Emily Owens: Blackmailing, Lawyering, Teaching

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Everyone is saying that the CW will cancel this show. I've been trying to decide if I care or not... I still think that the premise is good and the potential is there, but I'm not sure that anything is actually happening. Part of me can't stand that the show is hopelessly stuck in 2012, with the nurses flocking to Facebook AND twitter to share every bit of gossip they can get their hands on. Another part hates that Emily is constantly talking to herself... while I understand the point of her doing so... she's just not that interesting. Also, does the itty-bitty theme music remind anyone else of early Boy Meets World? And, for an episode to refer to an "outbreak," I expected more danger and quarantining... or something.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Alan Zolman Incident" (S01E02): Emily talks about being in the ninth grade and telling her crush, Alan, that she liked him. She tells Tyra that Will rejected her (to explain why she's nervous-giggly today), then says that he drunk-dialed her once and said that he should date a girl like her. She tries to diffuse the tension, saying that she's past it and now likes Micah... just in time for Cassandra to overhear. [annoying!] By the end of the episode, Emily later tells Will that she's not over him, but she does delete the voicemail from Will, though she instantly regrets it. [LoL... the last time a crush said something to me I wish I could have saved was probably four or five years before I even had a cell phone.]

Emily gets an OCD patient, which is a prank from the nurses for faux-flirting with Jessica. [are we still on that?] After hearing how the patient's OCD medication stopped working and seeing her handwriting, Emily thinks a brain tumor might be the issue. To rush approval for an MRI, she avoids the chain-of-command and goes to blackmail the Chief-of-Staff for what she saw the other night. [Emily. stop. no endearment qualities for this.] The tumor is revealed and can be removed, which should help her quite a bit... but she dies on the table. [awww.] Plus, Emily gets into trouble for going over her attending's head. [duh!]

Emily has to tell a patient that his heart is failing and he will not be able to have surgery, but he really wants to live a few more years, so Emily tries to schedule the procedure anyway. But, when his insurance company doesn't approve it, Emily's OCD patient suggests she reference the Affordable Care Act and age discrimination laws to get them to back down. This works and the surgery takes place, but the old man ends up needing an even more invasive procedure anyway.

Micah confides in Emily about his mother's pancreatic cancer, and Emily apologizes for the rumor spreading about her being after him. She even sits with his mother during her first round of chemo.

Photo: Michael Courtney/The CW

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... the Outbreak" (S01E03): Emily makes a list of Will's flaws, like immaturity. An oral pop quiz has Cassandra beating Emily when our protagonist zones out and doesn't hear a question. [one of the many things that happens because we always hear what's in her head!] This is important because Dr. Mendari is looking for a research assistant, and everyone wants to but his or her best foot forward. Cassandra falters later, though, when she freezes when she's supposed to make an incision on a gallbladder patient. [I thought it was nice of Emily to take the high road and attempt to cover for her, though.]  

A gymnast must remain inactive for a week because of a concussion, but after a seizure, she requires even more tests. Meningitis results are negative, but she develops a rash. Eventually, the girl confides to Emily and Cassandra that she snuck out to a party at a farm one night. So, they realize she has a fungal infection... but she may have damaged her inner ear (aka balance) because of it and the treatment. But, she turns out to be fine and goes back to her uber-competitive world, as her father is very committed to this goal for her. [this plotline went nowhere!] 

Emily has to give a shot to a teen with gonorrhea, then go to the high school and talk to the kids about safe sex because eight kids from that school have come in with STIs. [Why did some random high school girl try to befriend Emily in the hallway?] The girls start cutting up immediately, asking questions about positions and how long Emily was a virgin (until she was 20). [really? because I kinda believe she's a virgin now...] The girls decide to jump the guy who spread the infection, and he winds up in the ER with lacerations. He won't get tested, and he's not planning on using condoms, either. He also lies to his mother about why he was jumped. Emily realizes that he gave a urine sample because of his bruised ribs, and he gave permission to test the sample initially (for internal bleeding), so she and Will run an STI test and give him the results, which his mother sees. They treat him and Emily asks him to apologize to one girl who's been waiting there. [not the best wrap-up, guys.]