Friendly Fire

Painkiller Jane Episode Review

In which what you don't know, can hurt you.

What Happened

Out with Jane and Riley, Maureen gets a tattoo while they all drunkenly bond. Jane takes Riley home (not like that), but when she wakes up the next morning, it's in a hospital bed... chained to a hospital bed. Dr. Baumgartner with the cute accent asks her what she remembers, but won't fill in any of the gaps. Jane gets out of her room, spots Seth being told that Jane is in a coma, then is stunned when he calls security on her. He asks how they are supposed to treat her after she killed Riley? Jane freaks.

McBride finally shows up to talk to her; he blames her cruelly and tells her that he covered for her as a Neuro because he thought she was different. Baumgartner quit the official Neuro facility (NEECO) because they wouldn't let him do things his way and McBride expects Jane to become Baumgartner's guinea pig in learning about Neuros. Nurse Wells is horrified when he starts extracting bone marrow without giving Jane any anesthetic. As Jane recovers, Maureen arrives for a visit. She doesn't like Baumgartner and is suspicious about sudden reports that Jane is a Neuro and that NEECO is failing.

Jane goes snooping and finds evidence that Baumgartner was fired for unethical practices. She has another run in with Seth, who tells her that he trusts Baumgartner completely, and Connor, who all but spits that he never trusted her in the first place. Having convinced Jane that he's a fraud, shape-shifter Baumgartner expects that she will head to NEECO for answers, leading him straight there.

As Maureen, Baumgartner tells Jane that she's found evidence that McBride and Baumgartner are lying to her: she should be at NEECO. Fake!Maureen helps Jane make a break for it, twisting her ankle on the way out so she has a reason not to drive. As they change clothes, however, Jane spots Fake!Maureen's back: no tattoo. Jane makes sure to pay with her credit card at the gas station.

The rest of the gang is desperately trying to track Jane down, so her purchase immediately pops up on Riley's board. She also leaves bread crumb or two at the roadside dive where they have breakfast. Pretending to go to NEECO, Jane drives Fake!Maureen right up to real Maureen's house, where everyone is waiting. They take Baumgartner into custody, but when they return to the hospital, there is no sign that anyone was ever there.

What We Learned

• Hospitals: not one of the top ten vacation destinations.
• Don't trust doctors with unconventional methods.
• What you don't know, can hurt you.

What Did I Think?

The last little bit explaining everything that we just saw? Not necessary. The episode was strong enough to stand on its own.