Spoilers ahead for Episode 8. The ResidentSeason 5, called “Old Dogs, New Tricks.”
After The Resident’s time jump of several years and a couple episodes of internal debate, ConradWas officially Back to his role as diagnostician at Chastain, but it wasn’t back to business as usual. He was primarily focused on the cute GiGiAs she settled into daycare at hospital, some nurses became more interested in her single father. To his surprise, he had become Chastain’s most eligible bachelor after his return, but he wasn’t so sure that he was ready to be eligible. At the end, however, he decided that he wanted to go one step further. Marion. However, I had the impression that the show was preparing for a romance of a different kind that was very unexpected. Billie.
Billie has supported Conrad in general and helped with GiGi as he needed it. This is unlike the nurses who tried to comfort him via GiGi. A match between Conrad, Marion is actually possible since their connection was Before the time jump, set up. It certainly wasn’t romantic at the time, but there was a bond there over GiGi that wasn’t there with the other women. Plus, Marion wasn’t blatantly flirting with him, and Billie encouraged him.
All things considered, if not for the wistful expression on Billie’s face as she watched the Hawkins duo walk off for ice cream with Marion, I wouldn’t have thought that there was anything other than friendship A bond of grief and an allianceConrad and her. Instead, it’s looking to me like Billie caught feelings for her dearly departed best friend’s husband! She did not have the expression of someone who is happy to see their friend move forward.
And as weird as that might sound, I’m here for it. As Billie herself said, years have gone by since Nic’s death, and Nic wouldn’t want him to be alone forever… or for GiGi to not have somebody in her life in that role. There’s no indication that Billie was harboring feelings for him while Nic was still alive. In fact, it seems like her feelings – if she does indeed have feelings and I’m not just Too much information in Jessica Lucas’ performances in this episode – stem from the fact that she and Conrad both lost the person they cared about most in the world, and there’s a bond from their loss of Nic.
Plus, Billie has clearly been there for the Hawkins family, and she’s not trying to make any moves. She’s going the extra mile to support Conrad in moving on, without pitching herself as a candidate. She’s being a very good friend to him, and if there’s more to what she feels for him, then I’m not against it. It’s a time jump It is extremely handyIt’s because it would be difficult for Billie to think about Nic if she was lusting for him soon after Nic’s death. Or Conrad if Conrad was interested in any woman shortly after he had lost his life. But there’s an easy chemistry between them, a shared history, and the potential for a good old-fashioned will they/won’t they dynamic. Who doesn’t love some will they/won’t they action on TV?
Now, even if I’m right about Billie having feelings for Conrad, there’s no sign that such a thing has even occurred to him. He was mainly trying to avoid the advances made by the nurses and clearly had Marion in his mind when he began to entertain the idea of moving on. And as much as I’m on board with The Resident potentially exploring a new layer to Billie and Conrad, I’m interested to see how his first post-Nic relationship goes. His attraction towards Marion has more to do GiGi than any other; will they have many in common as individuals rather than caregivers?
Discover new episodes This is The ResidentTuesdays at 8 PM ET on Fox. Only a few more episodes are available before the show enters its winter hiatus. Coming up in December. Thanks to the time jump there is much going on, so keep watching!