‘The Knick’ Recap: Straight to Hell
“You are right in speaking of the moral foundations of science, but you cannot turn round and speak of the scientific foundations of morality.”
– Albert Einstein
It’s easy for medicine to be at odds with religion. For a doctor who believes in microbes, medicine and causation, a god who punishes and rewards makes little sense, and there is no place for moral judgment. But don’t tell that to anyone on The Knick, where this week there was so much talk of faith, fanaticism and the Almighty you could not be blamed for thinking the rapture was imminent.
In its most benign iteration, religion forms the backdrop of Dr. Bertie Chickering‘s new life at Mt. Sinai, originally known as “Jews Hospital.” Now one of apparently many under-surgeons under Dr. Thackeray‘s rival, Dr. Zinberg, the comically goyshe young man tries to impress his new colleagues with his naïve affability and good-natured jokes (“You can call me Bertie. I am not a Jew”), before throwing down some bedside Yiddish. But the uptown hospital is far more buttoned up than the Knick – employing a sober chief surgeon will do that to a place – and Bertie’s shy smiles leave his new boss cold. Luckily, they do work on Genevieve Everidge (nee Esther Cohen), the fetching young reporter writing an article about Zinberg, and he scores his first date since Lucy Elkins.
As for that nurse, she’s still downtown trying to get over her breakup with hard work and prayer, while fighting off Henry Robertson‘s advances. Apparently turned on by a pretty face emptying bedpans, Cornelia‘s sort-of-charming-sort-of stalker-ish brother follows Lucy around the ward, deploying more confidence in five minutes than Bertie was able to muster during their entire courtship. But the lady’s post-Thack heart is cold. “Tell Me, Mr. Robertson, do you believe in God?” she demands. He does not, and so ends that seduction.
Intolerance is just one of the obstacles in Sister Harriet‘s path as she sits in the clink waiting for her court date. The other is finances, since Cleary has yet to come up with the cash for her attorney. Fortunately, after a little light blackmailing, Cornelia agrees to bankroll the former nun’s defense, but this particular brand of altruism doesn’t go over well with her husband. Up until now Philip hasn’t displayed much personality beyond kind-but-oblivious cuckold and filial doormat, but he expands his range this week with a dash of sanctimony. Sharing some pillow talk after Cornelia initiates guilt-sex (she just returned from a make-out session with Algernon), he spouse clearly states his disapproval: “Stay away from her,” he orders. “Only God can save her now.”
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