The Resident’s final episodes of season 5 are going to be quite the emotional journey. In the last moments of the April 19 episode, AJ told Padma that he’s willing to be her sperm donor but wants to be a part of their child’s life. He makes this decision while still grieving the loss of his mother. Plus, Devon and Leela got into a very intense disagreement, while Bell decided to go to war with the governor and medical board.
The show will be welcoming Andrew McCarthy as Cade’s father, Dr. Sullivan. Emily VanCamp will also be appearing as the beloved Nic in the season 5 finale via flashbacks. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with executive producer Peter Elkoff about how Nic’s reappearance will impact Conrad and so much more. Read our Q&A below:
At the end of the episode, AJ makes a major decision about being Padma’s sperm donor and wanting to be a father. We didn’t get to hear Padma’s reaction to his request. What’s next for them? This certainly changes things for Padma!
Peter Elkoff: It certainly does and remember in episode 6 when we did the time jump, we did that little gag with Raptor in bed and it seems like it’s Leela, and then we realize it’s Padma. That’s how we introduced Leela’s sister, so they have this past as lovers. There’s a lot that makes sense for her to ask him, but given what happened to his mother and the things she said to him before she died… I haven’t donated or gotten sperm, but apparently, most sperm donors are just anonymous sperm donors. It gets more complicated if you ask a friend and former lover. This is going to create a lot of conflict and the importance of defining roles in this fairly uncommon process. They’re going to have to figure out how this arrangement is going to work because some of the things that Raptor is going to ask for as the father might not be what Padma was prepared to give him. Because of that conflict, there are going to be ripples and reverberations with the Leela and Devon relationship really beginning in episode 20. We will see that it causes complications for Padma and Raptor and will cause some complications for Leela and Devon.
Leela and Devon definitely didn’t see eye-to-eye when it came to Devon offering to be Padma’s sperm donor. They really haven’t had something like this happen that gets into the nooks and crannies of their relationship. How will this disagreement change things for them?
Peter Elkoff: It’s a really good question. I mean, we didn’t see a few years of the early part of the relationship because it took place over the time jump. You get the sense that they really barely had any real conflicts or fights or problems. The implication is that it’s been really smooth and this is, in fact, their first big road bump. It will create real complications that I think will have a pretty big impact on each of them individually, and then as a couple and the rest of our regulars. It’s going to be a bumpy ride for them in the final 3 episodes.
Devon’s a little bit older than her, so he may be ready to have a child, and maybe she isn’t. That’s been a discussion before. There are a lot of complications that come up.
Peter Elkoff: Yes, there are a lot of complications. But there are also suddenly opportunities and particularly with Devon. Obviously, the Raptor-Carol story is wonderful, but I also really loved the rabies case that gives us a part of what’s been a real classic part of The Resident, which is Devon and Conrad teaming up to figure out how to cure something or save someone. The rabies case also will play a little part in throwing a few monkey wrenches into the relationship and to Chastain as a whole. In these last 3 episodes, this big successful moment creates a dilemma for Devon, which I won’t speak directly to, but it’s going to add some spice and drama to our last few episodes.
Speaking of Chastain, Bell definitely made some big moves in this episode, basically calling out the governor and the medical board. Obviously, we know that when you go toe-to-toe with these big dogs, there are often some consequences. What can you tease about the repercussions of Bell speaking out about what’s happening?
Peter Elkoff: Part of what we’ve chosen to do in these last few episodes is create the potential for enormous changes for our characters going forward into a potential sixth season. Yes, Bell will face some pressure, but he will also be in a way presented with a new version of who he is in the world of medicine. He sort of takes on a new reputation as this courageous crusader, which is really nice as he’s also battling with his multiple sclerosis and questioning the longevity of his surgical career.
I saw the news about Andrew McCarthy joining the show. I’m so thrilled. What can you say about his character and his relationship with his daughter?
Peter Elkoff: Well, I was down there in Atlanta and spent a few days with him to welcome him to the show and talk about his role and stuff. He’s fantastic in everything we’ve seen so far that’s been shot. He is that sort of classic, complicated father who made himself and his patients his life and a primary focus, despite the fact that he was raising a daughter. It created a lot of tension and a lot of complications for Cade in dealing with him over the years. It also made her the independent, very strong-willed person that she is, so there were positives and negatives. He shows up in the 21st episode to look in on his daughter who’s found herself as we come to the end of our Medicare fraud story that we’ve been playing a little bit throughout the season. She pays a little bit of a price for her involvement in all of that, and he comes to look in on her. We get a sense of her past and we learn things about her that we didn’t know, and we put Dr. Sullivan on a little bit of a collision course with her and also with Conrad.
Emily VanCamp is returning in flashbacks. How did that come about? What can we expect?
Peter Elkoff: I think our fans know that Conrad has been sort of back and forth between Cade and Billie as we’re starting to kind of bring to the surface people’s feelings for each other. We’ve seen some evidence since episode 8 of Billie having feelings for Conrad, and when Cade came on the show they sort of had discussions about potentially what could happen between them that felt a little bit complicated. We’ve kept him in stories with each as we’ve gone through and created a sort of a love triangle that’s still a little blurry, and we’re going to bring that directly into focus. At the end of episode 23, we’re going to make him realize that he needs to figure out his future. He can’t be tied to the memories of Nic too much longer. The idea is that he keeps thinking back to a night that they had shortly after Gigi was born where he feels like there’s an answer to his question and his problem about how to move forward. In fact, there is, and then we get a thing in the last moments of the episode, which I won’t speak to, but we understand his investigation into their past serves its purpose.
As a CoNic fan, I’m guessing we should be prepared for tears.
Peter Elkoff: Yes, but also it’s funny. It’s not what you’re going to expect. Yes, you’ll get everything you want, but this set of flashbacks is really cleverly designed. It’s a great payoff that I think we’re all proud of.