Summary
“Day Two” might not have packed as much of a punch as “Day One,” but the episode slowly puts the pieces together to prepare us for the catastrophe that is ahead.
This recap of the Apple TV+ series Five Days at Memorial season 1, episode 2, “Day Two,” contains spoilers.
Read the review of the series Five Days at Memorial.
We had an explosive first episode of Five Days at Memorial. We saw Dr. Baltz questioned about the 45 dead bodies, the hospital preparing for Hurricane Katrina, and the hospital began to be flooded as Katrina inched closer to the hospital. So how does the hospital staff respond? Let’s dive in.
Five Days at Memorial season 1, episode 2 recap
The episode opens by showing footage of the city and the wreckage that tore up the town, with the analyst saying it didn’t hit as hard as it could have. In the backdrop, we hear Susan talking about how they were all relieved and happy because the hurricane didn’t hit the hospital as hard as expected. Then, she was pressed by the people asking questions about if she had any interactions with Dr. Pou during and leading up to the hurricane.
After we survived the hurricane, we thought we could survive anything, and we were wrong.
We move into the hospital, and Susan breaks down how the water is flooding, but they are fixing it, and the hospital has held up relatively well, considering. Next, she reminds everyone that it is hot cause the AC is out and to keep hydrated. Tensions are starting to get a little high based on the temperatures inside the hospital. Emmett is trying to call his wife and can’t get ahold of her. He is concerned that his wife might get a little confused as they had to move hospitals.
The camera pans to show us the flooding outdoors, which looks terrible. We then overheard some chatter about the waters flooding over the lake, and most of the people within the city hadn’t heard about it yet. Everyone at Lifecare hospital (the other hospital connected to Memorial) is having leakage issues, and no one from Memorial has even bothered to check in on them.
Dr. Baltz confronts Dr. Cook over someone seeing him with a gun. Dr. Cook tells him he is just protecting himself, but Baltz tells him to be mindful of the people around him. Next, Baltz has a patient walk up and tell him he heard that they were discharging people, and Baltz comforts him by telling him that if they try to release them, to come to see him.
Now we are down in Dallas with many Healthcare salespeople talking about selling insurance for businesses. One of the men asks them if disasters like Katrina actually help them or hurt them. He deflects by saying that he really can’t say. An odd moment that I am sure will come back to the table later in the show.
We see a security guard talking to one of the nurses and let her know to be careful outside as one of the nurses was being harassed by some people. The story moves from one nurse to another to the story being told to Dr. Wynn that someone was assaulted. Next, we see Dr. Wynn telling Susan that someone got assaulted and raped outside. Susan then confronts the security team, who says this is the first they have heard of it.
With the rising waters and empty stores, the looting has begun. These three kids come into the hospital, and this is when Dr. Bryant confronts the kids about what they are doing. At this moment, one of the kids tells Dr. Bryant about how the rumor is they are getting kicked out of the hospital and asks where he thinks they will get food from once they are gone.
We see Dr. Bryant confronts Susan, and she tells him that none of the rumors of rape or assault are true. Instead, Dr. Bryant says that he is more concerned with the talk of discharging the patients. She says they will have no choice but to DISCHARGE the people, not kick them out once the flooding slows down. Next, Dr. Pou attempts to call her husband, who doesn’t answer, and she leaves a sweet little voicemail for him.
Outside, they are checking the height of the flooding water, which is still at 18 inches and hasn’t moved down as they had hoped. Mark calls Jill to check in on his mother and finds out that the AC is out and the hospital is in harsh conditions, but they are doing their best. Sandra tries to comfort Mark by knowing she is safer at the hospital than stranded at their house. Susan had a bit of a breakdown because it felt like she let everyone down. However, her mother comforts her by saying she got over two thousand people through the storm.
Dr. Pou gets a bit of a surprise as her husband shows up at the hospital. We get a nicely edited montage of everyone being comfortable with someone as they all feel the worst is behind them all. We even get to see Emmett on the phone with his wife, and she comforts him a little bit.
The ending
However, as everyone is settled in, we see Dr. Karen Wynn run into a woman who was brought into the hospital that was stabbed. The doctors are tending to her while Dr. Baltz attempts to comfort her grandson, who brought her in. Her grandson breaks down with Dr. Baltz about everything that happened and how his mom stabbed his grandmother.
Dr. Pou’s husband is attempting to get her to come home, but she refuses to leave the hospital and her patients. He isn’t happy with her decision and says he will go home, check on the house and return to her. As he leaves, we hear the news channel talking about how the water isn’t rising in certain areas, but in others, it is increasing. Back to the insurance people, the man asked if it was good for business, and he responded, of course, it was.
As a couple of people are surveying the outside of the hospital, a couple of men walk up and tell them that they have 15 feet of water coming and coming fast. Susan is challenging the men who showed up to say this. Still, they assure them that this is about to happen and that they must evacuate ASAP. At this moment, Susan tells them they don’t have a plan for an evacuation from the flood. We see Susan take command, trying to gather all the resources to prepare for what’s ahead.
The episode comes to a close with someone telling Dr. Pou to call her husband to come back because they look outside and see a tide coming in with all sorts of debris.
What did you think of the Apple TV+ series Five Days at Memorial season 1, episode 2? Comment below.
