It took 100 episodes to get there, but “The Resident” is where it should be. So, at last, is Dr. Bell.
In short, the episode (shown here) that airs tonight (8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, on Fox) is surprisingly good. It’s:
— The third-best “Resident” episode yet. The only ones better were a clever Halloween-out-of-town hour, a few years back, and a post-pandemic season-opener.
— And the second-best broadcast-TV hour I’ve seen this fall, topped only by the second episode of ABC’s “Alaska Daily.”
This is the 100th “Resident” episode, with the wedding of Kit (Jane Leeves, shown here) and Bell (Bruce Greenwood). She’s the hospital CEO; he’s the former CEO … and a former villain who inexplicably turned heroic.
We could question that transition – and his comeback from physical ailments – but it all works.
Since this is a Fox wedding, you know there will be problems. Tonight’s are serious, involving everyone from the pill-addicted pediatric surgeon (Andrew McCarthy) to the rock-solid Dr. Austin (the terrific Malcolm-Jamal Warner).
Other things play out, many revolving around the widowed Conrad, his young daughter and the two doctors who love him, one secretly. That sounds like a lot, but it’s sharply written, subtly acted and beautifully directed. The 100th episode was worth waiting for.