What I’m Watching: Royal Pains

Royal Pains: Season 2, Episode 17 “Fight or Flight” (B+)

After a number of episodes highlighting the high life in the Hamptons, it’s refreshing to be able to get back to the city. It’s also a nice treat to have an episodic guest star as talented as Julianne Nicholson, who manages to dominate her thread as the overworked businesswoman trying to make a straight break to a more relaxing retirement. The fact that she happened to be a pilot was a productive subplot, and it was fun to see both Divya and Hank get a chance to get into the air and face their fears. Plenty of larger story arcs were addressed and pushed forward this week as we’re hurtling towards the end of the season next week. I’ve always found Divya’s relationship with Raj to be far more three-dimensional than it could be, and having them discuss their priorities, enabling Divya to take a stand for what she believes in, was certainly interesting. Evan getting Paige to sleep over and then trying to help her with her snoring without seeming like a jerk was a nice development, and I’m glad that this surprising relationship seems to be working out pretty well. With Emily fully gone and Jill present far less than usual, it’s good to have a woman around and being a good influence on at least one of the Lawsons. After all of their problems with Eddie, it’s ironic that their ultimate downfall, at least apparently given the end of this episode, is something completely out of his and their control and due only to Boris needing a new home for his pregnant girlfriend.