The Book of Rannells: The Knick: Season 2, Episode 7 – “Williams & Walker” (2015)

A much bigger jump between Andrew Rannells appearances this time – there are three episodes between the last one I watched and this one, and as such, there’s a lot going on that I know very little about.  I’ll do my best.

The gist of what’s happening.  Dr. Thackery is definitely back at the Knick in a full capacity (as well as Dr. Chickering, the one last seen at Mt. Sinai.)  Thackery’s preparing for a big surgical event separating conjoined twins, while Dr. Edwards is also gearing up for a major surgery of his own.  The procedure itself – operating on a hernia – is nothing out of the ordinary, but a Black patient being treated at the Knick is.  Cornelia is digging in more to shady business dealings with her father-in-law’s ships, and Sister Harriet (the former nun) is starting a new outreach with her friend and roommate:  making condoms and educating young women about them.  The episode culminates in a gala celebrating the building of the new hospital, featuring an uncomfortable appearance by “real c**n” minstrel act Williams & Walker.

With three missed episodes, I had kind of a hard time following parts of this one.  Most of the basic plots I was able to keep up with, but there’s plenty of character stuff happening that I haven’t been privy to, and so many of the characters are in quite different places than they were the last time I saw them, with important relationship developments, changes of situation, and whatnot.  However, even though I know I’d keep track of things better by watching the in-between episodes, none of what I’ve seen so far has really made me want to see more (which probably gives you a hint as to where I’m gonna fall in terms of recommendations when I wrap up this show.)

Two scenes with Andrew Rannells this time – breaking the bank!  In this episode, Wingo confronts Barrow, the guy he’s been dealing with on the business side of the hospital construction, making sure Barrow’s aware that he knows what’s what (shady stuff going down) and won’t stand for it.  In his limited screentime, Wingo presents himself as a tough figure, but Barrow isn’t ready to go down for the count.