‘Royal Pains’ 5.1 Episode Recap And Review: Hank Watch

Last season Royal Pains was pretty eventful: Boris found out that his lover Marissa was pregnant with his first child; Divya called off her wedding with Raj (and as a result her parents disowned her); soon after, she became involved with an athlete, eventually eloped in Vegas after Evan and Paige’s wedding; and Harper and Henry broke up after he failed to introduce himself to her folks. Fast-forward, and Boris gets trapped in a sudden explosion at his castle, while Hank gets seriously injured in an attempt to rescue him.

The first episode of season 5 in Royal Pains takes place immediately after the “Royal Wedding” in December, where Hank (Mark Feuerstein) is recovering from his head injury. After undergoing neurosurgery and six months of rehabilitation, Henry receives permission from his surgeon to return to work full-time. Unbeknownst to Hank though, Evan (Paulo Constanzo) and Divya (Reshma Shettty) are secretly monitoring his every move to make sure he doesn’t over-exert himself, so they escort him to each of his patients for every appointment. On his first day back, he treats two new Hamptonites: Blythe Ballard (Frances Conroy) – one of the Hampton’s elite, who also happens to be neighbors with The Lawson family, and Erika (guest star Liza Lapira), whose upcoming hospital fundraiser may be jeopardizing her health. Moving forward, it is revealed that Blythe has dislocated her arm, while Erika is suffering from a chemical poisoning due to a faulty pipe in her wine cellar.

Meanwhile, in an effort to meet the overwhelming demand caused by Henry’s limitations, Evan hires a team of six on-call physicians to ration the increasing workload. This newfound responsibility is taking a toll on his relationship with Paige (Brooke D’Orsay), who points out that they haven’t been able to spend time alone as newlyweds because of her demanding school schedule, and the fact that he is always hovering over his brother. As a matter of fact, Evan’s separation anxiety is interfering with marriage so much, that the couple hasn’t been able to enjoy their honeymoon, or continue their search for their first home together.

Elsewhere in the episode, per Evan’s request, Jeremiah (Ben Shenkman) returns to the Hamptons to help HankMed after spending six months conducting Nordic research in Iceland. Upon his arrival, his former employees barely recognize him, as he now dons a new look: uncombed hair and a full-grown beard. Dr. Jeremiah also reveals that he now has a girlfriend, though he’d rather not discuss any further details with his colleagues.

In the second act, viewers realize that Boris (Campbell Scott) didn’t survive the accident at Shadow Pond, so Marissa (Paola Turbay), Boris’ love interest and mother of his son, has appointed Dimitry (Mark Ivanir) as the new executor of his estate. The sudden news comes as a surprise to Dr. Lawson, who plans to further investigate the matter.
Later, Divya learns that after a blissful night of eloping in Vegas and engaging in some hardcore sexual activity with her new hubby Rafa (Khotan Fernandez), she is expecting her first child. This doesn’t sit well with Katdare, as she and the Latin polo star have since had their marriage annulled, so now she must figure out whether or not she wants to keep the baby and tell Rafa the news.

And during a follow-up with Ms. Ballard for her arm injury, Evan is hopeful that she will sign a retainer, but instead Blythe informs the Lawsons that they’re concierge services are violating zoning laws. Fearful that HankMed may lose clients, Evan is tempted to call his attorney until Paige suggests that he throw a party to attract the neighbors. But being the party-pooper that she is, Blythe Ballard precedes to hand the Lawson Brothers a cease and desist order to shut down HankMed.

For years, it’s been Hank’s job to look after Evan, so now that the roles are reversed, and he’s weak and vulnerable, it’ll be interesting to see if the doctor can fall back and become the patient.

A few things to ponder for the upcoming episode on June 19th:

1) Does Jeremiah really have a girlfriend, or did he pull a Manti Te’o prank?

2) Did Dimitry and Marrisa orchestrate Boris’ death to inherit his wealth?

3) Will Divya keep her baby and raise he/she as a single parent? Or will Rafa want to co-parent, and be involved in his child’s life?

4) Will Jeremiah ever muster up enough courage to express how he really feels about Divya or will he just keep avoiding her for as long as possible?

5) How long will Henry be on “Hank Watch”, before he can fully re-gain his independence?

6) Will Ms. Ballard ever sign a retainer, and become a client of HankMed’s?

Tune in next Wednesday, at 9p EST on USA Network to find out what happens next, and feel free to state your predictions in the comments section!