Pilot

Pilot
Season 1, Episode 1


Air date	October 16, 2012
Written by	Jennie Snyder Urman
Directed by	Bharat Nalluri
Episode Guide transcript
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Pilot is the first episode of the Emily Owens M.D. series.

Summary[]

Recent medical school graduate Emily Owens is now a first-year surgical intern at Denver Memorial Hospital and she is ready to leave high school persona of geeky-girl-with-flop-sweats behind her. But Emily quickly realizes that a hospital is a lot like high school -- cliques and all -- when she is faced with her medical school crush Will Collins and high school nemesis Cassandra Kopelson. On top of that, Emily manages to get herself in some hot water with her attending Dr. Gina Bandari, as well as the nurses, on her first day. Another fellow intern, Tyra Dupre latches onto Emily as a new friend, and immediately begins confiding all her personal information, including the fact that Tyra is a lesbian, and that she hasn’t come out to her father, who happens to be the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Dupre (guest star Harry Lennix). Emily is also getting to know the slightly nerdy, but smart and handsome resident Dr. Micah Barnes, who is facing some serious medical issues within his own family. Bharat Nalluri directed the episode written by creator and executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman.

Recap[]

Spoilers ahead During her first hours on duty, Emily (Mamie Gummer) and the rest of the residents made rounds with their attending, the beautiful but cold Gina. At the bedside of a little girl, Gina asks Emily for a diagnosis and she nails it. However, when she explains the prognosis in kid-friendly terms, Gina chastises her and leaves her to do discharge papers. Then the little girl codes. Some quick thinking on Emily's part saves Julia's life, but she won't return home just yet.

After losing and then finding an Alzheimer's patient, Emily continues to visit the sick little girl, Julia. They bond over how stressful school can be and how cute boys are. When Emily challenges Julia to tell her crush how she feels, the little girl suggests Emily do the same thing with Will (Justin Hartley). Emily is left fumbling.

Julia also requests that Emily do her surgery. While she knows she can't yet perform the surgery, she could still be in the OR with her, if Julia requests it. So the request is made, and Gina, infuriated, rips into Emily in the middle of the hallway.

The day is turning out to be rough and is only made worse when, encouraged by Julia's success with her crush, Emily finally gathers the "ballvery" (that's "balls" and "bravery" together) to tell Will how she feels. He's adorable and attentive to Emily, yet he admits he's not interested in her.

Emily finds refuge in the stairwell with a small supply of chocolate, wanting a few minutes to sniffle in private.

Her resident advisor, Micah Barnes, shows up to pull her from her pity party. He takes her on a walk through the hospital. He shows her the guy who has to learn to walk again, and the woman in room 501 who has just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He tells Emily the woman's son will try to cheer her up with hopes of drug trials, but he already knows she only has about six months to live.

Spending time with Dr. Barnes and getting to help out with Julia's surgery makes Emily see things a little more clearly. She exits Denver Memorial the way she entered: With a smile on her face and hope for the future. And when she leaves behind Dr. Barnes, he slips into room 501, tells the patient her diagnosis and then promises her — his mother — that there are plenty of drug trials worth investigating.

Source: Sheknows Entertainment

Quotes[]

Emily: The thing about being an adult that no one tells you growing up is that you don't feel like an adult. All your stupid insecurities and anxieties are still there, only you feel more stupid and insecure about being stupid and insecure because you're not supposed be stupid and insecure anymore. You're supposed have the answers. You're supposed to know. But we don't always know. And those answers? They're not always easy to come by. Well you know what? I'm done feeling stupid and insecure about feeling stupid and insecure. The truth is, I think part of being an adult is that you stop waiting for yourself to change and you start to accept who you are.

Tyra: Thanks for covering for me. You're way cooler than you look.

Emily: But why are you such a bitch to me? What did I ever do to you?
Cassandra: Oh, come on. You really need me to say it? Everything always came so easy to you. Not the looks thing, but the school thing.
Emily: You were jealous?
Cassandra: I wouldn't say jealous.

Cassandra: I don't need your pity. I'm still a bitch.
Emily: Trust me. I know. You're a huge bitch.
Cassandra: Thank you. I appreciate that.

Emily: You must think I'm incredibly self-absorbed.
Micah: No, just human. Now hand over the Ring Dings and get back to work.

Micah: Doreen said she saw you come in here with half the vending machine. You alright?
Emily: Yeah, I'm really great. Except Gina hates me, my balvery backfired, my high school nemesis is being very nefarious, and these are stale.
Micah: I'm sorry. You lost me at...balvery?

Emily: [to Will] I don't want to be that shy girl always wishing that her life would turn out the way I want it to. I have to make it turn out the way I want it to. And what I want, what I really, really want, is you.

12 year old patient: If we don't tell them, someone else might get there first. That's what happened to Jacob. And Bella ended up having Edward's alien baby. Which would blow.

Tyra: You've got your jocks, aka the orthopedic surgeons. Mean girls go into plastics. Your All-American, girl next door types, they're gonna be in OB. The true geeks, they're the neurologists. The rebels are in the ER. Stoners, anesthesia, and peds gets your sanctimonious church-goers.
Emily: How about us.
Tyra: Surgery's a melting pot, a little bit of everything, which basically means none of us get along.

Emily: I wasn't one of those kids who thrived in high school. I was geeky. Alright, I was very geeky...high school was rough. But, you know what got me through? The knowledge that I'd outgrow all those feelings of insecurity and in (...)