The Clinic - Episode Two

Another week into the series and it's already clear that Dan is determined to stay on his path of nastiness and wrong-doing. Even when he does something really nice (like saving the young boy's life) it's clouded by the fact that he is shamefully seeking attention and always looking for the personal benefit. We want to like him but he isn't making it easy!

Will Dan come good in the end?
Right now it's very hard to remember the old Dan, the one who seemed like a much nicer person when he was in love with Cathy. There are glimpses of him every now and then, like when he gave the little boy that he had saved his stethoscope, but overall you get the feeling that Dan is only out for himself these days. He seems determined to make poor Daisy feel very alone in her task of making the tough decisions for the good of the clinic and he's always willing to take advantage of someone else in order to make himself look good, which is a very bad thing where medicine is concerned. Would he have let that poor little boy die if it wasn't for Alice's intervention? And all because he was too stubborn to admit that he needed someone else's help.

The List
I have to say I really like the storyline with Ruairí's family at the minute. I know it's probably going to turn into a real tearjerker in the coming weeks but it's a very real story to watch unfolding. Due to some great script-writing and superb acting, the relationship between Ruairí and Franny is really believable. (On that script-writing note, I loved Franny's line in the posh restaurant: "I know what it is, I ordered it.") There seems to be a genuine chemistry between the actors that makes their father-son banter seem very real. Great idea to have Packie Bonner guest-star too.

Deep water for Lorcan and Cara
Lorcan just can't seem to help getting deeper and deeper into trouble by allowing just about anyone to blackmail him. Whatever about Dan, I think he's playing a very dangerous game with Dave. Those payments will surely come back to haunt him before the season is out. Sticking with the theme of trouble, what is Cara like? No sooner is she out of one spot of bother than she's diving head-first into more trouble. I usually have sympathy for her, because her heart is generally in the right place, but this week I was on Daisy's side. Cara is becoming a liability behind that desk recently. I'd like to see her getting back to normal but I fear she will always be tempted by the chance to do a wrong deed for a good reason!

Linda McGee