Two old friends are back in this week’s Critical, dropping straight into the drama without ceremony.
The first is Sister Campbell, last seen being escorted off the premises a couple of weeks ago. Nothing is mentioned but we have to assume that in the wake of Clive’s dismissal, her removal has been overturned.
The other returnee is not, alas, Brian in CT (whose buttons have presumably remained unpressed for several weeks now) but the infamous aortic clamp. Much in demand during Episode 2 and appearing to great dramatic effect in Episode 3, it’s back with a vengeance in the latest terrifically tense episode.
As though to prove me wrong when I claimed last week that underneath it all Critical is really about sex, this week the romantic interplay is very much playing second fiddle to the medical drama.
True, we start with a loved-up Glen and Fiona getting dressed in order to answer their pagers, and clearly there’s something (I would guess a proposal) behind Tom arranging an evening out and leaving flowers in Fiona’s locker. But all that takes a back seat this week.
We even skip much of the preliminary trauma ward work this time round. The patient of the week arrives impaled on three large forks on the back of a truck, and until the fire service arrives to cut through the forks there’s no way he can be moved. So the initial assessment takes place in situ on the back of a truck in the hospital car park.
Assessment over and with the forks cut, the action moves straight to theatre. And stays there, the episode unfolding even more than usual like a one-act play. When further activity seems fated to damage rather than assist the patient there’s a brief interlude as Glen reports back to the anxious father. But at his damning cry of, “So you’re giving up?!” the ever-driven Glen is back to the theatre for the usual mix of inspiration and improvisation.
When the desperate activity finally ends, there’s a terrific bit of acting from Ayesha Dharker as Mrs Murkherjee, who having found herself urged to work faster and in more intense circumstances than usual, has risen to the challenge.
With Critical’s usual economy and subtlety we can see how affected she’s been by the work they’ve done, and the opportunity she’s had to help save this patient. It’s a reminder that for all his gruffness, Glen’s at his best when inspiring others to match his determination….
….Although that’s no guarantee that he’ll get the girl of course. As Glen calls the army to politely decline their kind offer of being sent back to active duty, he sees a smiling Fiona calling boyfriend Tom. He’s still in with a chance though, and if Critical shows us anything it’s that sometimes there’s still life even when it seems hopeless.
He’d better be quick though – there are only two more episodes to go.
Aired at 9pm on Tuesday 5 May 2015 on Sky1.
> Order Season 1 on DVD on Amazon.
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