You know how an article sometimes starts with the dictionary definition of a word and you have to wonder is the writer going somewhere with this, or are they just desperately trying to fulfill their word count? 

In this case I AM going somewhere with this (if you’re a regular reader you know making an article long enough isn’t a problem), so please allow me to direct your attention to definition #1 of “Blip”:

noun: an unexpected, minor, and typically temporary deviation from a general trend. 

I thought about this definition as I pondered what I did and didn’t like about “A Blip,” and I come away thinking it’s possible the episode may have, more correctly, been entitled “Blips.” Plural. And I’m not just saying that because some of my favorite scenes had little to do with the meat and potatoes storylines. Hang in there, I’ll explain…

This was the blip we all cared about the most, this thing Shaun took note of that sent him into research overload mode the same night he learned about Glassman’s two missed sutures. (I guess he must’ve hopped on this as soon as he came back from that celebratory night out with Jared, huh?) The fact that this episode was about simply convincing Dr. Glassman to get his brain scanned ahead of schedule told us there’d definitely be more to this storyline arc. 

NOTE: If you’d like to read the full text of the poem used in the final scenes of “A Blip”— Instructions on Not Giving Up by Ada Limon— you can find it here.

Honestly, I think I like where this story is going but I’m not locked in just yet. It’s admittedly tough, knowing that while Jared Kalu is back at St. Bon’s for now, S7 is still up in the air for him (and everyone, at this point! But especially him.) But he’s been mostly front and center since he returned, so I’ll break this down:

Danny Perez, as you recall, spent the first half of this season wrestling feelings for Jordan with one hand and his sobriety with the other… until sobriety lost, and he felt obligated to keep his distance from Jordan until further notice. (Did you note that Perez was nowhere to be found in the break room scene early in the episode when Morgan arrived with patient assignments?)

This was the first time that Perez had seen Jordan in the company of another captivating guy since all that went down, and I have to imagine there is now some sort of love triangle being constructed in Jordan’s honor. So why did I say GOOD! When I don’t know that I like Jordan and Jared together either? Simply stated, I don’t like when people start something they cannot finish. That’s Perez to me as of now. Yes, his addiction story is compelling, and of course I’m rooting for him to stay clean. But as strong a personality as Jordan is, I completely feel her vulnerability in matters of the heart and want her with someone who can treat her right. That’s not him.

It may not be Jared either, but he still gets the benefit of the doubt. For now. 

Meanwhile, alongside all the major plotlines of “A Blip,” we saw Andrews (a.k.a. president of the hospital) in some sort of romantic reciprocal relationship with Nurse Villanueva. Or, as I said when I first noted this development via the episodic synopsis… HUH???

For the last time we even SAW them in a conversation (the “Sorry Not Sorry” episode) last fall, Villanueva was in a minor work-related dispute with Andrews. He eventually saw the error of his ways, did the right thing, and if I recall correctly, invited her out for a beer after work. Some people did take that as him asking her out in a more official capacity, I was one of the ones that thought it was just a way to end a little storyline within an episode, no biggie…

It was a complete head-scratcher for me. Was their sequence of scenes just the equivalent of a dramatized PSA about the under-appreciated, under-respected nurses of America? 

OR… what was that definition of “Blip”again?

(an unexpected, minor, and typically temporary deviation from a general trend. )

Aha! Unexpected- check. Minor- check (no one else was involved in their scenes; they could have happened in any episode in the back half of this season except the backdoor pilot “The Good Lawyer”.) Temporary? Check!

If VillanAndrews, or AndrewNueva (hey, it’s a moot point now) were intended as the ultimate sub-BLIP, I can’t help but say WELL PLAYED. Still… as with every dead-end plot point… I can’t help but be a little frustrated, wishing that those precious minutes of screen time could be used more efficiently.

(And of course I’m not saying a storyline about underappreciated nurses is useless. I AM saying there are plenty more organic ways to work it into the show.)

And frankly, for my money, I’ll always prefer a sub-Blip like the one that came courtesy of Asher when he tried a little “WWSMD?” 

(Lim’s retort about not wanting to know what he and Jerome did in their free time was spit-take hilarious, BTW.) 

Anyway, Asher’s attempts to summon ShaunVision resulted in the unexpected, minor, and temporary fantasy of Jerome striding through his dreams with an engagement ring in hand– proving that “blips” can be entertaining AND productive. (#Jasher must have kissed and made up VERY nicely after the “Second Chances” episode, huh?)

So what parts of “A Blip” snared your attention the most? What parts had you already forgotten about until I mentioned them here? And what’s you guess on the Glassman glioma (cancer) recurrence? Hit the comments below and let me know!