What I’m Watching: Royal Pains

Royal Pains: Season 1, Episode 6 “If I Were a Sick Man” (B+)

I’m continually impressed by how each character is so fully incorporated into each episode, and several threads are sown together in each installment and work perfectly. The inclusion of Evan in everything is particularly fun, especially as he gets the opportunity to meet Tucker and almost mess up his relationship. Tucker’s a great recurring character, and his girlfriend’s medical phobias are pretty darn funny. The meat of this episode was the preposterous notion of a bark mitzvah, a concept I hadn’t heard of before this. Ms. Newberg, another recurring player, is the perfect person to host such a lavish event. The linear way the story went, starting out with Jill and Hank almost having breakfast in bed, was cool because it was a nice excuse to keep them together for the whole day. Their different perceptions about the way their relationship was going were fun, and their attempts to discuss it during the bark mitzvah were entertaining as well. The revelation that Divya is preparing for an arranged marriage is not all that surprising, and it’s terrific that Evan’s the one who found out about it. I enjoy their bantering more than anything else on this show, since they’re both considerably edgier than the main couple on this show. Overall, this was one entertaining installment, driven by the insanely ridiculous storyline and some intense medical competition.