Episode Report Card Joe R: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT 127 Hours (Part 1 of 127)
By Joe R | Season 1 | Episode 5 | Aired on 02.09.2011
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.With Mina still weirded out from last week's hand-holding with Cole -- she was never a hugger or a hand-holder, even with her parents -- and Plastics feeling the burn of his estrangement from his parents, this is the perfect time to introduce a traumatic event featuring father/daughter American tourists. They were scuba diving, see, and there was a rockslide near some coral, and the daughter is trapped beneath some rock. The father's a single dad who doesn't do affection properly, so Mina relates while Plastics sneers. Ultimately, Dr. Ben says they have to amputate her leg, which they do, and she survives, but it makes for some awkward, bitter, and ultimately cathartic father/daughter moments back at the clinic. Enough to make Plastics send a note back home to the folks, and to make Mina tell Cole that the hand-holding isn't something she just does. (Ugh, the move towards Burke/Yang II continues.)
Meanwhile, Cole has to deal with his jealousy over a Scottish adventurer -- and frequent admirer of Zee's -- showing up with larvae in his skin. Yes! How can Zee resist such a man? But Zee's still pissed because Cole thinks they're just friends with benefits -- he doesn't even know her middle name. So while Zee uses raw bacon to draw out the larvae from Handsome Scot's admittedly appealing chest, Cole stews and grumbles. Zee ultimately sends her bacon-wrapped paramour on his way, but she also breaks things off with Cole, because she doesn't want to be his jungle fling.
Lily gets another visit from hot Mateo, only this time he's trying to charm his way out of a bullet to the gut. During surgery, Lily discovers the bullet came from a cop's gun, but when she informs Mateo, post-surgery, that she's called the police, he explains that he was in a scuffle due to the corrupt cops trying to muscle his family off their farmland. Mmmm, we'll see if that turns out to be true. In the meantime, Lily lies to the cop who shows up, but not before kissing Mateo in a spectacular display of Things Doctors Shouldn't Do But Always Do on TV.
Finally, Plastics has decided to opt for celibacy in the wake of Alma and her jerky boyfriend with the now-healed penis. But that doesn't last very long once he finds out that Alma dumped Elan. And something's wrong with Dr. Clark, and despite the coughing fit and vomiting she exhibits after returning to the surface from saving the scuba-divers, it doesn't look like it's the Bends. The way the storyline is going, I'd say pregnancy, but it doesn't fit the symptoms. Developing ...
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previously: Zee was disappointed by Cole categorizing their relationship as "bang friends" (to paraphrase), Lily met hot-hot-hot local hottie Mateo, Plastics expressed regret over cutting his parents out of his life, and Mina held Cole's hand while he underwent dental surgery sans-drugs.
Currently: We get a big fakeout to start the show, as a seemingly serious all-doctors huddle about "giving it a shot" and "these are kids we're talking about here" turns out to be, of course, all about the beach soccer game that Team Clinic is participating in. They seem to be getting waxed by the local children, see. Of note: Cole picks up Mina in the middle of a play in what's half an encouraging hug and half a maneuver-her-out-of-my-way thing; Mina, as ever, doesn't like being touched. Because she is made of ice. Also of note: Clark appears to get winded after a little running around, though she brushes it off as nothing. Mmm, yeah, not on a medical show, it's not. Dr. Ben winds up lofting a ball towards Lily, and to her credit, she heads the ball into the goal ... giving the doctors a narrow 16-6 loss. I tell you what, that is some poor goalkeeping on BOTH sides.
Afterwards, Lily and her now-bent sunglasses suggest heading to the cantina tonight (as opposed to whatever else they do every night?), leading to Plastics teasing her about her "very sexy farmer" new boyfriend (Lily corrects him that Mateo's parents are the farmers). Mina notes the photo they took with the kids and how shocked her parents would be to see her with her arms around a kid "and not even wearing a haz-mat suit." Plastics says his parents would see the photo and just assume he's on a tropical vacay with his illegitimate children. Hey, props to any dad who would take his illegitimate children on a tropical vacation, Plastics! Mina then talks about how it's weird that Cole thinks they're hug-buddies ever since the tooth extraction. Mina, you may need to be reminded, is not a hugger. Mina does not truck with hugs. Mina's least favorite monster in Alien is the face-hugger. Charlie runs up and tells Plastics that Alma's over there and wants to talk to him. Plastics: "For what? All the amazing sex she's having with her stupid boyfriend because I fixed his penis?" I know I talk about how adorable Zach Gilford is every week, and how he manages to make a whiney jerk like Plastics seems unavoidably likeable, but I seriously could watch him grouse about other people's happiness all day. He tells Charlie to tell her "You're welcome," and when the girls raise eyebrows at him, he shrugs his shoulders and says he's got a whole celibacy thing going. It's helping with his focus. It certainly must be freeing up a lot of his time. Plastics' explanation of his cool new sexless life is interrupted by Dr. Ben calling for Mina and Plastics: "There's an A-plot out in the water!"