Day Two – As the second episode of Five Days at Memorial begins, we see old news reports that indicate Katrina jogged slightly east just before hitting land. That spared New Orleans so it wasn’t the apocalyptic hurricane many had feared. Susan Mulderick (Cherry Jones) is asked about the mood after the first day. She claims the mood was great because the worst of the hurricane had missed the city. Everyone was happy, relieved, and thankful when it wasn’t as bad as they thought it’d be. Some might’ve been embarrassed because they had overreacted. Some had bought into the story that Katrina was going to be a once-in-a-century disaster. She is asked how Dr. Pou was on the second day. They want to know what conversations they were having while people were overreacting. When she is asked again, we see a quick flashback of Susan and Anna Pou (Vera Farmiga) together.
Susan says Dr. Pou could’ve left the hospital after things had settled, but she stayed to be with her patients and she wanted to stay. After they survived the hurricane, they felt like they could survive anything. Susan admits they were wrong. The levees are breached causing water to pour into the city. After the intro, Susan lets the others know that the water in the basement is being pumped out. They should also be mindful of broken glass. Other than that, the building held up. Eric (Joel Keller) confirms that the water outside has gone down to the 18-inch mark so it should start receding quickly. They’re still having problems with the landlines and AC isn’t working due to issues with the city’s power. Eric believes the backup generators will keep them running until the city’s power is back on.
Susan encourages everyone to stay hydrated. She tells people that live nearby to let admitting know if they leave to check home. Once they’re alone, Susan tells Rene (Stephen Bogaert) and Richard (Ted Atherton) that they should be proud since they didn’t lose a single patient. Rene suggests talking about lowering the headcount and removing people who don’t need medical care now that it is over. Susan isn’t sure people will want to leave with the city power still being out. Richard thinks they should keep the concept of mandatory discharge out of public use for now. Anna puts on lipstick. She heard a rumor about an ex-boyfriend, an anesthetist, who started working here. She doesn’t want to look like a mess in front of him. Two other nurses mock her out of her presence. Emmett Everett (Damon Standifer) tries to call Carrie, but nobody answers. Gina (Tammy Isbell) checks on him.
He wants to make sure they’re still going to take them back to the Chalmette hospital. She promises to call Carrie and let her know the moment they leave here. Gina asks if Memorial is sending anyone to take care of the water and everything. Diane (Julie Ann Emery) reminds her that LifeCare is on their own because they have two hospitals in one building. Nobody from Memorial even came up to check on them last night. On the radio, they hear someone saying the place looks like Beirut soaked with water. People walking around with full combat gear and loaded rifles is the only thing not in the picture, but it is about to be. Diane checks on Angela (Raven Dauda) and Wilda (Diane Johnstone). Angela asks about the air conditioning. Diane knows it is uncomfortable. She thinks Wilda will make it since she is a fighter. Diane gives her advice before saying the AC should be on pretty soon.
Horace (Robert Pine) confronts Ewing (W. Earl Brown) about him carrying a gun. Ewing says he has a license and a right to carry a gun. Horace asks him to be mindful of the example he is setting since this is still a working hospital. After Ewing agrees to do that, Horace is stopped by a patient who wants to make sure they’re not being sent home. Horace promises no one will be discharged if they don’t have somewhere to go. He tells the man to ask for him if he has any problems. In Dallas, Michael Arvin (Joe Carroll) talks to two men about Tenet Healthcare which has surgical centers, urgent care centers, and ambulatory surgical centers. The company supports local hospitals with corporate development resources that assist in revenue growth allowing market share to increase.
He is asked if the Katrina stuff is good for business since you could get more patient traffic, insurance claims, and paperwork after something like this. That stuff likely cuts into your margins. Michael can’t answer that question. A guard warns one of the nurses that some kids were eyeing one of the nurses when she was out with her dog. The rumor spreads and worsens until Karen claims the nurse got attacked and raped by a bunch of kids. When Susan asks her more about it, Karen (Adepero Oduye) says she doesn’t have a name. Susan thinks they would’ve treated any nurse who was gang raped outside the hospital. Karen warns her that they’ll have serious problems if they aren’t safe at the hospital. Susan talks to the security guards about it, but they haven’t heard anything about it. A news report reveals that people are being forced out of their homes and neighborhoods as the water continues rising.
Two doctors watch through the window as a small group of men loots a nearby store. The male nurse says he heard a couple of nurses got gang raped. When they bring the stuff into the hospital, Dr. Bryant King (Cornelius Smith Jr.) confronts them for stealing it. One man tells him that they just got diapers for his little sister and food for his mom. He also mentions that the hospital is getting ready to put people out. He asks where his mom is supposed to get this stuff when they get kicked to the curb. Susan tells Eric to get photos and document any damage done to the structure. As Dr. King approaches her to ask about the rumors, Susan says nobody was raped as far as they know. He mentions the rumors that they’re going to dump people on the streets, but Susan quickly denies that. She admits they may start discharging patients because they don’t have city power and are running low on medicine.
She claims it is in their best interest to ease the load on the hospital, but King reminds her that not everyone has somewhere to go. She says she is getting it from all sides and he has only been at this hospital for a few months. Susan is responsible for the critical decisions. If people don’t have anywhere to go, they will figure it out. She is adamant that they have to start discharging patients when the water goes down. Susan asks him to tell people to keep their mouths shut if they don’t know what they’re talking about. Anna tries calling Vince again to say they’re doing okay. Outside, Freddy tells Eric that the water is still at 18 inches so it hasn’t moved at all. Eric doesn’t understand that because the city pump should be working. Jill tells Mark LeBlanc (JD Evermore) that everything is okay and his mom is doing fine. He learns about the AC being out so he encourages her to find someone to ask if they don’t tell her anything.
After the call, Sandra (Monica Wyche) tells him that the dock is wrecked, but it could’ve been a lot worse. He tells her what Jill said before Sandra insists his mom is okay since she has Jill with her. She believes his mom is safer at the hospital than she would be here. Susan’s mom (Lorna Wilson) tells her about the flooding or water collecting. She wants to listen to the radio so they’ll know what is going on, but Susan argues nobody knows what is going on. Susan tells her mom about everyone spreading rumors and being afraid of things that aren’t there. She complains about having to take care of the 2,000 people in this hospital. Her mom reminds her that she took care of them and got them through the storm. Vince (Jonathan Cake) surprises Anna by showing up at the hospital. They have wine and eat together. They talk about a Foreigner song before arguing about whether Anna was at a pig roast.
While they’re together, Susan spends time with her mom and Mark hangs out with his wife. Carrie calls Emmett to tell him she misses him so much. Although she can’t be there, her love is there with him and always will be. Karen learns about a Code Blue in the ER. She runs down there and learns that the patient has been stabbed in the stomach. Her grandson says her name is Joleen (Gina Cottreau) and she was stabbed once. Horace has to calm him down and take him out. Taylor (Colin McLeod) says nothing happened to him. Horace explains that the police will have to write a report about that violent assault before offering to help him. He believes Taylor is trying to help the person who did this.
He says his grandma was happy because the storm passed and it wasn’t as bad as they thought. However, the power was still out so they tried to make something out of it by inviting people over for a party. Taylor eventually admits that they got into an argument before his mother stabbed her with a kitchen knife. He asks Horace if he is going to snitch and send his mother to jail. Horace comforts him and promises that they’ll work this out. Vince doesn’t like the fact that Anna isn’t willing to leave the hospital when it is full of doctors. He wants to leave so he can check on their house. Vince plans to check on the house, grab some food, and come right back. They’ll have a campout and listen to some 80s power ballads. When he mentions he heard that one of her ex-boyfriends started working here, Anna claims that is news to her. Michael listens to a new report about Katrina and says it is a good day not to be in Louisiana.
His friend says it is always a good day not to be there. He asks if something like this is good for business since a client asked. He is told it is. They agree it is a messed up thing to ask though. Outside Memorial, Eric surveys the damage done to the hospital before a trooper approaches to tell him about the breached levees. He is warned to be ready because they have about 15 feet of water coming towards them. They go inside where the trooper tells Susan that water is pouring into the city from Lake Pontchartrain and has been since yesterday. Susan asks where he is getting this information from. The trooper reveals it is a mess out there because nobody knows what they’re doing and nobody is in charge. He encourages them to activate their evac plan and get people out of here. When she says they don’t have an evac plan, the trooper says they’ll do what they can. They have to get something going through. After a second, Susan tells Eric to get some spotters outside so they’ll know when the water is coming, how fast, and how high.
She also wants a headcount for staff and patients. Richard and Rene leave to get that taken care of. Once Susan is alone, she asks God to help her. Anna is warned that she needs to get her husband because of what is going on outside. When she sees what is happening, she tries to call Vince and pleads with him to pick up.
Five Days At Memorial Review
Both episodes of Five Days at Memorial have been very intriguing as the story slowly unfolds. Besides the decision to add so many southern accents, the acting has been pretty good. The series seems believable enough and the flood scenes look outstanding. In fact, the show does a good job of recreating New Orleans during that hectic time to the point that some scenes look identical to the news reports.
I expected Vera Farmiga to be the lead at the hospital, but Cherry Jones is actually in the spotlight a lot more. Through two episodes, she has done a great job. The looting scene was a nice touch even though it somewhat downplayed the chaos that ensued in the city. It would be nice if the series faithfully shows what was going on with the looting and crime during the storm. Because doing so would help give viewers a more truthful idea of the conditions those at the hospital were working in and how volatile it could’ve been.
I do question whether the series needed eight episodes to tell the story considering some scenes already seem like filler. If the quality manages to hold up through the remaining episodes, this will be added to Apple TV’s recent hits based on true events. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Five Days at Memorial can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent website at this link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
