Netflix‘s latest medical drama may leave your pulse racing — pun all the way intended.
At the start of Pulse, viewers meet third-year resident Dr. Danny Simms (Willa Fitzgerald) in a world of chaos. She’s just reported her boss-turned-lover to human resources for sexual assault. Not only is she inundated by the rumors that are quickly making their rounds through Maguire Medical Center, but the situation escalates, and the stakes are even higher when Danny is named chief resident at the end of the show opener.
What is ‘Pulse’ about?
According to the official show description, “As a hurricane barrels towards Miami’s busiest Level 1 Trauma Center, third-year resident Dr. Danny Simms (Fitzgerald) is unexpectedly thrust into a promotion when beloved Chief Resident Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell) is suspended.”
Where are Danny’s emotions in the final episode?
Throughout Pulse, viewers witness Danny on an emotional rollercoaster. Between the case she has opened with HR, the pressures of being titled chief resident, losing it to her bestie, Dr. Sam Elijah (Jessie T. Usher), and managing to survive a natural disaster, it’s quite the miracle that the character is all smiles by the end of the season.
Some of the freedom those watching Danny have in the tenth episode could result from her decision, thanks to backing from her younger sibling, Dr. Harper Simms (Jessy Yates), to drop her complaint against Xander.
How does the dynamic between Xander and Danny change?
In the beginning, we see the pair completely at odds because they’re in the thick of the HR case that Danny has filed against Xander. Thanks to flashbacks to the past throughout the episodes, viewers quickly begin to learn about what led to the complaint being filed in the first place.
However, by Episode 10, the relationship between the two does a complete 180 when Xander tells the truth about how he unintentionally killed a patient at the nearby Kennedy hospital, which he mysteriously left.
After rushing his patient’s procedure, it is likely that Xander accidentally nicked one of his vessels, thus leading to his death. With the support of his very prominent family name, those watching learned in earlier episodes just how influential Xander’s parents were. However, it all comes full circle when he reveals that they helped cover up his error and made everyone involved sign an NDA to protect their son’s budding career.
What happened with Dr. Natalie Cruz?
When Natalie Cruz (Justina Machado) is introduced in Pulse, her work as a visionary doctor is immediately revealed. She is the chair for surgery and holds the same title for the ER department at the Level 1 trauma center.
Through the episodes, we see that there are persistent issues surrounding her position at Maguire. Many hospital leaders are not pleased with her holding such a high authority over both departments.
By the finale, she’s been replaced by ER-attending Dr. Patrick Sanchez (J.R. Ramirez), whom viewers meet in Episode 9.
What does this mean for Sam?
Much to everyone’s surprise, it’s not long before Jessie T. Usher’s character, Sam, finally gets his promotion as chief resident — something that we learn he wanted and was in the running for in the premiere episode.
While he takes it like a champ when his best friend, Danny, is named the chief resident amid all of the Maguire drama unraveling in Episode 1, his promotion brings his rocky relationship with Danny to a halt by the finale.
Not only does he love her as a friend, but there are some underlying feelings that Sam has developed over the years that viewers can see clearly throughout Pulse.
How an apology changes the fate between Xander and Danny
The Pulse season finale ends with a very transparent conversation between Xander and Danny, in which he apologizes for putting her in the uncomfortable position that resulted in their messy breakup.
From here, we see how complicated their relationship is because, despite loving one another, there’s no way they can be together. Xander is now her boss, following his rise as an attending doctor at Maguire.
The final scene ends with Danny seemingly releasing all of the mayhem in her life as she goes for a swim alone in the ocean outside of the chaos in the Maguire Medical Center.
All 10 episodes of Pulse Season 1 are currently streaming on Netflix.
