Jesus Gave Me Water – As the second episode of Painkiller begins, Edie Flowers (Uzo Abuda) says Arthur Sackler knew he needed to convince doctors to prescribe the drugs he was bringing to the market. He came up with an ad featuring business cards for fake doctors who stood by the drug in question. Arthur (Clark Gregg) didn’t think it mattered if something was true. It only mattered that people thought it was. Arthur built the pharmaceutical industry they know today and the pill was his sacrament. Richard Sackler (Matthew Broderick) would prove to be his greatest disciple.

Richard argues that there are creators and sellers. They’re the only types of humans who matter. Edie says it isn’t hard to sell a drug like OxyContin. It takes away people’s pain and they get their lives back briefly. Shannon Schaeffer (West Duchovny) learns everything she can from Britt Hufford (Dina Shihabi). They approach Dr. Morris (Marvin Karon) to ask why he isn’t prescribing more OxyContin. Dr. Morris is introduced to Shannon before asking her if she comes with coupons. He admits she is the cutest OxyContin kitten they’ve seen in a minute. As they leave, Britt tells Shannon she is going to have to get used to that.

If a doctor tells her to do something, she should do it. Edie takes Dr. Coyle (Jonathan Higgins) to a local pharmacy to make sure his OxyContin patients are real. The pharmacist says Jim Coyle is a good man and he doesn’t want to let Edie look at his records. Edie threatens to come back with a warrant and a team of investigators. Dr. Coyle asks Lewis (Stuart Dowling) to just do what she says. They begin going through the records as Edie learns that the patients suffered from pain. Dr. Coyle says these patients have records dating back years and he hasn’t done anything wrong. Edie suggests otherwise and believes he is overprescribing.

She wants to go to a pharmacy not run by his friend. Once they arrive at the next pharmacy, Edie learns that they use OxyContin because it is safer, less addictive, and longer lasting. Jim Coyle mentions that it is in the materials left by the gals. A man comes in screaming that he wants his Oxy until he is sprayed by the pharmacist. He comes back and leaps over the counter. They struggle to get Riggs (Kyle Gatehouse) out of the pharmacy. Edie tells Brianna Ortiz (Ana Cruz Kayne) about the OxyContin stuffed toy. In the past, she goes around to other pharmacies to talk to them about the drugs they are dealing with.

Britt tells Shannon that some of the doctors work out of their own homes. They arrive at one out in the middle of nowhere. Shannon goes in alone to speak to Dr. Gregory Fitzgibbons (John Ales). Once he finds out she is with Purdue Pharma, Gregory tries to get rid of her. He insists he doesn’t prescribe oxycodone or opioids like it to his patients because it is addictive. Gregory explains that the molecule in OxyContin is nearly identical to heroin. He notices that Britt is outside in a Porsche. Gregory tells Shannon that she is a teenager trying to sell him a Schedule 2 narcotic. He calls her a drug dealer with a ponytail before screaming for her to get out.

In the car, Shannon asks Britt if he was telling the truth about OxyContin and heroin being so similar. Britt tries to refute his statement. She tells Shannon that most doctors are men so she has to stroke their egos. At work, Glen Kryger (Taylor Kitsch) tells Craig that he needs a second. He believes it has been twelve hours so he can take another Oxy, but Lily (Carolina Bartczak) and Tyler (Jack Mulhern) remind him it has only been eleven hours. Glen agrees to wait 58 minutes. Later, they speak to Dr. Hartman (Darrin Baker) who suspects Glen’s body is building up a tolerance to the drug.

He says they can increase the dose to 40 milligrams. Dr. Hartman says the drug is formulated for every 12 hours so that is how they have to use it. Glen is asked if he’d like to share his story because the people who make OxyContin are looking for people with positive experiences. Later that night, Lily goes to bed without Glen who ends up falling asleep on the couch. Tyler sneaks out after stealing some of Glen’s pills. He gives them to his friends who encourage him to take one too. The next day, Shannon visits Dr. Tim Cooper (Johnny Sneed) to talk to him about OxyContin. She sees a picture of his daughter and discusses that.

Before long, she turns the conversation to how OxyContin can help people get their lives back. Dr. Cooper ends up taking her pamphlets and coupons. Edie watches her leave before getting her card from the receptionist. She follows Shannon out to ask how much she got paid to change Dr. Cooper’s mind. Britt tries to intervene and stop the conversation. She tells Edie that she doesn’t want to mess with her. Edie tells Brianna that she realized that this was bigger than any doctor or pharmacy at that moment. Glen meets Randy and tells his story about OxyContin. He insists the drug gave him his life back. Glen attends a screening of the documentary with himself and others who have been changed by OxyContin.

He shows Lily and Tyler the gift he received when he gets home. Glen can’t find his pills and the others haven’t seen them either. He gets annoyed and suggests calling the doctor at home, but Lily doesn’t have Dr. Hartman’s home number. Glen decides to take some Advil instead. Britt celebrates Shannon killing it. She insists this is just the beginning. Glen looks for his pills again. Tyler watches as Glen and Lily move the refrigerator to look around it. Lily tells Glen he is being a psychopath. Glen finds a pill behind the stove. Tyler runs back to his room to grab the bottle of pills before giving them to Glen.

Edie says Purdue made a drug that would be taken every 12 hours even though it didn’t last that long for most people. It was seriously flawed, but Richard didn’t care about flaws. In Norwalk in 1987, Richard learns that none of the mice have died from the drug. The first human trials for OxyContin took place in Puerto Rico with women recuperating from gynecological surgery. Then, they ran more trials with cancer patients in the US. In phase 3, they conducted clinical trials across the country. When Edie reviewed the trials, she found that they were a mess and many experienced withdrawal when taking off the drug.

In Puerto Rico, many patients didn’t make it through the night without more OxyContin. Some dropped out and claimed the drug didn’t last as long as it should. According to the FDA, this is all acceptable. Since the mice didn’t die, OxyContin was considered safe. Edie says the FDA is a small agency that usually takes the company for its word. It often comes down to one person. In the case of OxyContin, his name was Curtis Wright. Curtis (Noah Harpster) calls Richard to tell him he has some legitimate concerns.

He insists there should be no emotion in the application at all. The others suggest scaling back and getting the drug approved as a replacement for MS Contin, but Richard doesn’t think that is enough. Later, Richard sees Arthur (Clark Gregg) who gives him advice for dealing with Curtis. Richard, Raymond (Sam Anderson), and Mortimer (John Rothman) visit Curtis in person. He tells them that he is concerned with the potency of the tablet. Once they learn the drug isn’t being approved today, they go back and argue about it. Edie speaks from experience when she talks about how OxyContin can change your family forever.

Edie goes to the prison to see Shawn Flowers (Jamaal Grant). She asks what he wants her to tell their mom. After he tells her, she quickly leaves. When Glen goes out to eat with family, he ends up biting his hand without realizing it. Then, he knocks his table over and crashes to the floor. They have to call an ambulance for him.

 

Painkiller Review

Painkiller obviously has an important story to tell, but it hasn’t done so in a satisfactory, fluid way through two episodes. By creating a composite character in Edie and stuffing so many stories around that character, it makes the whole thing seem a little unbelievable. Besides Glen, Painkiller really hasn’t showcased the suffering of the people who ended up addicted to OxyContin or the people who lost loved ones as a result.

Even Glen’s case hasn’t been fleshed out enough. The series is trying to cover too many things simultaneously without sufficiently covering anything. It is difficult to know exactly what they were trying to achieve with Painkiller, but it’ll likely achieve very little in the long run.

At times, it feels like viewers may finally develop a connection with Glen. Then, the episode shifts to something entirely different such as Britt and Shannon partying. The lack of focus will dull any impact the series was going to have. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Painkiller can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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