To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and medical dramas. Netflix’s first English-language entry into the genre takes us into the heart of Miami in the middle of a hurricane. Talk about throwing us in at the deep end, but ain’t that what medical dramas are for?
Pulse follows a young medical team in the city’s busiest Level 1 Trauma Center, where third-year resident, Dr. Danny Simms (Willa Fitzgerald) has suddenly been promoted to acting-Chief Resident and is trying her best to rally her team while dealing with a huge influx of disaster-stricken patients as well as some juicy interpersonal drama. The previous Chief Resident, Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell) was suspended and nobody is happy about it—least of all Danny, who he was secretly dating.
As details of their forbidden romance start to come out, everyone has an opinion on it and the pressure is starting to get to them all. Whew, the chemistry is palpable and so is the tension. Fitzgerald is a charming lead, playing Danny with a raw, coiled energy with an underlying layer of softness and care. And Woodell plays Phillips with a smooth confidence that’s at war with what he’s trying hard not to feel. Between often-gruesome rushes of trauma patients and fights for survival, we see flashbacks to their relationship—and the fallout of it—unfold across the season. It adds a softer romantic element wrapped up in heartache, that gives you a break from the different kind of heartache that is seeing patients at their lowest.
The patients who come in and out of the hospital definitely show off the best and worst in humanity, but just like any good medical drama, it’s the hospital staff who hold this show together. Danny’s best friend Dr. Sam Elijah (Jessie T. Usher) got passed over for the chief position but is more mad that Danny kept her relationship from him. Elijah is one of the most level-headed characters who’ll gain your respect. Danny’s sister Harper (Jessy Yates) is supportive but has her own battles to fight as a second-year resident trying to prove herself. Yates is one of the standouts of this series; she brings so much depth and heart to Harper and you’ll cheer for her every time.
Leading the way with hard-won advice and plenty of marching orders are Dr. Soriano and Dr. Cruz (played by medical drama vets Néstor Carbonell and Justina Machado). They make a great pair who you immediately wish to win the approval of, just like the residents do. They’re calm but fierce and pull the residents out of the spirals they often find themselves on the edge of. Interns Dr. Sophie Chan (Chelsea Miurhead) and Dr. Camila Perez (Daniela Nieves) also make an excellent duo, playing off each other like rain and sunshine, always pushing each other to believe in their work.
By taking more of an overarching storyline run than the usual topic-per-episode format, Pulse seeks to stand out from the usual medical dramas. It knows that people watch for the messy interpersonal drama most of all and uses it to good effect. The subject matter isn’t anything groundbreaking but you still won’t be able to resist hitting play to find out just how many secrets they’re all keeping from each other. The episodes have decent flow, swinging between heart-racing and heart-warming. If you’re a fan of medical shows, add Pulse to your rotation and get ready for some drama-fueled complications, stat.
