What I’m Watching: Royal Pains

Royal Pains: Season 1, Episode 4 “TB or Not TB” (B+)

This episode really seals the deal in terms of this show’s lasting quality. It perfectly incorporates all four series regulars into their own separate and intersecting plotlines, and the result is terrific. Hank and Jill’s romantic flirtation and scheduling of their date on Hank’s former wedding day is a good setup, but it’s made even better by the teamwork they end up putting in when their medical services are needed. Evan’s diagnosis of their brunch date is also quite hilarious. Guest star Callie Thorne isn’t as crazy as she is when she plays Sheila on “Rescue Me,” but that’s good since she can also play a hard-working, sexed-up chef at an Italian restaurant. Her stroke progression is a compelling case for the episode, but it’s even cleverer how it’s structured in the way that they only find out about it because they’re already there doing tuberculosis vaccinations. The best part of the episode isn’t actually Hank and Jill – it’s the other two leads. Evan is funny trying his very best to become sportive and accidentally spotting Boris’ shark (always great to see Campbell Scott again!). The combination of Evan and Divya, however, is completely hilarious. It seemed from previous episodes that their interactions might quickly become strained, awkward, and tiresome, but that’s absolutely not the case. Their bickering is thoroughly entertaining, and I love seeing them interact. This particular case of the Italian woman reacting poorly from a tuberculosis shot made for a truly fun back-and-forth with Evan’s horrible Italian and Divya’s incredible ability to put up with him. I especially like the fact that even Evan’s subtitles are a bit funky due to his poor language skills. Hank setting the two of them up to work out their differences at the end of the episode is a great sign that hopefully there will be many more of these similar situations in the future. I’m in for the long haul with this show, and I’m excited.

Both “Burn Notice” and “Royal Pains” aren’t airing this week due to the holiday weekend; catch them when they return on July 9th.