Nic vs Lane had the most potential from the start and the writers were right to exploit it and articulate the final arc around it, because wow.
As soon as I saw the puppies, I knew it would be the hell of a ride (and kept thinking about how unhygienic it was to have animals walking around the hospital).
So Lane revealed a true and evil villain. I was yelling at the other oncologist: "Don't tell her! Don't tell her, you idiot!"; but I thought she'd have Nic reprimanded or suspended, not that she'd go that far. Lane is dangerous because she's smart, cold as ice, and a master manipulator. Conrad, Nic, Bell, they all fell for her schtick at one point. She played on Conrad's empathy for his patients like a violin, and he was manipulating her too (the smirk, always the smirk when he hides what he feels) but she's out of his league. She played Bell (to give herself an alibi? or to seduce him and have him on her side? or to seduce him and frame him, too?) after it was stressed that his divorce was final. And she played Nic. Placing Lily back in her care was a stroke of evil genius. Nic didn't buy the kumbaya speech, but imo she thought that Lane was worried and backing off the case herself. Second, because as I said above Lane could go to Claire and complain about Nic endangering Chastain's reputation and finances etc. so Nic had no reason to suspect that Lane could try to get rid of her in another way. With that move, Lane lured Nic into a sense of false security.
I didn't think that Nic was too trusting or stupid. There's losing perspective and killing patients who are terminal by using them as guinea pigs, for the "greater good" and "money to save others who have a chance", and there's cold-blood murder and framing someone for it. The point on Priya's investigation showed that the Musketeers don't suspect yet the possibility of Lane purposefully making patients sick. Nic put the IV, checked the dosage herself, and Lane had to trifle with it afterwards to increase the speed of administration, I suppose. I don't think it could come to her mind, either, that Lane would actually murder a patient and dirty her own hands.
I just wonder why they didn't show Lane actually do it, in terms of: Are they keeping some leeway for a cop out? I'm reaching, only because I believe indeed that it will be hard to keep Melina K. another season after Lane killed Lily -not that what she does at her clinic isn't despicable or punishable, but I can see how she could get away with it. Unless they can prove that Nic didn't do it but can't prove anything against Lane. Melina K. is absolutely nailing it in the role, so it would be a pity to lose her.
When the ex-fiancee began to ask Nic about Conrad, I was ready to roll my eyes at the ex's sixth sense or some "I saw on your face that you love him", so good move with the ring. She noticing it explains why she talked about personal matters to an unknown nurse. There were a couple of clunky dialogues ("we both come from broken families") but 1) a TV ex who doesn't want her ex back, yay! 2) it shed more light on Conrad's family situation, while mostly avoiding the sudden big info dump.
When Conrad said he called Jude, I face-palmed. Jude doesn't have a better track record than Bell, Mina wasn't impressed, by the way, and it wasn't his fault this time around but I definitely feel another disaster in the making here.
Mina continues to be my ray of sunshine. "I'm not a dog person, etc." and her definition of romantic love, LOL.
Between the cute dog and the tragedies, this episode could have drowned in saccharine and it didn't, which I really appreciated. The stories were strong enough as they were. I liked the choice of simply showing Conrad's raw pain, without fussing about it.
Edited March 27, 2018 by Happy HarpyncG1vNJzZmien6fCrr%2BNqamipZWptq6x0WeaqKVfqbyxtcJobXFpYWd6tHyQnmdyZZykwLV5y6itnmc%3D