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The following post contains major spoilers for Season 5, Episode 5 of The Resident. Proceed with caution!
Ah, kids — they grow up so fast, don’t they? Especially when there’s a sudden, several-year time jump involved.
Tuesday’s Halloween-themed episode of The Resident ended with the show taking a significant leap forward — to be specific, “three years and change,” as co-showrunner Peter Elkoff confirms to TVLine. As Conrad swung open the door to Gigi’s nursery at the end of the hour, it instead opened to reveal Gigi as a toddler, dressed up as an astronaut for Halloween and preparing to go trick-or-treating with her dad.
Conrad’s sweet moment with Toddler Gigi was the only glimpse of the time jump that we got before the episode concluded, leaving questions about the other Chastain docs’ current statuses. Below, Elkoff teases some of the personal and professional changes that will be revealed in upcoming episodes, and sheds light on how the time jump came to fruition. Scroll down to see the show’s new post-time jump key art, then read on for Elkoff’s insights.
TVLINE | When we spoke after Episode 3, you alluded to the challenges of deciding when to move past Nic’s death. Walk me through how you settled on this time jump.
The character of Conrad — any man who loses the love of his life and the mother of his nine-month-old baby — that’s a long recovery. That kind of grief is not an instantaneous recovery. You don’t put that past you. We felt like having to do that, in real emotional time, would be dark. We didn’t want to have Conrad grief-stricken for an entire season of television, you know? We did two episodes of how Conrad has dealt with those early stages of grief, and we decided, let’s put him past it. Let’s put him in a place where she’s still in everybody’s hearts and minds, but that he’s able to be a whole, happy person in pursuit of his life and the raising of his daughter and figuring out what matters.
TVLINE | To that end, was there any debate about how long to make the time jump? Did other options feel like too big a leap?
You know, a lot of it has to do with what people look like, too. You can’t just jump six or seven years and not change the way people look, because people get older. You also then have way too much history to catch the audience up on. Three years felt like, OK, everybody can look pretty much the same, slightly different hairstyle, different facial hair, perhaps. But nobody’s going to look drastically different, and it’s also a period of time that we can speak to, in passing, in terms of where they were for those three years and what happened. The changes don’t have to be so enormous that the audience would just be like, “What?!”
TVLINE | Do you plan to incorporate any flashbacks to those three years in between?
We haven’t landed on that. To be perfectly honest, we really have not figured out yet if there are stories that need to be told in flashbacks, or if we’re just going to keep moving forward. But we refer [to that missed time] in conversations that people have. You know, “Hey, you must have been doing this, because look at you now.” I know that’s a terribly bland thing to say, but there are a few characters who have a different relationship when we get a couple episodes past the time jump, and you’re wondering, “Wait, how did those feelings change?” And we go, “Oh, you were in therapy.” [Laughs] You learn little tidbits about what people did, but we tried to do it organically and in the way people would actually talk about things.
TVLINE | What challenges have you encountered while writing the time jump, in terms of how much to change? You presumably weren’t looking to break up every couple or change everyone’s jobs at the hospital.
You want to change it so the audience feels that it’s exciting. It’s the fifth year of a show, and it’s always good to shake things up four, five, six years into a show with a very loyal audience and give them something new — but not so much that you knock them off the train and they’re like, “Whoa! I don’t recognize this. Raptor’s a professional baseball player? What?” That was exactly the challenge. [In Episode 5,] there’s really very little information about the changes. It’s just in that little ending, which is terrific, but it doesn’t tell you anything. [The changes] come in Episode 6, and we wanted to do that little piece at the end of Episode 5 to give people a sense of, “Oh, man, I can’t wait to see what’s happening three years from now.”
There are some new relationships that are heating along. Kit and Bell, as you’ve probably figured out, are a couple, which I think is something the audience will really appreciate. Everybody loves them so much together, even just as pals. Roles have changed at the hospital. One of our bigger characters is not doing what he had previously been doing. There are some big changes that are unexpected. When we get to Episode 6, a new character shows up who I think will really startle the audience in an excellent way. In Episode 7, too, we have a new character coming on who’s going to really turn the hospital upside down in an excellent way. We tried to really stick to that fine line of giving our characters new elements to their lives, while maintaining their identity.
TVLINE | Which of the new developments do you think viewers will be particularly surprised by?
I think people will be very surprised, when they watch Episode 6, to learn… [pauses] And I don’t want to tell you which character it is, but there’s one character whose circumstances will definitely surprise the audience. It will elicit very strong feelings from people.
The Resident fans, how are you feeling about these changes? Give us all of your thoughts in a comment below!
Interested in aj and Billie interaction in the time jump episode
That wasn’t Billie. It was Leela.
I figured they’d probably do a time jump just because Nic and Conrad were such an integral couple to the show that if they stayed in the “present,” they had no choice but to show Conrad grieving for a long period of time, which as Elkoff said, would have “been dark.” I just hope they do a good job with the consequences of a time jump.
Yes aj is sleeping leela in the time jump but I’m interested in him and Billie scenes together
Bummer.. i liked the Devon and Leela thing
No that’s Leela’s twin sister
oh stop. you don’t know that any more than we do.
Why are there no episodes if nic , conrad and the baby. Show them as a family. I thought the time jump was horrible and the way conrad and nic loved each other is something you don’t forget and they really never mention her and pushed conrad into finding someone who wasn’t even right for him. I didn’t believe any thing about billie and her friendship to nic and I never saw her do much for gigi. If nic was willing to come back then she could have gone to help mina or something. They shouldn’t have killed her. I would have liked to see it end with her pregnant with baby no.2 I hate the writers and they ruined the show. Should have ended with season 4.
But that didn’t give us enough time to move on from nic 😭
I completely understand really missing fictional characters and the actors that played them. It’s disappointing when our favorite characters leave shows. With that said, fans needing time to “get over” the fictitious deaths of fictional characters…as in grieving for them, seems like misplaced personal grief and loss. Let’s not lose perspective between reality and make believe. Since 2020, the reality of the dealths of millions world wide with no end in site is truly worthy of grieving.
Well said!
I’ll be real with you my therapist said it’s not misplaced. I’ve lost a lot of people too, grieved a lot. Went through a terrible divorce. I suffer from extreme anxiety and depression. Can’t work. For me Nic and Conrad was an escape I loved their chemistry. You can’t re create that. They gave me hope in a way. So for people like me it’s not misplaced you can grieve the world which I do all day. Life really sucks and you can also grieve the world in fiction.
If you liked the actress who plays Nic, you should watch Revenge.
I like the actress who plays Billie, so I watched Gotham. It really made me appreciate her even more, lol.
You should watch The Murders if you can get it. Canadian show, she was the lead
Lol… don’t watch that. That’s where she met her husband and why she left The Resident after he knocked her up …lmao
But it is a really good show loved it
“Revenge” was the reason I knew “The Resident” was going to be a hit. Ditto with “The Good Wife” where I LOVED Matt Czuchry.
For ANYONE who loved Emily Van Camp as Nic, I highly recommend watching her on “Revenge”. I was so disappointed when that series ended……
I disagree. Art is evocative. Further, no one should tell another how to feel or when, or what’s a waste of emotion.
Well most people watch a show and connect with a character. If you have a soul that’s why you watch a show and get vested in it. Therefore when they kill one off its not the same and in this case totally ruined the resident. Why watch a show if you don’t fall in love with the characters, in this case nic and conrad.
Hopefully,the show can reflect the grieving process through dialogue and references–but different viewers can have diverse ideas of how much time is needed. Some might feel a few months,a year,several years—some may feel that Nic was the only one for Conrad and won’t want anyone else being coupled with him.
Well said!
Agree! It was terribly done
I was hoping for a time jump, so I’m glad. I think the writers are doing the best they can with a situation they had no control over (the actress of a main character choosing to leave).
Pretty sure Conrad and Billie are endgame now. She will help raise GG and in some ways they will help to fill the hole in each other’s lives that Nic left. Also pretty sure the other couples who got shook up will find their way back to each other. But only time will tell.
I feel like it’s kinda disrespectful to have him end up with his dead wife’s best friend, who is GiGi’s “aunt.” I also think she has more chemistry with Devon than with Conrad. Also it would be too predictable. People will be expecting them to end up together. My bet is they will introduce someone new who he will end up with. This show seems to really like to shake things up so I doubt they will go with a predictable end game.
I felt à few things between Conrad and Billie, I don’t think it’s displaced from Nic, on the contary Nic would like someone to trust to take care of Conrad and Gigi but I think Billie will be with the Raptor when it resumes on november 9th
She never talks to gigi now about nic. I don’t get any sense of them being best friends. She was thrown in there. She plays a mean bitter woman. I think she was a terrible choice. She is nothing like nic. Conrad and her have no chemistry at all. Should have left him single or ended with seaon 4
I think it is ok to hear things up with a time jump. Not to much but enough that the actors can have a life too.
Sad to lose Nic. Wish she had stayed. However Time to move on . Can’t wait for the season to start again. Love that show.
Which character and what “circumstances” will elicit very strong feelings??!! 🤔🤔🤔
Too much. I was looking forward to seeing Bell’s relationship with Voss develop and seeing what happens between Billie and AJ.
This feels like a cheap way to get Conrad into a new relationship with the oncoming ER doc.
This is honestly the best solution to their dilemma. Most people don’t want to watch Conrad grieving for a whole season.
Exactly!
Exactly that is why I am happy with the time jump
Kind of unrelated to the interview, but did anyone else notice Kit’s face last week when she was giving Bell a massage towards the end of the episode? It looked like she felt something; I wonder if that will come up again. Really thought there were going to give him a tumor or something.
Why in the heck did you kill off Nick? That’s so stupid she was the best on the program besides Conrad ! This makes no sense to me leaving a father to raise a baby!
They didn’t really have much of a choice. The actress left the show. Unless they recast the character there was no other ending for Nic they could do that would’ve made sense unless they wanted to completely trash the character and turn her into an absentee mother/wife.
Not true. They had a choice. It’s called let NIC a UK t to raise gigu. Then she would not need to be seen. They have done it before on other shows.
Yeah, and so Conrad just wouldn’t see his wife or baby anymore?!?!? Have you actually watched this show? The only thing less believable would have been to have Nic walk out on Gigi and Conrad. Just because something was done on another show doesn’t mean it should be done here. I hate that Nic is gone. I loved Nic and Conrad together. The actress wanted to leave. Nothing short of death would have come between Nic and Conrad and no way in H*ll is Conrad someone who would not be with his wife and daughter. So, no, they really had no choice. These characters are so well developed. They wrote themselves into a corner in that sense.
Well she did come back. They coukd have Said she was helping mina or doing a startup in a hospital that conrads father bought. Otherwise ended at season 4.
It was Emily Van Camp who chose to leave the show! What else would you have had the showrunners come up with. Recast? Nobody would have accepted anyone else in her role. Leave her in a coma for the entire run of the show? That would have left Conrad in a perpetual state of limbo and pain. The actress wanted off the show for personal reasons in the short term and I honestly believe for professional reasons in the long term. I believe Marvel/Disney approached her about possible opportunities with them, if she were available. Personally, I don’t blame her. If that bears out, it is a wonderful coup for any actor to become affiliated with the MCU and their global multiplatform opportunities. So… if you feel this ridiculous need to blame anyone for this situation, blame Emily, not the showrunners nor the writers. They are just doing their best with the short noticed hand they were dealt.
They haven’t just approached her. She was Sharon Carter on “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”. No word if she’s going to be back for “Captain America and the Winter Soldier”. So she’s already part of the MCU.
They did not “kill off” Nic. The actress who played Nic, Emily VanCamp, voluntarily left the show. By the way. All of the cast on The Resident are good. They have an excellent team who brings it’s audience back each week.
No way Gigi was 3 ish in that ending more like 6/7. Poor poor casting decisions
The girl is 5 years old and GiGi who is now almost 4 years old In The Resident time
The new Gigi seems really sweet, but I also felt she seemed to old for the part if they are only jumping ahead 3 years. To me, there’s a big difference between a 3 yr, 9 month old and a 5+ year old.
That’s what I thought. But, they said 3 years and change in the interview. So, if she was 9 months, I’m just going to round that up to a year. So, adding 3 years would put her at at least 4. I think the girl was too old to play a 4 year old. I work in a school and don’t teach kindergarten, but I see kindergarten aged children daily. They’re all smaller and less eloquent than that child actress. But, they probably needed a good child actress if they’re going to need her around for a while.
Sorry but I am old. I can remember when tv used to do something called recasting, they did it all the time in the 60, 70, even 80. In a fictional show what difference does it make who plays the characters. Time jumps can be risky too.
In a romantic pairing? All the difference. They live or die on chemistry.
Billie’s son being on the cover photo for the article makes me the most curious, and too bad we will not see how that evolved in the 3 years. But overall good idea.
I’m assuming he’s the new “Resident”, since they do need one for the show with the time jump
Aww man I wanted to see Kit and Bell happen in real time :( But I understand the decision.
Looking forward to the rest of the season. The time jump looks like an excellent move. This show is very well done.
I’m sad that Emily Van Camp decided to leave the show, but I think they did the best they could with that decision. The time jump to sidestep the grieving process — they did the same thing with Jane the Virgin — Michael dies, Jane found out, and the next episode is 3 years later. I enjoy the show, and as a medical professional, the medicine is reasonable, so I’m willing to see where they go from here (although I was curious to see if there was any fallout from the serial killer story!)
So this was the blind item
Nope: https://tvline.com/2021/08/24/drama-series-time-jump-blind-item/
I understand they wanting to do a time jump, but I really hope they also understand the fans need to grief the lost of the character and the lost of the relationship of Conrad and Nic. The characters might have a 3 year time jump but the fans have not. I really hope they don’t rush him into a new relationship. Yes he’s moved past the grieving stage but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to move on to a new relationship or the fans are ready to see him in one. I for one would really not want to see that for at least a season. Let the fans get use to him without her before you throw him in with someone else.
Totally agree with you. Time may have jumped in show, bit not for us fans.
Love it!
I don’t even watch this show, but that was a very clever way to move past his wife’s death. Not sure all the fans will feel that way, but it sounds like it was done well.
Hopefully Billie will be likable after the time jump. She hasn’t done anything for me yet…Otherwise, wow, I was not expecting that!
I’m really wondering how the time jump will affect Bell. I mean, to narrowly escape death while facing his demons head on? I can’t imagine how he’ll end up in three years.
I hate time jumping. It’s a cop out that’s done when a show starts to suck, and loses ratings. It’s the “easy” way out for writers and show runners, and it definitely didn’t help Riverdale. It’s confusing for viewers to figure out the new backstories, and makes me just not care anymore. I was neutral on Nic. I didn’t love the overly emotive marriage, and I don’t like it at all when they make women pregnant because they need to shake things up. Maybe the actress left because she didn’t want to be stuck with an infant as her costar for years to come. Her story for the past season left her in a hospital bed either from stabbing or pregnancy. I don’t blame her for wanting something more challenging. Finally, they need to change the title of the show. There are no more residents left. Maybe, they should call it “Old Doctors who Should have Matched with other Hospitals and Left.”
Emily left the show because in august she gave birth to her daughter Iris and with Covid still going on she decided after many talks with Matt/Conrad she would leave the show it was not easy for her she and Matt are very good friends in real life . And we wil get a ne2 Resident Billie son Trevor.
I’m OK with the time jump, but I’m worried that this is an acknowledgement that this might be the last season of the show