REVIEW: ‘St. Denis Medical’ Season 2 Episode 11 Takes You to a Senior Health Fair
- Emma Fisher
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
This article contains spoilers for St. Denis Medical S2E11.
St. Denis Medical returns to NBC on January 26 with This Isn’t Bingo, an episode where Alex (Allison Tolman) hosts a Senior Health Fair with the help of Keith (Dave Theune) and Chaplain Steve (Stephen Schneider). Elsewhere, Bruce (Josh Lawson) resuscitates a patient with a DNR, pulling Joyce (Wendi McClendon-Covey) into an uncomfortable ethical situation, and Ron (David Alan Grier) competes with Matt (Mekki Leeper) over a patient’s homemade fudge.
In keeping with the Senior Health and Wellness Fair cold open, where Alex and Kevin offer advice by rewriting the lyrics to Everybody by the Backstreet Boys, Ron declares that today is old people day at St. Denis. While the seniors will receive health screenings and flu shots, he expects meandering stories and both his upper and lower cheeks pinched without consent. Still, it’s not all bad. He’s hopeful that Agnes, the woman who has brought him fudge for the past few years, is still alive.
However, much to Ron’s dismay, the elderly patients are far more interested in Matt than in him, including Agnes, who eagerly offers Matt a piece. Ron attempts to charm her by comparing her to Sophia Loren, but she’s unimpressed. When he makes one last attempt to win back her favour, she shuts him down. Matt, however, earns another piece by bringing her an extra pillow. Ron tries to bond over respecting the old ways, something younger people like Matt struggle with, but Agnes shares that Matt has behaved well and he's not condescending like some people (Ron).
In a cruel moment, Ron reveals to Agnes that Matt has flaws, referring to how he left his wife in Montana. He eventually apologises to Matt, but only so that he can get his hands on the fudge. While Matt promised not give Ron any, Ron reveals that age brings wisdom, including how to override locker codes that haven’t been changed in 15 years. He gets the fudge after all, but has learnt nothing.
Matt and Serena’s slow-burn relationship takes another knock when Chaplain Steve joins Serena at the Fair. While Serena insists that seeing someone a couple of times isn’t a big deal, Steve is clearly eager for their relationship to continue. She’s left a hair tie at his place, and he’s convinced this means far more than it does. But does it?
Back at the Fair, Alex introduces bingo to lift the seniors' spirits after a sluggish morning. Disaster strikes when everyone calls bingo at once, leading Alex to realise she printed the same card 50 times. Hoping to avoid arguments, she suggests splitting the price, but one woman announced they’ll go back to the centre to play real bingo instead. Serena insists they can’t leave, so Chaplain Steve proposes balloon volleyball, successfully keeping them there, much to Alex’s frustration as her carefully planned Fair continues to spiral out of her control.
Alex tries to regain control by introducing a new balloon volleyball rule: whoever gets the balloon must name their favourite source of fibre. Instead, she accidentally pops the balloon, reverting the group to her PowerPoint presentation. Steve responds to the seniors’ lack of enthusiasm by throwing a dance party, which he soon pauses, allowing the Fair to get back on track. Unsurprisingly, the seniors are bored during Alex’s presentation. She apologises for not making it fun but reminds them that just a few small changes in routine can make a big difference. Once finished, she tells Steve to put the music back on, and they get up to dance. Joyce and Bruce are drawn in, too, Bruce solo, and Joyce dancing with a man who tells her she reminds him of his late wife.
Meanwhile, the episode’s strongest storyline belongs to Bruce, who resuscitates Eleanor, a cardiac patient who had been without a pulse for six minutes. He soon learns that Eleanor is upset as she had a DNR in place. Avoiding her room until Joyce accompanies him, Bruce finds himself forced to confront the consequences of his actions.
When they meet Eleanor, Joyce apologises for not receiving the care she deserved and asks if there’s any way to make things right. Eleanor bluntly replies that she wanted to die, which leads Bruce, ever unhelpful, to wish aloud that he weren’t such a gifted surgeon. He suggests that if one of his colleagues had attempted the resuscitation, this conversation wouldn’t be happening. Despite the heavy subject matter, it’s the funniest storyline of the episode, giving Lawson and McLendon-Covey excellent material and proving that they are a pairing St. Denis Medical should lean into more often.
Bruce later reveals that Eleanor has no chronic pain or lifestyle restrictions and could still enjoy several good years. He encourages her to see her resuscitation as a second chance, but Eleanor wants to know what the second chance is for. Bruce, unable to read the room, suggests an underwater hotel in the Maldives. It’s 8000 dollars a night, but it can easily be added to a credit card. Eleanor counters by asking who she’d go with, as she has no kids, setting them in a trap about having no husband.
To help, Joyce opens up, sharing that she has no children and recently ended an engagement, insisting she's doing just fine. Eleanor confesses that she worked relentlessly for years, only to look up and realise her life was empty, but it was too late to do anything about it. Joyce admits that she has no idea what that’s like, though it’s clear she’s lying to herself. After leaving the room, Bruce asks if Joyce is okay, noting that Eleanor’s life sounds familiar: a workaholic, no spouse, no children. Joyce points out that it also sounds like Bruce’s life, a comment that unsettles him.
Shaken by Eleanor’s words, Joyce convinces herself that there are people worse off than she is. Talking to them helps her get some perspective. She approaches Dakota (Emma Pope), who she assumes is in crisis, only to learn that she’s crying because she just got engaged. At the same time, Bruce calls his mother to prove that he has nothing in common with Eleanor because he has an extensive family tree. He reflects that sometimes you get wrapped up in work, but you must find time to water the roots and keep them strong. He invites his mom to Outback Streakhouse, only to learn she’s in Tahoe with Frank, whom Bruce dislikes. A follow-up call to his cousin Marcus is no better, as Marcus has no idea who Bruce is. It’s painfully funny, if not triggering for anyone prone to second-hand embarrassment.
After their impromptu dance session with the seniors, Joyce compliments Bruce’s moves. He says she looked like she didn't care what anyone thought and envies that kind of confidence, which takes the funniest line of the episode. Bruce decides to take Eleanor out to join the fun, only to discover she has gone into cardiogenic shock. Joyce observes that it’s what Eleanor wanted. They stay with her until she passes, which makes for a tender moment, until Bruce tells Joyce that nothing will ever happen between them. Which, of course, means that it should. St. Denis Medical is a sitcom; neither character has a serious love interest, and the chemistry is there. Whether it works romantically or not, it would give the show either a new couple to root for or a reliable source of comedy.
This Isn’t Bingo is a brilliant 20-minute episode of television that continues St. Denis Medical’s strong second season. While a third season has yet to be announced, the show is only getting better at using its ensemble, and it would be a shame if this run were cut short.
About St. Denis Medical
Premiere Date: November 3, 2025
Episode Count: 18
Showrunner: Eric Ledgin
Executive Producers: Eric Ledgin, Justin Spitzer, Simon Heuer, Ruben Fleischer, Bridget Kyle, and Vicky Luu.
Distribution: Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, More Bees, Inc. and Spitzer Holding Company.
Cast: Wendi McLendon-Covey, David Alan Grier, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, and Kaliko Kauahi.
Synopsis: St. Denis Medical is a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. In season two, after receiving a large private donation, hospital administrator Joyce bites off more than she can chew while her employees navigate staff shortages, office conflicts and their own personal lives.
