Ian Sullivan evaded trouble for now, but how long is that sustainable?
Ian was in full-blown withdrawal throughout The Resident Season 6 Episode 4, and it was nerve-wracking to witness.
He barely pulled off an intricate surgery on an infant, raised many flags with his colleagues, and he torpedoed whatever progress he made in his relationship with Cade.
While a doctor dependent on substances isn’t new in this series, they’ve fully committed to fleshing it out more than they previously had. We’re getting the full scope of how Ian’s addiction, withdrawal, and his attempts to hide it are impacting him.
Withdrawal is a beast. As Cade astutely pointed out, sometimes, coming down from the addiction is worse than feeding it.
She speaks from the perspective of an addict’s daughter, and it is fitting that she dealt directly with and treated the mother and addict. In contrast, Ian got tasked with trying to save the child of this addict, who suffered gravely from her mother’s addiction and actions.
It made the respective cases close to home for both of them. Little Evelyn not only needed to get weaned off of drugs, something Ian could relate to, but she required a spinal surgery that only Ian could perform.
Ian: Thanks for holding down the fort.
Billie: But I shouldn’t have to. What happened back there, Ian?
Ian: Well, long story short, I was sick, now I’m not.
Billie: Well, someday I want the long story because that can never happen again.
But Ian’s withdrawal symptoms render him incapable of performing surgery, which was difficult to explain to the likes of Billie and Jessica.
It was obvious that something more was going on with him. Billie had zero patience for it, too. And it wouldn’t be surprising if it becomes a topic of conversation later and Billie puts two and two together.
Being in Ian’s head for even small increments as his withdrawal tore him apart until he caved and took something was intense. Andrew McCarthy performance was incredible, though!
It seemed impossible for him to pull off this ruse, and it genuinely felt like he would kill a baby by the end of the hour. And his outburst after Cade came to speak to him was brutal. Things can get ugly when someone comes down, and he had some harsh words for his daughter.
She didn’t deserve any of that. The emotional toll it took on her to listen to him speak so horribly about her made Cade beyond sympathetic and put more of her character into perspective, and we needed that to connect with her more.
Was Ian always and consistently an addict throughout her childhood, or was he solely a narcissist who was absent?
Sometimes, it is hard to decipher. Perhaps the addiction aspect is more context to the glory-chasing background.
Nevertheless, any strides the two made in their relationship dissolved after that heavy moment, and poor Cade was projecting and speaking her truth in a rare moment of vulnerability as she hoped to speak reason into Diana.
Diana seemed genuinely intent on getting clean and doing right by her daughter. However, she was singing a different tune towards the end. Perhaps the fact that she officially named her daughter means there is hope for her.
My cousin, his eyes used to be dilated like that. It turns out he was in withdrawal at the time. You’re not in withdrawal are you, Dr. Sullivan?
Tabitha
Ian barely pulled off his deceit by using a patient’s urine during his test. But there’s still the potential for backlash after that. Even if he gets away with the patient’s urine being clean and without issue, he has that synthetic urine.
If someone discovers that, especially after his erratic behavior, it’s over for him. Frankly, with a bunch of doctors who probably routinely jump to addiction or withdrawal regularly when it comes to patients, it’s concerning and madness that they haven’t caught on already.
The shift away from Padma was appreciated because it put most of the doctors back into their groove at work.
A.J. took some time off, but we did get those precious moments of him holding his babies. Padma seemed enamored too, and they were off to get settled into the condo, with mom and twins having a clean bill of health.
Leela managed to pull off her first solo surgery, nearly giving Nolan a heart attack in the process. For some reason, I thought she had already achieved that feat.
But it was nice to see her running things on her own, and it’s obvious that mentors like A.J. and Billie have helped her become a true rockstar in the O.R.
And time away from clinical trials hasn’t made Devon a less competent doctor and diagnostician.
If there was ever a character who deserves a meaty, fleshed-out storyline, it’s Irving.
He’s become such a jaded character and an ass over time, and it feels like there is a story to explore there, but they never address it.
Irving’s random doubts about Devon’s ability to diagnose his patient and be compassionate and humane in the process were a bit jarring.
When you consider that Devon was Chastain’s diagnostician when Conrad was gone during those five years, it’s supremely bizarre that Irving was challenging him and disagreeing as if Devon was still an intern or something.
And Devon didn’t put his patient through unnecessary pain for his own peace of mind. It was something that she craved to know. She desired answers, and she assumed the risks.
Somehow, Irving, who spent years working alongside Conrad and watching his magic, couldn’t buy that Devon could find something other doctors had overlooked.
Cade: Dad, we need to talk.
Ian: I can’t right now, dear, I’ve gotta get going.
Cade: Earlier with the patient you were having trouble, you were forgetting thigns, and it’s been weighing on me.
Ian: I got surgery right now, Cade. I can’t do this right now, okay?
Cade: I don’t think you should be operating.
Ian: This is exactly why I didn’t tell you about the oxyprozine, everything I do now is going to be under a microscope.
Cade: Can you blame me? I’m worried about you, dad.
Ian: Do no patronize me! Is that why you came in here? Comb through all my past, fine let’s do that?
Cade: okay you’re being irrational, just calm down.
Ian: Do you want me to admit it? I was a terrible father. That’s what you tell all your friends, right? You tell them I was a deadbeat. You had to raise yourself, right? You know, Cade, sometimes you are not the victim. Sometimes you’re the problem. You make everyone around you feel like a failure, Ms. High and Mighty. Do you have any idea what having a daughter like that does to a man?
Cade: I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment to you, Ian.
It wasn’t even a surprise when Devon turned out to be correct, and he could properly diagnose her with cancer.
The whole thing showed that the two men could disagree and it not be an issue. And it was sweet that Devon checked in with Conrad and still sought his advice and a pick-me-up as his mentor.
It was another win for Devon’s excellent bedside manner and compassion. And it’s always nice to see him with patients. He isn’t completely lost in research, clinical trial storylines, or twin family drama.
Whereas, when it came to Conrad, it was nice to see him take some time off work and spend the day with Gigi.
One could watch an entire installment of the daddy/daughter duo being absolutely precious.
Sometimes a kid just needs some quality time with their parent. And spending the day with Gigi was enough to give her the encouragement she needed to push past her insecurities and break her board for taekwondo.
We learned that Gigi’s nightmares have stopped. Although, there still feels like there is something more to this storyline, and we have to wait for it to come to the forefront more.
But she was a typical child, worried about the other kids laughing at her if she failed in breaking her board and getting her next stripe.
I love when children have such perfectly normal, kid-like concerns and worries, and the adults in their lives teach them how to navigate them.
They seem so insignificant and small to us as adults, but it’s easy to remember how dire and significant every little thing was when we were that age.
Conrad trying to learn the fundamentals of taekwondo to help Gigi out was adorable, and it brings me such joy to know that she has her own little nurse’s kit for injuries.
Irving: You know where her weakness is from. She has myasthenia gravis.
Devon: I’m not so sure about that. My gut is telling me something else is going on.
Irving: Hold up, you’re saying dozens of neurologists who all diagnosed her with myasthenia gravis are wrong, all because you have spidey sense?
Devon: I’m sure those doctors made the best diagnosis they could with the information they had, but the inefficiencies of the treatment–
Irving: This isn’t about the treatments, Pravesh, this is about you treating a patient like one of your little science experiments.
Conrad’s Ferris Bueller and Karate Kid references were amusing, and he genuinely seemed to have a ball spending the day with his sweet little princess.
They’re such a joy to watch together. How do you not smile ear to ear at them?
Everything was a success, and she did so well. Conrad was such a proud papa, too. Everything about that storyline was the cutest.
Over to you, Resident Fanatics.
What are your thoughts on Ian’s addiction situation? Can Ian and Cade ever have a healthy, loving relationship, or is there too much hurt? Sound off below.
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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.