Luckily, a couple of his patients and Dana lends him a helping hand.
Twins and aspiring filmmakers, Dom and Iris, fell out of their treehouse while filming a horror movie. When they start darting through the halls in an effort to finish their film, Dana re-purposes their project to help Shahir instead. They’re too ill to run around, so they might as well make a documentary on how Shahir would be a wonderful father.
The end result is absolutely touching. Dana provides a sweet voice over explaining all of the ways he’d be an amazing parent, while we see footage of Shahir adorably working/playing with the twins. Sigh, Shahir has come such a long way and I’m so excited for his future. Even if we won’t be able to watch it all unfold.
Since we’re on the topic of fathers, the twins’ dad is a TV producer who is dazzled by Dana and offers her a job to host a medical show. You can’t deny the sparks between these two upon their first encounter. Maybe Dana will take him up on the offer, or at the very least, have a little romance in her life.
Fate has a funny way of guiding us throughout our lives. Sometimes we know certain things are meant to be because we end up being in the right place, with the right people, at the right time. That is the case for Shahir, who has been nervous about fatherhood and pediatrics.
An old colleague and possible former flame, Angeli, comes to Shahir with a case. Falak is 26 weeks pregnant, her fetus has spina-bifoda and needs an in-utero procedure. At first, Shahir declines to help because he no longer wants to operate on children. After meeting Falak and hearing her out, he reconsiders. What are the odds of Shahir operating on a young woman who plans on giving her baby up for adoption? I think we all know where this headed.
Shahir ends up having to remove the baby and operate on him directly. His calm and reassuring presence makes quite an impression on Falak. After the operation, she asks if Shahir and Jonathon are in this for the long haul. They may not be married, but they are committed to each other. Their love is the real deal. With that settled, Falak tells Shahir that she wants to give her baby to them. Awww!
Shahir calls Jonathon and tells him to come to the hospital. Might as well break out the cigars and balloons…we know they’re not going to miss out on this baby. Plus, as a doctor, Shahir would be the perfect person to care for him.
What did you think about these two episodes? Are you shocked that Charlie quit? Are you relieved that Alex finally understands his gift? Are you moved by the way others are trying to help Shahir with this huge step in his life? Share your thoughts below!
Charlie has always had some trouble telling ghosts from reality, but this is the first time it cost him the chance to save a life (or so he feels). Perhaps he was rash in quitting altogether, but I believe him when he says he’s tired. The ghost world does seem to be changing and his personal life keeps getting more complicated.
Superbly acted and directed first episode by Michael Shanks. Scene in the morgue was perfectly played by him and Michelle Nolden.
Alex did experience a bit of Charlie’s world before, she just forgot about it when she woke up from her coma. Bringing up the memory of the brain-dead mother’s spirit (Kiss Me Goodbye) would have had the same effect of realizing Charlie’s position and may have been slightly more believable than what we saw. Either way I think Alex has a better idea of Charlie’s world but still can’t understand 100%. I hope she’s prepared to keep supporting him going forward.
Love the spotlight on Shahir this season. He certainly has grown throughout the show and hopefully he will get a happy ending.