Hello, Nurse!: Putting Hawthorne on the (Round)Table
Andrea: Ooooookaaaaaay? At the same time, the plot hinted at–and I think Bobbie made a passing statement about–the mother having a mental condition, as homelessness is usually coded in pop culture. So, her giving birth in her clothes and carrying a sick infant afterwards in a shopping basket isn’t too far off the fictional mark.
Mahsino: Have you ever seen those free-birthing documentaries where (arguably) sane women just drop kids without medical supervision of any kind? I’ll give the lady a pass, especially with a mental illness. But I do call bull on cute brand-newborn babies. FAIL. Newborn babies are rarely that cute. His eyes were open too wide and he seemed way too alert for a newborn.
Erica: I was actually pretty impressed with how close to newborn the baby looked — usually television “newborns” are fat six-month-olds. But yeah, he looked way too healthy and cheerful.
Your take on the rest of the nursing staff? I liked Bobbie, and thought the introduction of her own romantic interest was a nice touch. But the Young Nurse Who Cries and asks “am I going to cry every day?” seemed a bit much for me, as far as character tropes.
Andrea: LOL! Yeah, I feel you on Nurse Weepy. I wanted to scream, “Woman, buck up or go be an actor!” But I got too meta and ironic, and I backed away from the po-mo. Fast. So, I concentrated on the other nursing staffers. I liked Bobbie, and I was glad to see a PoC/PoC friendship where both held their own without devolving into a stereotype-as-best-friend. And I dug how Bobbie having a prosthetic leg was dealt with factually and humorously and romantically, not as a overstated “teaching moment” for the audience. I was also happy to see so many women of size on the show.
However, it was odd that 1) the white male nurse’s angst at the “reverse sexism” he faced got all sorts of play and 2) the white blonde nurse’s giving Soldier Boy some “extra TLC” merely raised an eyebrow from other nurses, which came off as hateration more than ethical questioning.
Diana: I liked the fact that Bobbie had a prosthetic leg. The knife in the leg was something definitely unexpected. I liked the male nurse who could not pass his MCATs. That’s something you don’t see everyday. Nurse Weepy reminded me of Lacey Chabert (from Party of Five) who really got on my nerves. I hope she stops crying real soon.
Mahsino: Come on now, I’m pretty sure we’ve all with with that one incompetent person who cries/complains about everything. I’ll give it a pass on that one. They need to stop hiring high-pictched brunettes with high ponytails to work in medical dramas. Yeah, it’s a cliched, annoying character- but isn’t the tough, yet humourous, nurse of color trope one, too? I happen to like Bobbie, but she’s been done. Cosign on the PoC/PoC friendship love, though.
I thought the reveal about Christina’s husband was a nice twist on an on-screen interracial romance, what with us not meeting the actual guy.
Andrea: Hmmm….I had to think about that. I at first thought, “Oh? Christina’s late hubby was white?” Then I thought, “Hold it. We only see the white mother-in-law and the (coded as) bi-racial daughter.” Since we only see these two folks, is the husband actually white? Or could he be bi-racial himself (and did he consider himself Black, a la President Obama)? Or an adopted light-skinned Black man or other PoC? So, until I see a photo of the dude and get some more backstory, I’m jumping to no conclusions about him.
Diana: I just assumed he was white. I was more interested in why everyone thought Christina had “let” him die or caused his death. Did I miss something?
Andrea: Naw, gurl. They’re just tryna get you to watch the show again.
Mahsino: Yeah, I’m not going to jump the gun and say he’s white either. If only because there’s only so many stereotypes we can smash at a time.
Open Mic!
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