St. Denis Medical Episode 5 Exposes the Hidden Dark Side of the New NBC Sitcom

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for St. Denis Medical season 1, episode 5.St. John's Medical Clinic proved to be a comedic powerhouse, but episode 5 (“A miracle full of peanuts and caramel”) reveals the serious scenario underlying the sitcom. Mekki Leeper's Matt is the clumsy newbie in St. John's Medical Cliniccast of characters, but episode 5 confronts Matt with harsh reality working as a healthcare professional. After performing CPR on a man who survived, Matt becomes fixated on the patient and routinely visits him and his family in hopes of saying thank you. NBC's mockumentary about the medical workplace instead forces you to face a horrible truth: nursing can be a thankless job.

St. John's Medical Clinic it goes beyond the patient failing to thank Matt, however. After Val's (Kaliko Kauahi) advice to forget about it is ignored, Matt has a chance encounter with the patient after he is discharged, catching his sweatshirt as he falls to the floor. After he fails to thank Matt again, the nurse confronts the patient about his lack of manners. The patient loudly berates Matt for thinking he is entitled to gratitude for saving his life. With St. John's Medical Clinic Season 2 not yet confirmed, this experience could be formative for the new nurse.

Matt's St. Denis Medical Episode 5 Shows the Harsh Realities of Being a Nurse

Healthcare professionals don’t always get the thanks they deserve

St. John's Medical ClinicCritical response was positive, in part due to its realistic portrayal of nursing. As the world has discovered in recent years, nurses are truly essential workers. Healthcare professionals make a career out of helping othersbut they certainly don't do it for praise. Matt's inability to accept that the patient openly doesn't appreciate him is a reflection of his rookie status. Despite not being the most skilled, Matt is the most optimistic as he is a recent hire. Compared to seasoned professionals like Val and Alex (Allison Tolman), Matt is still naive in his inexperience.

Being berated by a patient in front of his colleagues will be a turning point for Matt, for better or worse. St. John's Medical Clinic it's a great Superstore replacement, but the lessons learned seem to be harder when they are learned by nurses. On the one hand, it would be beneficial in the long run for Matt to trade his optimism for realism. Still, Matt's constant sense of wonder and childlike discovery is a critical part of St. John's Medical Clinicvisual experience of, and it seems too soon for him to abandon all hope (regardless of how unrealistic that hope may be).

What Matt's St. Denis Medical Episode 5 Story Reveals About St. Denis Medical's Brand of Comedy

Big laughs can pave the way for big truths

Unlike similar mockumentary hits such as The office, St. John's Medical Clinic is set in a high-risk industry with serious consequences. The quiet sense of urgency works like an undercurrent, making the show feel reminiscent of the best medical dramas and the best comedies at the same time. NBC balances the real-world risks of working in a hospital with all the silly subplots a viewer would expect from a sitcom, with Mat's antics being a prime example of this. St. John's Medical Clinic It plays with tropes from similar shows, but maintains a unique sense of identity that sets it apart from its contemporaries and opens up opportunities for serious moments.

While St. John's Medical Clinic is primarily a comedy, with a focus on healthcare professionals making realistic beats necessary. A large part St. John's Medical Clinicthe humor stems from the true absurdity the nurses deal with daily, but this needs to be occasionally reduced by the stress and worry that accompanies work. St. John's Medical Clinic allows these moments to arrive abruptly, like a woman suddenly fainting in the parking lot (“Welcome to St. Denis”). Episode 5's condescending patient Matt stands out even more in contrast, making the rude awakening as shocking to the viewer as it is to him.