The Reckoning
Dr. Horace tells the story of how he and his team left Memorial on the fifth day, after learning that their main ethos was to “do no harm.” Dr. Horace feels guilty about not staying and how the doctors became blind to their main ethos, which was to “do no harm.”
The Attorney General of Baton Rouge confirms that Anna Pou and two other nurses – Cheri Landry and Lori Budo – have been arrested on charges of murdering those patients. Poring over the details of each patient who was injected, Butcher and his team come to the same conclusion for all patients – homicide.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Morales takes over the prosecution of the case after Butcher and Virginia decide to go against the evidence. He decides to argue that the evidence is not enough to convict the defendants.
Eddie Jordan has sent a letter to the attorney general saying that they no longer need Butcher and Virginia working on this case anymore. They want a summary of the 50,000 pages of work that they’ve spent so long to gain instead.
Anna’s defence lawyer suggests she go on 60 Minutes and tell her side of the story. She comes across really well, although some of what she says is pretty subjective, especially as she claims she doesn’t believe in euthanasia… but does believe in “comfort care.”
Virginia continues to pore over the toxicology reports, this time with irrefutable evidence. The thing is, public opinion is what swings things here and it’s something Butcher is quick to point out to his co-worker. And speaking of opinion, Frank (the coroner from last episode) actually thanks Anna for everything she’s done. Even worse, he comes out and publicly claims there’s no evidence… even though there clearly was. ..
After questioning Frank to his face, Virginia starts to lose faith in the system. In fact, she’s going to quit.
On February 20, 2007, a Category 5 hurricane struck the Virgin Islands. The storm caused extensive damage and loss of life, and left many hospitals without power. After considering his work at the hospital, Frank re-examined his statement about there being no homicides inside the hospital. He realized that his words may have been misunderstood and that he could have done more to prevent these tragedies.
This goes to court, where the jury has come to a decision not to indict Anna after all. That’s still not the end of it though, and that’s partly thanks to the DA not taking on the forensic experts or evidence Butcher had worked so hard to collect.
One year later, Anna Pou accepts an award for her work in the community and goes on to give a scathing assessment of how the authorities completely abandoned them. Everyone is on their feet applauding- except Horace.
Anna confronts Horace about his blatant lies in front of everyone, pointing out that the Coast Guard helicopters do fly at night. Horace says, “Just because you remember things one way, doesn’t mean you’re right.” He eventually walks away, wishing her well and leaving her to stew in her own guilt. ..
After the credits have rolled, we learn that Anna Pou continued to practice medicine in New Orleans after the episode ended. Alongside her attorney, she also helped write three bills to protect healthcare professionals in disasters from most legal action, which passed unanimously. ..
The civil lawsuits brought against Anna Pou by the three families were settled whilst no one from the hospital were convicted for what took place. Despite new flood precautions being set up, it may well be that they need to be updated as early as 2023.
The Episode Review
The final episode of “Five Days at Memorial” was an average show that got caught up in the aftermath events of Hurricane Katrina. The show’s focus was also muddied, as the protagonist was unclear who to root for. ..
Regardless of the outcome, the events that led to Anna and the other doctors not being arrested for what happened to those patients is likely to have mixed reactions. I’m certainly not about to dive down that rabbit hole here! ..
The final few episodes of this show have been good, but it seems like the series is taking its foot off the gas for these final few chapters.
This comparison between Hulu’s series Dopesick and Netflix’s series Stranger Things is unfair. Stranger Things has more tension and shock than Dopesick, while Hulu’s series has been more tame in terms of the tension it builds.
We’re not really focusing on what happened to Susan and Diane either, with no focus on the former reuniting with her mother. That’s a bit disappointing and it would have helped give this some much-needed closure to help showcase what everyone has been up to since Katrina.
The conclusion is clear either way, and this has been a solid watch either way. ..
