‘The Knick’ Recap: Take Me to the River
Tragedy comes early in The Knick this week: By the cold morning light, two men fish a bloated body out of the East River; sadly, the corpse’s bald head can only mean one thing. And so, let’s pour a little out for Health Inspector Jacob Speight, the city’s brave champion of hygiene and shocker of the upper crust, capable of bribing landlords and evading tainted peach melba, all while asking the eternal question, “How many toilets you got in this joint, anyway?” You will be missed, sir.
Not least by Cornelia, Speight’s former partner-in-grime, who starts her day dutifully planning a hospital fundraiser and ends it deeply immersed (and spiritually revived) in her efforts to unravel her friend’s mysterious death. Powering through the city from police precinct to patronage-heavy Tammany Hall, she enlists the burly Tom Cleary for a little grave robbing and the slowly-going-blind Dr. Algernon Edwards for a post-mortem toxicology test (and possible future sexy times), gathering clues like an episode of CSI: Victorian Gotham. “It’s very strange and no one is giving it a second look,” she whispers to her former beau on the phone. She means the health inspector’s death, but the statement is entirely applicable to everything else going down at the Knick.
Take the restoration of Dr. Thackery‘s reign as chief of surgery. Sharply dressed in his signature white shoes, but still looking like Errol Flynn after a bender, the “rehabilitated” surgeon stands in front of the Board, defiantly declaring himself drug-free. Far from contrite, our (anti)hero acts insulted when told his arms will be checked for track marks, and then turns his arrogance up to 11 by informing the group he doesn’t intend to perform surgery; instead, he plans to study the causes and cures of narcotics dependence. Dangling the idea that rich people will flock to the new Knick if they provide the only guaranteed antidote to addiction convinces the suits that his plan is worth a chance – even after he admits he has no clue how to conduct his research. But wouldn’t employing a heroin-addled fornicator who stole medicine and killed a patient — specifically, last season’s the failed-transfusion girl, still haunting the good doc — outweigh the possible benefits of being the first Cliffside Malibu?
But no one is giving it a second look, so Thackery proceeds to barrel through the hospital and create havoc. First, he thoroughly marginalizes Dr. Edwards and all his good work. Then, he’s on to abruptly dumping Nurse Elkins, using the classic “it’s not you, it’s me” line. She’s not buying. “I don’t want to start anew, I want to continue on,” she pleads, both pathetically and perceptively – she knows this man doesn’t believe in new beginnings. Having lost her father figure, Lucy then runs into her actual father, fresh from West Virginia to save some souls in the big city. Call it the accent, or the weirdly menacing look in his eye when he says “Raise ‘em up right and they’ll always find their way,” but this guy doesn’t look any healthier for our favorite nurse than Thack.
‘The Knick’ Recap: Take Me to the River, Page 1 of 2