Editor’s Note: The below recap contains spoilers for Watson Episode 9.
After last week’s misstep in introducing iconic Sherlock Holmes characters to the detriment of the forward momentum the series was starting to experience, Watson returns to form with Episode 9, “Take a Family History,” which explores why Dr. Derian (Eve Harlow) is such a prickly and unforgiving character. The episode opens with a flashback to 2009, where a young Ingrid rushes to UHOP to find her sister after she was taken to the ER by their father following a two-story fall from a balcony. Four episodes ago, Watson introduced Derian’s sister as the reason behind her obsessive need to become part of the Spinal Signal Program, and here, the series neatly fills in the blanks about the events leading up to Gigi’s paralysis. The prognosis is quite grim: if they operate on her back, her spleen is likely to burst, and the doctor assigned to her isn’t interested in exploring alternatives, much to Derian’s chagrin.
In the present, Gigi (Kiera Allen) calls Derian in a panic because something has gone awry. She has begun to lose her ability to use all of her limbs, and everything is locked up and in pain. Derian rushes home to find the fire alarm is going off because Gigi wasn’t able to use her hands to shut off the stovetop she was using for dinner. Gigi wants to be taken to UHOP, because the hospital is the best, but Derian is reluctant to take her there for obvious reasons. If anyone finds out that they’re related or that she used personal bias to get her into the program, they will both be in trouble. Derian does eventually oblige her sister’s request, with the caveat that they will pretend not to know each other, which works because Gigi legally changed her name to put distance between the two of them.
Derian’s tragic backstory and her sister’s medical crisis take up most of the episode, but Watson makes time to focus on two of its most compelling dynamics: Watson (Morris Chestnut) and Mary (Rochelle Aytes), and Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann) and Stephens (Peter Mark Kendall). Toward the top of the episode, it is established that it is Valentine’s Day. Lubbock and Adam help Stephens start up a dating profile, seeing as his camgirl situation went south, and they utilize adorable dogs to capture the attention of potential right swipers. One dog is Adam’s, while the other is Lubbock’s foster dog, whom Stephens immediately takes a liking to. While Lubbock is back with her artistic ex, she continues to have chemistry with Stephens, and this episode really seals the deal with their flirtatious dynamic. At the very end of the episode, Stephens decides to adopt the foster dog (a precious three-legged mutt), and he and Lubbock leave the clinic together to get the foster dog sorted. It’s a very mundane moment, but one that feels reminiscent of an early set-up for many other iconic couples in procedurals. Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Lubbock and Stephens aren’t the only ones feeling the puppy love.
In previous episodes, Watson sort of danced around confirming whether or not Mary and “Gummi” (the woman from HR) were actually an item, or just a manifestation of Watson’s TBI, and Episode 9 provides definitive proof that the two were dating, and, in fact, HR cheated on Mary. Prior to their split, Mary had set up — and paid for — a romantic date for two and, in lieu of having an official Valentine’s Day date, Mary invites Watson along for dinner. The dinner doesn’t necessarily go anywhere, especially when they decide to blow off their reservation because it’s taking too long, but it does continue to strengthen the relationship between Watson and Mary. Now that he knows about the miscarriage that happened while he was away, he’s talking about the complex emotions the news stirred up and showing a surprising amount of emotional maturity. While they’re talking things out, Watson receives a call from Derian about a patient in distress, and Mary decides to join him on this medical mystery (a first for her, really). Mary’s arrival at the clinic sets off a chain reaction for Derian, and the flashbacks help to explain the animosity Derian has shown toward Mary, and, by extension, Watson, at times.
Valentine’s Day Brings a Spark to ‘Watson’ in Episode 9
In the next batch of flashbacks, Watson reveals that Ingrid turned to a promising young attending surgeon for help: Mary. At first, Mary was reluctant to go against the decision that Dr. Moynihan made about Gigi’s condition and prognosis. However, after being emotionally manipulated into considering alternative procedures, she decides that the best course of action will be to take out Gigi’s spleen and then proceed with a spinal surgery. While how Ingrid maneuvered the situation is emotional manipulation — a skill she’s perfected in adulthood — both she and Gigi were victims of their father’s abuse. As the episode progresses, it’s revealed that not only did their father physically abuse them, but he was also responsible for Gigi’s fall from the balcony.
As Mary begins to scrub in for the surgery, Dr. Moynihan returns to shut everything down and reprimand Mary for circumventing the decision he made for his patient. Ingrid watches the entire scene go down, distraught that they have lost the only chance for her sister to potentially walk again, and furious that Mary did little about Dr. Moynihan railroading her procedure. Even with time and experience — which should explain why Mary couldn’t push back — Derian still has a chip on her shoulder about Mary’s responsibility in Gigi’s paralysis.
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In the present, Derian does her own railroading. Every suggestion that Watson, the Crofts, Lubbock, or Mary makes about Gigi’s rapidly declining condition gets completely shut down with explanations that show a degree of knowledge about the patient that few doctors should have. Watson starts to quickly piece things together, and calls Derian out on the fact that Gigi is her sister. He is disappointed with her for lying about their relationship, not only to him, but to the medical board that made the decision about the spinal program, but Derian feels pretty justified in her decisions. She also reveals Mary’s role in her sister’s paralysis, but Mary didn’t do anything wrong, and she says as much when she’s pulled into the conversation. She did everything she could at great risk to her future as a surgeon — and she remained haunted by Gigi’s case and her inability to help her. Ultimately, Watson discovers what’s wrong with Gigi after Derian mentions that she has a major depressive disorder, which she failed to disclose to the spinal program. It turns out the medicine that Derian was giving her to offset the spinal procedures was causing Malignant Hypothermia, which proves to be a reversal condition.
‘Watson’ Episode 9 Hints at What’s to Come
As the episode winds down, Mary informs Derian that she doesn’t intend to fire her — at least not yet. She gives Derian approximately two months to find a new job, otherwise she will be terminated. Derian is understandably crushed by this news, and further incensed when Watson admits that he’s on Mary’s side and that he won’t stand in the way of her facing consequences for her actions. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Derian, after she’s already faced so many consequences throughout life. One might beg to question if this might be what incentivizes her to align with Moriarty (Randall Park), which seems to be the next move for her narrative arc. We’ve seen her taking copious amounts of notes about Watson and his unethical practices, and Moriarty knows what Derian did to her father.
The last flashback of Episode 9 reveals that Derian drove her father down to the water (where she spent her birthday) and murdered him with a syringe of fentanyl she pinched from the hospital, and a shallow grave. It is interesting that Watson has framed Derian’s past as something “bad” she did, when most people would think that it is entirely justifiable to murder your abuser — even if it is premeditated. Even after this episode, Derian remains a very unlikable, albeit complex character, and the series doesn’t seem to be trying to win over new fans for her as the series winds down to the final four episodes.
You can watch new episodes of Watson every Sunday on CBS at 9 PM ET/PT, and on the Paramount+ app the following day.
