St. Denis Medical returns to NBC on March 2 after the series took a month-long break for the network’s Winter Olympics coverage. The episode, ‘A New Best Friend,’ sees Tim (Kyle Bornheimer) get treated by Bruce (Josh Lawson). Elsewhere, Joyce (Wendi McLendon-Covey) goes on an accidental journey, while Ron’s (David Alan Grier) shoes squeak much to Val’s (Kaliko Kauahi) delight.
‘A New Best Friend’ features a strong A-plot that sees Bruce examine Tim’s knee after a lingering sports injury from a torn ACL is causing him problems. Alex (Allison Tolman) points out that Bruce is doing Tim a favour by fitting him in, so the least they can do is laugh at his jokes and let him show off. Tim doesn’t think it should be too hard, but Alex insists that he doesn’t know Bruce.
At lunch, Alex joins Matt (Mekki Leeper), who explains that he plays on Bruce’s bar trivia team with Chaplain Steve (Stephen Schneider). Later, Bruce tells Alex she never mentioned she’d married such a fun, laid-back dude. He insists that she and Tim have a yin and yang dynamic, which isn’t far from the truth.
With an MRI scheduled in an hour, Tim swaps numbers with Bruce through a phone bump. Alex is evidently not pleased with the exchange and tells Bruce he doesn’t need to ring Tim or pick up if he calls. In response, Bruce hands over Dr. Sedora’s details so Alex can book a sleep study for her snoring. Alex can’t help noticing how well the two men are “vibing”: Bruce is the archetypal cool athlete, while Tim embraces his inner nerd, obsessing over sci-fi, fantasy, obscure history, and memorising species names. Bruce, with bar trivia on his mind, seems impressed rather than put off.
Unsurprisingly, Matt later tells Alex he’s off the trivia team. Alex, however, decides to take matters into her own hands. If Matt rejoins the team, Bruce and Tim’s budding friendship will fall apart. Allison Tolman is never better than when St. Denis Medical explores Alex’s neurosis, even when her actions are as baffling as trying to ruin the friendship between her husband and her co-worker.
To force the issue, Alex gets Matt to place a large turf order through Tim’s company. Overwhelmed by the 500-acre order, Tim tells Alex he is slammed in. He’ll have to disappoint several clients to manage it, and, worse, let Bruce down. Alex finally confesses to her plan, but the acreage was Matt’s idea. As a Montana native, he has no real sense of scale. Kyle Bornheimer fits in well with the ensemble and would be a welcome addition if NBC were interested in promoting him to a series regular next season.
If you weren’t a fan of Chaplain Steve before this week, he picks Matt as his target. He calls Matt a “little waving bitch,” despite Bruce admitting he waved first. Bruce doesn’t take too kindly to the dig, having enjoyed Matt’s company in recent episodes. Bruce then learns that Steve and Serena are secretly seeing each other. Given that Matt once had (not buying the past tense) a crush on Serena and Steve regularly belittles him, Bruce doubts Matt will take the news well.
In the end, Bruce tells Matt he’s on the team after all. Matt apologises for the plan going awry with Tim, but Bruce reveals that Tim is staying. Steve is out. The next practice session will take place in Alex’s garage. Bruce admits he doesn’t expect Matt to be a trivia expert, but at least if they lose, they’ll have someone to blame. Josh Lawson consistently delivers some of the best that comedy has to offer.
This week’s B-plot revolves around Serena (Kahyun Kim), Joyce, and a misplaced bar of chocolate. After treating a patient named Jerry who has indulged in psychedelic confectionery, Serena confiscates the remaining chocolate and leaves it at reception when a code blue pulls her away. Joyce assumes Alex has left the treat behind. With the failed birthing centre inspection, she believes she has earned a little indulgence. Joyce eats the bar, despite thinking it’s earthy.
When Serena returns looking for the chocolate, Joyce offers to replace it. Serena clarifies that it was shroom-infused chocolate. Joyce remains unfazed, recalling a trip to Amsterdam in the 1990s where she ate an entire hash cookie and didn’t feel a thing. Serena, understandably alarmed, urges her not to be alone and to lie down. Joyce insists she has far too much to deal with and will be fine. She is, of course, not.
Serena tries to contain the fallout by limiting the number of people Joyce interacts with. However, Joyce commandeers the intercom to address the entire staff, announcing that death isn’t real but merely a concept made up by social media. Wendi McLendon-Covey steals the episode this week, delivering one laugh-out-loud moment after another.
With no other choice, Serena leaves Joyce with Jerry, who is watching a live feed from the Seattle Aquarium. The pairing proves inspired. Joyce opens up about the failed birthing centre and her broken engagement, confessing that both felt like personal failures. Jerry, as high as a kite, imagines a future where aliens arrive and invite people aboard their ship. He worries that they might overlook him for being too much of a screw-up, only for Joyce to counter that screw-ups are essential. When Joyce asks whether they’d need people who overcomplicate everything, he reassures her that those might be some of the most essential passengers of all.
As Joyce comes down from her high, she does so with clarity. She makes peace with who and why she is, embracing the idea that everything feels limitless and nothing is impossible. She tells Serena she worries too much, before conceding that perhaps the aliens also need people who worry. It’s a hilarious subplot, but one that shares an unexpectedly sincere message about failure, identity, and self-acceptance.
The C-plot revolves around Ron. He proudly sports his latest purchase, a pair of Italian leather shoes, prompting the new addition to St. Denis, Doreen, to note that there’s nothing better than a well-dressed man. Unfortunately, the admiration lasts all of five seconds before Val points out that Ron squeaks with every step. Ron once pointed out that Val had accidentally tucked her scrubs into her underwear, which explains why she’s now relishing his humiliation. It’s light-hearted in an episode that certainly appreciates it.
“A New Best Friend” stands as the strongest episode of St. Denis Medical Season 2 so far and proves well worth the wait.
