I was very excited when Jessica Lucas joined the cast of The Resident, as I’ve mentioned before. I loved her in Gotham and the short-lived reboot of Melrose Place. I’ve loved the character development she’s had so far. She’s not perfect, and that’s what makes for a great female character. Just think of Brooke Davis, Olivia Pope and Buffy Summers, to name a few of some great female characters. Dr. Billie Sutton could easily be added to that list.
Jessica’s character had a rocky entrance to the show. She butted heads with Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry) right away because of a mistake she made when they were colleagues. Conrad is arguably one of the fan favorites, so that is not a great way to make an entrance. However, she was friends with Nic Nevin (Emily VanCamp), which gave her some saving grace.
But as we know, Conrad made a mistake, and so did Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal). And they did it on their first days as interns. Plus, it wasn’t completely Billie’s fault. Her attending holds some of the blame too.
But Billie came back from that stronger than ever after Dr. Kit Voss (Jane Leeves) gave her a second chance. Now, she’s Chief of Surgery. I love her resiliency.
Coming back from a mistake in her career wasn’t the most significant thing she has had to come back from. She was rapped when she was 13, got pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption. Then, when he was an adult, she came face to face with him. She held on to that for so long before she confided in Nic.
That was a great episode. Jessica can really dig into those emotional scenes. You felt the trauma she went through as she told Nic what had happened to her.
I always knew this storyline was going somewhere. Especially when Billie’s son showed up and ended up as an intern as Chastain, but I had no idea it would lead to her confronting her attacker.
When we met Dr. Robert Porter (Scott Cohen), my first thought was, oh, it’s Max Medina from Gilmore Girls, but he didn’t have that same feeling about him. I didn’t think much else of him until I saw him flirting with the receptionist. You could tell he was a sleazeball.
Then, that look on Sutton’s face when Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood) told her who he was up against for the job. I knew that had to be her rapist. My heart broke for her. She held it together until she could get herself alone. She could barely breathe. Again, what incredible acting from Jessica.
What was even more powerful was when she went to Kit and told her what had happened to her and that she wanted to speak to the medical board and tell them that he’s a pedophile. Wow. After all this time of her pushing it down and hiding it. When it matters most, she’s going to stand up.
This scene was incredible not just because of Billie’s strong stance but Kit’s response. She’s caring, understanding, and ready to do whatever she can to help. It’s part of the reason I love her character so much too.
We are left with Sutton being told that she’s speaking with the board and lieutenant governor that day at 2 p.m., but sadly we will have to wait for that scene and the aftermath. I hope they show it.
She looks ready, but as Kit has warned her, her name could still be leaked to the press even though the lt governor has agreed to keep it private. And Porter is a powerful force in the medical community. But he does have other ethical complaints against him.
This is going to be one intense storyline moving forward. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time. But these storylines make great characters. The ones we love and that stick with us. Jessica is making her mark with her acting on this brutal story.
How are you feeling knowing Billie Sutton will come face to face with her attacker and will be making sure he can’t hold a position of power after what he’s done? Tweet me @PrimetimeDrama or @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
