REVIEW: ‘St. Denis Medical’ Season 2 Episode 9 Returns with a Lesson on Boundaries
- Emma Fisher
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
This article contains spoilers for S2E9 of St. Denis Medical.
St. Denis Medical returns on January 5 with “You’re in His Bubble Space,” a steady 25-minute episode with familiar sitcom territory thanks to a stubborn child patient, a wedding spiralling out of control, and a workplace crush reaching new slow-burning heights.
The central plot follows Jacob, a child patient who refuses a tetanus shot after stepping on a rusty nail. Matt’s (Mekki Leeper) first instinct is to defer to Jacob’s parents, only to be told that Jacob has bodily autonomy and that his wishes must therefore be respected. It soon becomes clear they are committed to gentle parenting, leaving no room for adult intervention at a moment when it’s clearly required. Matt dutifully asks for this to be noted on Jacob’s chart, even wondering aloud if bodily autonomy is genetic. While Matt is a nurse and should know better, the episode later suggests that his openness to this approach stems from an upbringing defined by rigid authority.
Ron’s (David Alan Grier) response is predictably less patient. He believes Matt made his first mistake by ceding power to a child, making it clear that, over the years, he has seen every type of child patient, from biters and pinchers to screamers and manipulators, and insists that he always comes out on top. Naturally, it isn’t that simple. When Ron lifts Jacob’s sleeve, the latter tells Ron that he is in his “bubble space,” something his dad clarifies that Jacob is in charge of.
As the only medical case of the episode, it’s obvious that this won’t be an easy fix. What follows is a series of attempts to convince Jacob to have the shot. When asked to hold Jacob down, his parents warn Ron that they will not restrain their son. They also do not use fear as a motivator, which cancels out showing Jacob gruesome images of a patient who refused the Tetanus vaccine. When Ron turns to bargaining with an animated vaccination clip, Jacob explains that he isn’t allowed screens until after his bath. At the end of his tether, Ron produces a Nutrageous bar to negotiate. If he takes the shot, the bar is his. Jacob counters with Nerd Clusters, which Ron refuses, unwilling to let the child win. In the end, it’s Matt, returning with the Nerds in a superhero costume, who succeeds. However, Ron does learn a thing or two about patience, leading him to seek out his son to make good on the mistakes he made while raising him.
Elsewhere, Matt becomes the subject of his fellow nurses’ attention after wearing glasses to work. Holly (Alexandra Ford) considers making a move at happy hour, a prospect that delights Bruce (Josh Lawson), ever the gossip. Serena (Kahyun Kim) initially dismisses the idea that anything has changed, insisting it’s just the glasses, leading Bruce to helpfully point out that it’s the first time he’s really noticed Matt’s face. Lawson and Kim are easily the highlights of this week's episode as their back-and-forth is less about teasing and more about Bruce testing Serena’s self-awareness. When he floats the idea of Matt and Holly as the hospital’s new power couple, Serena’s reaction gives her away. That reaction becomes even clearer when Bruce asks whether she’s heard that Matt and Holly kissed. Her sharp “What?” is all Bruce and we need to know. She concedes that Matt is attractive and that she likes him, even loves him, before quickly reframing her feelings as platonic, as he’s one of her best friends, and nothing more.
The conversation that follows between Bruce and Serena complicates any chance Matt and Serena had to progress in their will-they-won't-they relationship; something those waiting for the pair to get together will not enjoy. Serena insists that she isn’t trying to date Matt, to which Bruce admits that he’s relieved. He describes Matt as fragile and innocent, and despite his being divorced, is someone who would be permanently altered by the wrong relationship. Serena, in contrast, is likened to a shark, a comparison she rejects, though not very convincingly, if her behaviour at the end of the episode is to go by.
Running alongside this is Joyce’s (Wendi McLendon-Covey) wedding planning after Sanderson (Steve Little) proposed before the winter break. Joyce recruits Alex (Allison Tolman) to help organise the ceremony, positioning the role as an honour rather than a job. Alex is soon tasked with managing Sanderson’s impractical ideas, including a Norse Viking theme, Old Norse vows, and a level of eccentricity that bears little resemblance to anything Joyce had originally imagined for her wedding. As Alex attempts to impose some order, Joyce pushes back on more of Sanderson’s suggestions, including the idea of a wedding cake, leaving Alex to confront the growing sense that Joyce’s problem isn’t the logistics, but the match itself.
“You’re in His Bubble Space” is a St. Denis Medical episode worth the wait, using humour and pivotal decisions, whether right or wrong, to set up the second half of the season with important developments for Joyce, Serena, and Matt to come.
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.
