As the first episode of This Is Going To Hurt begins, an exhausted Adam Kay (Ben Whishaw) wakes up in his vehicle outside of the hospital where he works. He checks the clock and realizes it is after eight. One of the SHOs, Shruti (Ambika Mod) calls to remind him he is on the labor ward today. Adam pretends he has been stuck behind a vehicle accident and he’ll be there in a minute. It is London 2006. As Adam walks toward the hospital, he talks to Harry on the phone who was worried when he didn’t come home last night. He learns that Harry called his mom while he sees a pregnant woman struggling nearby. He tells Harry he’ll call him back before checking on the pregnant woman. He is introduced to Andrea (Andreea Paduraru) who learns he is a doctor. He takes a look and explains the baby’s arm is hanging out so it is likely laying sideways and he’ll need a Caesarean section.

Adam takes her inside through a shortcut before they reach the staff lift. She asks whether he is actually a doctor. He shows her his ID card to prove it. They miss their exit forcing them to wait until the lift to go back down. Andrea says something is wrong. Adam looks and confirms it is a cord prolapse. Ideally, something like this would happen on the labor ward and not in a lift. Although he tells Andrea it is going to be fine, he admits the baby will die if the cord gets cold and the baby doesn’t receive enough blood. Adam tells her to hold it inside as he calls SHO to get a hospital bed and gloves over by the lift. He eventually gets her to Shruti and orders her to consent Andrea for a C-section. However, he finds that she is mostly useless and has to help her instead of changing into scrubs. Adam rides on the bed with Andrea until Shruti crashes them into a wall. Tracy (Michele Austin) takes over and confirms she found the husband who is at reception.

As they push Andrea to the labor ward, she asks whether the delivery will be free. Adam confirms it will be and they can’t even accept tips. Erik Van Hegen (Hannah Onslow) interrupts to tell Adam he needs to see her next because it is urgent. They don’t believe her and instead tell her to take a seat until they finish. The father of Andrea’s baby arrives as Adam feels the baby’s pulse and welcomes it to the NHS. After a short intro, Adam marks another day off his paper and says this is obs and gynae. He explains you’re normally sailing the ship alone and it is a massive ship that is on fire while no one has had time to teach you to sail. They’re one of the few doctors who can end with more patients, but his clothes bill may mean he is operating at a loss. As Adam tries to clean the body off his private region, Mr. Lockhart (Alex Jennings) enters and learns about the cord prolapse. While Adam thinks he did well, Lockhart sees it differently and says he heard he came late, nearly killed a patient in the maintenance lift, and did a C-section in casualwear.

Lockhart reminds him that doctors don’t take shortcuts and he promised to act like a bloody registrar. He tells Adam he’ll be in his office if he needs him, but he strongly suggests he won’t. Once Adam returns to work, he finds Andrea with her husband and baby. He hears the receptionist telling one of the patients she’ll have to wait a bit longer. He says good morning to Ria. Then, Tracy finds out he slept in his car last night and that is why he looks so bad. She suspects it is difficult for Adam to maintain a relationship with his job and personality. Tracy is the head midwife for today and Adam trusts her. Shruti arrives and causes a silly argument between Tracy and Adam. Tracy offers to turn a blind eye if Shruti wants to slap him. Adam asks Shruti to pop downstairs to review Mrs. Buckstar quickly while Tracy recommends she and Adam go to room eight first since she is making slow progress. Adam explains doctors use many codes and Buckstar means she should go to Starbucks for drinks.

Since Shruti doesn’t know what they’re talking about, Tracy tells her and asks for a coffee as well. Adam checks his phone and finds 56 unread emails with many of them being about tonight’s stag party. They check on Callie. Adam explains she has been stuck at six centimeters so it would be a good idea to increase the dosage. He instructs Anna (Sarah Durham) to put the Synto onto 84 and they’ll reexamine the patient in four hours. Anna reveals she won’t be here in four hours since she has already worked about 15 hours. Tracy offers to do it, but the patient asks Adam if he could do it. The patient’s mother asks where she trained so Tracy asks if she should go home to get her degree certificates. Callie questions whether she can choose who gets to do the intimate examinations on her, but Adam says she won’t get to choose based on the color of their skin.

They quickly deny that it had anything to do with that though. When Callie says it is about patient choice, Adams jokes about firebombing a mosque. Adam knows it is stressful being on the labor ward, but he’ll have them removed from the building if there is any more like this. They call him a wanker as he leaves. In the hallway, Adam says he guesses white supremacists have babies too. Tracy informs him that she doesn’t need a white knight to defend her honor. They argue over who is running the ward with Tracy saying she is running it. When she can’t handle something, she’ll tell someone although it won’t be Adam. She also tells him not to tell the patients he is kicking them out since this isn’t a golf club. Benilda (Yasmin Wilde) arrives in time to learn that they’re not kicking anyone out. She tells them they’re on red alert for beds and nearing black alert. Adam is asked to go to gynae to check on the patient in room 17. Tracy tells him to file an incident report for room eight before he goes.

He walks into Erika’s room as the alarm sounds. Adam sends the other staff members away except for Shruti who spills the coffees she bought. He asks Shruti what she would do in this situation. She starts by saying she’d check the patient’s airway before putting her in the left lateral position and run high oxygen flow through a non-rebreather mask. Adam says she was so near yet so crap. He explains a person’s hand would smash into their faces if they were really unconscious. When he lifts Erika’s hand, it comes down slowly so he knows he is pretending. In the hallway, he checks his messages and finds many from Greg about the stag party. Shruti follows him to ask whether he thinks she is rubbish, but he only says he wasn’t great on his first week either. She confesses she has been there for two months although she hasn’t had much time to do hands-on stuff yet. She hasn’t delivered a single baby yet. Adam encourages her to be less of a wallflower since it is dog-eat-dog in this place and dogs eat wallflowers.

He hides in the bathroom and talks to Harry (Rory Fleck Byrne) on the phone. When he called his mother, he told her they were flatmates. Harry suggests Adam could just tell his mother about them, but Adam doesn’t think that is a good idea. Adam wonders how they’re going to fake their deaths before Greg’s stag party as he begins listing possibilities. Harry believes he should come along since he is the best man. Adam’s pager goes off before he remembers he was supposed to go to gynae. He rushes to tell Mrs. Winnicka (Sara Kestelman) that she is good to go home. However, he finds that she doesn’t look good at all so there must be a mistake. Another page sends him rushing to see another patient while he continues ignoring calls from Greg. He gets a call from his mom and ignores it before stepping into room four. Adam urges Shruti to never let the patient see the forceps.

Graham (Andrew Nolan) freaks out and removes his shirt as his wife tries to calm him. He turns on music. Adam lets Shruti take over as he tells her to wait for a contraction and pull. Adam finally answers and talks to Greg (Tom Durant Pritchard) who complains he hasn’t answered emails in four days. Adam instructs Shruti while talking to Greg about the stag party and whether they’ll go to a strip club. He tells Greg not to worry and tells everyone to be upstairs at the Crown at eight. After the call ends, Shruti manages to deliver the baby moments later. He reminds Shruti he told her not to let the patient tear, but she failed to do that. He tells the patient they’ll have to deal with the tear.

After that, he marks his paper again and gets a new set of scrubs. When he goes to the station, Shruti apologizes and wishes she could’ve sewn it herself, but she has never actually done it. He insists it is fine while getting the paperwork for an incident report. Lockhart checks on them before Mendoza arrives to ask Adam about not discharging the gynae patient. Since they’re on red alert and nearly black alert, they’ll have to find a way to resolve that. Adam jokes that they can pull out the patient’s drip and chuck her out the window. When Shruti offers to help, Adam tells her to drop by the coffee shop since there is an opening for a barista. Lockhart learns about Shruti’s first forceps delivery earlier although he doesn’t seem to care. He pulls Adam aside so he can question him about accusing a patient of being a Nazi, but Adam doesn’t think it was that bad. Adam is told to apologize to Tracy, apologize to the patient, and send some people home. Before Lockhart leaves, he tells Adam to stop being crap.

Then, Adam has to focus on a room full of patients. Once he finishes with the others, he finally speaks to Erika who apologizes for earlier. When he asks how many weeks she is, she tries to figure it out in her head and says about 2,000 weeks. Adam corrects her and says 25 weeks. She laughs after realizing he is talking about the baby. Erika says she woke up this morning with a headache and spots on her tongue. Adam quickly checks her tongue and diagnoses her as having taste buds. He returns to the desk and gives the paperwork to Shruti who asks if they should send her for bloods. He says yes. Adams gets on the phone and talks to someone before telling Shruti that they’re going to be going a C-section for room eight. Before the operation, he apologizes to Callie for what happened earlier. He confirms it will be him doing the operation and nobody else. He changes his mind and tells Shruti to do it since she has to learn at some point. Once she cuts through Callie’s stomach and tattoo, Adam guides her through the procedure.

After the baby is out, Callie gets mad and screams because a Paki performed the surgery. Adam suggests naming the baby Adolf. He tells Shruti that they usually don’t end like that and she should mention that he closed the skin in the notes. When we see Callie’s belly, the dolphin tattoo is now crooked. In the locker room, Adams calls Harry to tell him he is on his way and to ask if he can bring a change of clothes. Tracy stops him on the way out to ask him about the dolphin. He tells her it was pretty funny. He makes it to the pub and kisses Harry who calls him his second favorite doctor after David Tennant. He goes inside and says hello to Greg. Welly (James Corrigan) picks him up while hugging him before they force him to put on one of the silly stag t-shirts. Harry asks if his mother called. Although she left a voicemail message, Adam hasn’t listened to it. As they go to the bar for drinks, Lockhart calls to see if he can work the night shift since the registrar can’t make it.

When Lockhart asks if the missus will be fine with it, Adam looks in at Harry and says she’ll be fine with it. He returns to Harry to tell him he’ll be about 12 hours and he doesn’t have to stay there. Adam suspects it’ll be just a couple more years before he becomes a consultant so they can spend more time together. When he tells Greg, his buddy tries to get him to drink a beer to avoid going in. However, Greg realizes he’d rather be at work. Outside of the hospital, Adam flips the shirt inside out to cover up the word on the back. Then, he tries to get another set of scrubs, but he can’t because he has used his credits for the day. He pulls a set out of the trash and puts them on even though they’re too small. Lockhart catches up with him to say it is all bad news since the wards are stuffed to the gills, there is no SHO, and the midwife in charge is Tracy. He explains it is the non-reassuring Trace and not the Tracy who was working earlier.

They briefly talk about Adam’s outfit as he argues they need to increase the machine’s credits. Trace (Josie Walker) asks him to check room 11 since she is worried about her. He goes in, the baby starts crying, and he steps back out. He goes to the breakroom where he hears Shruti talking about delivering a baby on the phone. He encourages her to just go home and leave the incident forms while offering to do them when he does his. After the alarms sounds, a patient begins screaming. Adam rushes to the patient’s room where he learns she is 25 weeks. Erika screams as Adam gives orders to prepare for another C-section. It is a severe pre-eclampsia and he knows he shouldn’t have sent her home earlier. In the delivery room, Erika asks for her sister who should be there in ten minutes. Once she is put to sleep, Adam admits he has never done a 25-week C-section although he has seen one.

Before long, Adam pulls the baby out and hands it over. He loses himself for a minute until Shruti gets him back on track. They begin having issues with Erika as she loses too much blood. There is too much blood so Adam can’t see the stitches. He keeps saying he can’t do this and she is going to die, but Shruti tells him he can. They agree to get Lockhart. Trace admits she already called him before they started. He arrives to take over while Adam tries to collect himself elsewhere. Moments later, he goes to Lockhart to say he is sorry because it was really busy and he genuinely thought Erika was crying wolf. Lockhart says she was crying severe early-onset pre-eclampsia. He reprimands Kay by saying he would’ve known that if he had done a blood test and for trying an operation that any consultant would struggle with. He thinks Trace deserves a box of chocolates for calling him in.

Adam tries to say something, but Lockhart angrily tells him no. Then, he tells him to amend his entry from when he saw the patient this afternoon to say he consulted with Lockhart who advised him to send Erika home. Adam says he doesn’t have to do that so Mr. Lockhart reminds him he didn’t have to come in tonight either. Shruti brings him something to keep him going before leaving without Kay saying anything. In the locker room, Adam removes the paper from his locker, puts his shirt on, and learns that Welly took everyone to the strip club. On his way out, he sees Erika’s sister sitting with her. He goes to the desk to ask Ben (Michael Workeye) about the Van Hegen baby. Ben wants to make sure he isn’t going to knock over the incubator before saying it is bed five. He goes inside and apologizes to the baby while blaming it on being really tired and wanting to go home.

He admits this place is insane and he mucked up. Adam just hopes the baby will have a normal head scan. Ben comments about his shirt as Adam leaves the hospital and heads to the strip club. He can’t stop thinking about Erika and everything that happened.

 

This Is Going To Hurt Review

I had really high hopes for This Is Going To Hurt since Ben Whishaw is usually good and the show has received great reviews elsewhere. While it showed some potential near the end of the episode, it was mostly mediocre for the first 30 minutes or so. It was really a mixed bag with unfunny, poor political satire that was mostly interested in playing on modern politics. The series is catering to people on the left side of the political spectrum with in-your-face dialogue that borders on lecturing and guilting.

I suppose this is to be expected since everything nowadays has to be political and left-leaning, but it will alienate a lot of viewers. With a story that should be told and heard, it’ll likely shoot itself in the foot since many will turn it off in the first ten minutes before it can deliver its message. In a hospital where babies are being born every minute and people are clinging to death, one would expect them to have a treasure-trove of interesting, unique stories to tell.

Once you get past the cringey dialogue and jokes, you can clearly see that This Is Going To Hurt has an important message so I could see it turning into a gripping, emotional roller-coaster. It’ll need to drop the jokes and focus on its serious side because that is where the show is going to shine. The opening episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of This Is Going To Hurt can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.