Hawthorne – Recap & Review – No Exit

photo: tnt

HawthoRNe
No Exit

Original Air Date: Aug 24, 2010

Eboni – TwoCents Reviewer
eboni@thetwocentscorp.com

It seems just like a few weeks ago that Christina and company were all sent packing from Richmond Trinity to James River Hospital. The last couple of weeks have brought us the relationships of Camille and Marcus, Christina and Tom, Tom and Erin, Bobbie and Steve, Ray and Brenda, Ray and Candy. I can’t keep up! Don’t these people date outside of the hospital? Apparently not! These relationships have all been leading up to this finale. Normally I don’t read too much into episode titles. However, the title had me a little curious. What exactly is there no exit from?

Does “No Exit” mean the inability to physically leave a building or having no emotional exit from the turmoil many of these relationships seem to be in? Let’s find out.

Someone is getting blood drawn. This person wants complete anonymity and writes “Jane Doe” on the vial. It’s Christina! She gives the vial to a nurse, Lana and tells her the results are time sensitive and private. Blood test? Not feeling well? Come on people, it doesn’t take a doctor or nurse to see the writing on the wall here.

Bobbie calls Steve on being distant with her ever since the case of mistaken identity. She asks him what he is hiding. He tells her nothing and quickly walks away. Sara and Justin Adams interrupt the moment by bringing her mom into the ER. For those not in the loop, the Adams family (don’t snap your fingers) are regulars and need their own personal suite at this hospital.

Erin, Morrissey, Tom and Christina are all outside looking at the new MRI machine. Christina questions the need for the machine. Of course, Erin disagrees and tells Christina this machine is necessary to continue the improvements. Tom agrees with Erin while Morrissey reminds them that the Joint Commission Inspection is looming and they need to be ready.

Brenda and Ray engage in a little verbal sparing of their own in front of a patient. How unprofessional! Christina is reviewing protocol with the nurses when Lana brings her the test results. Her face is PRICELESS when she reads the results! Just as she is reacting, Morrissey brings the Joint Commission Inspection team members to meet Christina. Don’t you just hate it when you are getting ready to have a meltdown and works gets in the way? Christina takes one team member and Morrissey keeps the other two. He takes them outside to showcase the new MRI machine that is being lifted by a crane to its floor. Something goes wrong because the cable snaps and the MRI machine comes crashing down into the tanks below. There is a huge explosion outside and the ICU monitors starts showing low oxygen pressure. Morrissey tells Christina and Erin that the hospital has become unstable and all patients need to be evacuated. Gail goes into the supply closet and collapses. Tom and Christina work on stabilizing Sara’s mom for the evacuation. They reminisce about their past together. Good times indeed.

The moment is short lived when Candy unplugs a portable ventilator and there is a small explosion. Candy suffers second-degree burns on her face and neck. Christina tells Tom that Candy is pregnant. Christina confirms that the baby is okay by giving her an ultrasound. Meanwhile, Ray, Brenda and a patient are stuck in the elevator. They have another discussion about their relationship and Candy. Tom and Christina load Sara’s mom and Candy on mattresses and decide to pull them down the stairs. They hear Ray banging on the elevator door. Christina and Tom spring into action and impress the Inspection team member who is still following them. They get Ray, Brenda and the patient out of the elevator. Christina and Tom start the mattress caravan. This is going okay until they literally run into a dead end. The emergency exit is blocked with medical supplies! Who blocks an emergency exit in a hospital?!

Bobbie and Steve find an unconscious Gail in the supply closet. That took long enough. She is the Head Nurse for goodness sake! They use the defibrillator to bring her back. Christina and company drag the patients back upstairs. The other stairwell has smoke in it so they have to stay put until the firefighters get to them. Candy starts to have trouble breathing and needs to be intubated. Ray is visibly upset and Brenda notices. Tom and Christina start working on Candy but Sara’s mom goes into distress. Brenda can’t perform the procedure because she injured her hand in the elevator. Tom tells Christina she has to do it and that he believes in her. Nice! Christina inserts the needle and the patient’s stats come up. Tom and Christina share another moment BUT that too is short lived. Why do patients keep having problems? Oh yeah, this is a hospital.

Candy’s monitor starts to beep erratically. Christina concludes that she must have hit her head on the way downstairs. Tom says he needs to relieve the cranial pressure. Ray loudly objects and Brenda has to settle him down. Just as Christina is looking for supplies, the firemen come to the rescue. Bobbie and Steve get Gail in the ambulance. They share a moment where she shares how she lost her leg. Steve confesses that his big secret is that he changed his name because his dad and brothers are criminals. He says he left his family behind and doesn’t want them to find him. So THAT was his secret?

Christina and company finally make their way outside of the hospital. Ray goes with Candy to the hospital at the request of Brenda. Erin and Tom have that dreaded talk where they both realize that it is NOT going to work. The Joint Inspection Commission wants to shut James River down but the team member that shadowed Christina objects. The hospital is saved! The emotions start to flow when Christina and Tom embrace. This leads to kissing (yes!) and proclamations of love (double yes!!). They embrace again and Christina says, “I’m pregnant”. And that is THAT!

This episode had so much intensity. There was never a moment for the characters to catch their breath. Even though so many of the relationships are in turmoil, they showed that they could all come together to save lives. We are left with major cliffhangers. What is going to happen to Candy and her baby? Who does Ray want to be with? What is next for Tom and Christina? I kind of knew that she was pregnant when she read the test results. How could they end it there without getting Tom’s reaction? Is it June yet? So let me know what you think about Christina, her staff and whether you would ever want to be a patient at James River Hospital. Leave your two cents below!