It’s about time Transplant’s (Wednesdays at 10/8 MT on CTV) Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq) saw the staff psychotherapist at York Memorial hospital. He seems to spend a major chunk of the time he’s not saving lives having intense flashbacks to Syria and seeing visions of a child in a gasmask following him around. Actually, scratch that—he’s also seeing those hallucinations while he’s tending to patients and it’s officially hindering his abilities. Not good.Last week, we saw Bash hesitate and lose focus during a crucial moment while treating building explosion victims. This week, Dr. Bishop (John Hannah) has insisted he go to therapy, and we’re already learning a whole lot more about dear Bash. It seems his trauma and blanking episodes can be traced back to the harrowing moment of finding his mother’s lifeless body during the Syrian civil conflict. But it’s more than that—it’s what that moment signifies for both him and his sister that’s at the heart of this trauma.

An ode to therapy

This entire episode is told through Bash’s recollections to his new therapist about a recent patient at the hospital who reminds him of his own pain. It’s an interesting narrative device that allows us to see each moment for what it means to him, rather than just take it at face value. Bash is tasked with caring for a stabbing victim named Nicole who is also an incarcerated prisoner close to her release date. The prison system is all she’s known her entire adult life after committing a crime under the influence of a toxic boyfriend that left a man dead in her teens. The stab wound is the result of her first violent incident on record, begging the question as to whether or not she may be self-sabotaging her release.

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— Transplant (@TransplantCTV) May 12, 2020

The stab wound to her abdomen is bad enough, but it turns out she was also infected with botulism, which can cause paralysis, blindness and even death. Although her wounds are treatable, she keeps refusing to consent to further help.Correctional Officer Roberts, who is posted to her bedside, takes a rather keen interest in Nicole’s well-being (she reminds him of his daughter) and insists she accept treatment. But all Nicole wants is her estranged mother by her side, something that never happens. As Bash witnesses his patient descent into organ failure and near-death, he realizes that Nicole’s predicament is not that unlike his—all she wants is parental guidance, and worse still, she feels guilty for still living when it’s her fault someone died.

The power of naming the thing

“Survivor’s guilt,” the therapist explains, is a very common thread amongst refugees of war. When Bash explains how he was the one who found his mother’s dead body, and how he just wasn’t able to save her, viewers see it’s not only grief and guilt that plagues him, it’s the overwhelming conviction he’ll never be able to give his sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) what she needs—parents. “Every time I see my little sister, I’m reminded of what we lost,” he explains.[video_embed id='1909547']RELATED: ‘Transplant’ star Hamza Haq on how he traded his day job to become a leading man[/video_embed]The Syrian refugee crisis and the lives of war survivors in Canada is something that might not make the news every day, but Transplant’s nuanced discussions of these hardships are welcome.

Will they won’t they?

Elsewhere, Dr. Bishop is also feeling a little bit like a ship without his anchor in his ongoing flirtation with head ER nurse Claire (Torri Higginson). They once had a fling and they even rekindled it not too long ago, but with Claire’s recent divorce, she asked Jed for a bit of space. Oh, but their flirting! The constant looks across the ER! The knowing glances! The anticipation!Luckily, after they discuss their dream vacation destinations (his is Latvia in the Baltics, hers is Burning Man in the Black Rock desert), Jed goes out on a limb and tells her that she is the only destination he dreams of. “I just wanted to let you know that I’d follow you anywhere, even to the desert with the great unwashed.”“The great unwashed” might not be the most romantic phrase we’ve ever heard, but we totally swooned. And you know what? So did Claire.If you were hoping for them to share a passionate kiss here, you're in luck. How’s *that* for workplace romance?Watch Transplant Wednesdays at 10/8 MT on CTV.[video_embed id='1958170']BEFORE YOU GO: 'Transplant' stars Jim Watson and John Hannah go rock climbing pre-quarantine[/video_embed]