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“Red Band Society” (1.2) recap: Sole Searching

First, let’s be clear: Red Band Society is not a show about dying. Yes, all the kids on the show have potentially terminal diseases like cancer, cystic fibrosis and anorexia nervosa, but the show is really about discovering what really matters in life. You see, when you’re sick and living in a hospital, superficial concerns like popularity and social cliques fade away and you’re able to make friends with people you otherwise wouldn’t even talk to. As least, according to Charlie, aka Coma Boy, who narrates the show from the “in between” where not only can he hear everything that is said in his room, but apparently he can see and hear the happenings in other rooms as well. (We’ll just have to suspend our disbelief on that one). Apparently, this coma also makes Charlie super wise beyond his years, but we’ll get to that later.

So, if the show is really about breaking down barriers and challenging societal norms, you can probably guess what kind of television tropes make up the titular group.

The Cheerleader: Kara is the first to be introduced and therefore, most likely the character that will change and grow the most over the course of the season. She’s pretty and popular, superficial and selfish but what her heart lacks in emotion and empathy it makes up for in sheer size. That’s right. She has an enlarged heart. Oh, the irony! (Insert numerous heart jokes here. Seriously, there are numerous. I’ve counted four in the first two episodes alone.)

The Jock: Leo is a former soccer player who lost his leg, and his hair, to osteosarcoma. In other circumstances, he probably would’ve ended up living in a frat house, but since he is living in a hospital he’s been able to find some perspective. As the longest resident of Ocean Park hospital, he is the leader of the group.

The Black Drug Dealer: OK, so Dash not a drug dealer, per se, but he does where to find the medical marijuana. Dash has cystic fibrosis, but that doesn’t stop him from being the fun-loving partier of the group. He has a fake ID; he knows how to sweet-talk the hospital valet to let him borrow a car, he’s funny. You know, because heaven forbid that the black kid be the brains of the crew.

The Brain: Emma, a dark-haired beauty with a penchant for petite chapeaus, plays the role of the resident brain. Though, the hats might be used to disguise her thinning hair due to her battle with Anorexia, it also gives her a quirky, hipster air. She doesn’t smoke, drink or do drugs, she gets to class on time, and she certainly wouldn’t skip important appointments like physical therapy. Her goody-two shoes act is tempered by her twisted wit. She’s basically the Joey Potter of the group, and therefore my favorite so far.

The New Kid: Jordi has crossed the border from Mexico to get the life-saving surgery he desperately needs. He’s completely on his own with no parents/guardians so the patients and staff in the hospital become his family. Let’s not get bogged down in the legal and financial ramifications of performing surgery on a kid without insurance or parental consent, and instead focus our attention to the blossoming love triangle between Jordi, Emma and Leo. You had me at “love triangle”

Coma Boy: Just when you thought that Red Band Society was just like Grey’s Anatomy-the hot doctor who has one night stands with inappropriate people, the tough black woman (with a heart of gold deep, deep underneath her tough exterior) who basically runs the place, the cool catwalk/stairs flanked by floor to ceiling windows, the voice-overs, heck the pilot episode of Red Band Society even includes an acoustic version of “How to Save a Life” sung by Charlie’s Dad-we get Coma Boy. He’s cute. He’s precocious. His on the nose, hokey metaphors are not at all tiresome. Not. At. All.

You may get the sense that I’m not a huge fan of the show. That’s not true. I really, really like it. Or at least, I really want to like it. It might just take me more than two episodes for me to get really hooked. One thing that may help? More lesbian moms!

In episode 2 of Red Band Society, we are introduced to Kara’s power lesbian moms Sarah and Daniela, played by Andrea Parker (Pretty Little Liars) and Tricia O’Kelley (The New Adventures of Old Christine). I know what you’re thinking: “But in the pilot episode her parents were played by a waspy-looking hetero couple!” I know. But a lot of things change between the pilot of a show and the second episode, so we’re just going to roll with it and move on. Or we can just assume that the couple shown in the pilot episode is Kara’s dad and his second wife. The point is, Kara’s birth mom and her partner are queer. They come rushing into Kara’s hospital room apologizing for being away on their impromptu trip to Cabo when Kara had her cardiac event.

“Look, I’m sorry that I interrupted your romantic getaway with my Nanny,” Kara says. “What? Dads fall in love with the Nanny all the time. Why not Moms?” Charlie explains. “I really wish you would stop saying stuff like that,” Daniela replies. “Your mom and I are married now. We’re family.”

Kara says, “Thanks for the reminder, but you’ll always be the help to me.”

Sarah changes the subject to the important matter at hand: getting Kara a new heart. She offers to put a new heart on her credit card, but Nurse Kenji explains that you can’t simply buy a heart. There’s a list. But privileged Sarah won’t take no for an answer. Surely there’s got to be a way to make it up the donor list faster. Connections? They share a trainer with Ellen and Portia. Although Kenji tries to tell Sarah that there is no preferential treatment in the organ donation community, Sarah insists that she and Daniela didn’t become Out magazine’s seventh most powerful lesbian couple in Southern California by working their way up a list.

When that doesn’t work, the moms decide to hatch a PR campaign to raise awareness of Kara’s condition. Instagram, Twitter, Vine-they intend to go viral. While Kara lies quietly staring off into space, her moms perch on the edge of her bed and brainstorm hashtags. When Sarah comes up with #heartandsoul, they turn to Kara to get her opinion on it, but she’s gone. They don’t even bother to go look for her because they are so wrapped up in their campaign to save her.

Kara has slipped off to Emma’s room to borrow her magazines and find a quiet place to read them. Kara lies and says she’s avoiding Nurse Jackson, but Emma calls her out. She knows that Kara is really trying to get away from her moms. A touching scene follows in which Emma implores Kara to open up and be honest with her. As an example, Emma tells Kara about her family.

“So, you like do stuff with your parents outside of therapy? Kara asks. “We used to do a lot of stuff together. But when I got sick, they became totally focused on my disorder. What I was eating. How skinny I became. Everything shifted from our family to just…me.”

“That actually sounds nice,” Kara says. “My Mom’s only interested in me when it benefits her.”

Emma rewards Kara for opening up to her by allowing her to hide out in her room for 20 minutes but eventually kicks her out when Kara asks “Why is it that the two most eligible bachelors in this hellhole can only sport wood for a bag of bones?”

Wow. That is particularly harsh.

Despite that, Emma decides to help Kara by talking to Kara’s moms on her behalf. She finds the couple calling their connections trying to help Kara. Emma asks if she could interrupt them for a moment to talk about Kara.

Sarah: Is she bullying you? Emma: Actually, yes. But that’s not what I’m worried about. She’s going through a lot right now and could really use your support. Daniela: Yeah, that’s why we’re here. Sarah: Have you heard about our campaign to raise awareness for Kara’s condition? #heartandsoul. Daniela: It was Sarah’s idea. She’s a marketing genius. Emma: I’m actually talking about a different kind of support. Not that your campaign isn’t great. It’s just…what I think Kara needs right now is someone to listen to her. She needs her parents.
Daniela seems to get it.
Daniela: You’re right.
Sarah….not so much.
Sarah: You’re absolutely right. Thanks so much for talking to us about that Emma.
Then as Emma walks away:
Sarah: We’ve got to get her to tweet.
Later, Kara’s moms wake her up to apologize for being neglectful. They’ve been planning an event in her honor and haven’t even bothered to invite her hospital friends. When Kara informs them that she doesn’t have any friends at the hospital, they inquire about Emma.

“We were just talking to her about you,” Daniela says.

Kara sits up, angry that her moms and Emma were talking about her behind her back, but Sarah nips her little rant in the bud. She tells Kara not to let her jealousy get in the way of a potentially beneficial relationship.

“If anything, you should strive to be a bit more like Emma,” Sarah adds.

Kara storms off to find Emma, who explains to Kara that she was only trying to get her moms to listen to her. Kara insists that her mom will never change, but Emma doesn’t give up that easily. She encourages Kara to open up and tell Daniela one true thing about herself. Kara explains that Daniela is not her mother but her “nanny turned step-monster”. Emma is shocked because it’s obvious that Kara has, or at least had, a closer relationship with Daniela than she did with Sarah.

To prove that point, we get a scene between Kara and her former Nanny.

Later, Kara is back in her room as Kara sits with her back to Daniela as Daniela sits next to Charlie’s bed.

Daniela: Cute kid. Reminds me of the first boy I nannied for. Kara: Sutton? Daniela: You remember Sutton? Kara: You only talked about him for the first six years of my life. Daniela: He was a sweet kid. His parents were going through this horrible divorce when I started. I remember feeling so badly for him. Kara: You didn’t feel quite as bad when you caused my parent’s divorce. Daniela: I didn’t cause their divorce. Kara: Whatever. (sigh) I know.
It becomes clear that because Sarah is outside smoking a cigarette she must be stressed about not being able to get Kara a heart.
Kara: So what now? Daniela: Well, I’m not sure. But I do know one thing. You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and Both: Smarter than you think. Kara: Don’t be Winnie-the-Poohing my ass. I’m not five anymore. Daniella: That is true. But you’ll always be my Kara Bear.
Sarah joins them and explains that Ellen’s assistant says she ‘s on a plane but…

Before she can finish, Kara stands and announces the she has a confession to make. One true thing about her is that she has never seen an episode of Ellen. She would feel like a hypocrite asking for her help and would rather figure out how to get a heart on her own. Sarah doesn’t agree with her, but will support her if that is what she wants. As the three of them hug it out, Kara does make it clear that she is familiar with Portia’s work, which I guess is better than nothing.

My fingers are crossed that we get more episodes with Sarah and Daniela as I think it there is a lot of room for growth there and may give us more insight into Kara’s character. Have you seen the first two episodes of Red Band Society? What do you think so far? Red Band Society airs on Fox, Wednesdays at 9pm.

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