Netflix has brought a new medical show to life, Pulse. The series follows medical workers in Miami, Florida. Some of the major cast members are Jessie T. Usher, Willa Fitzgerald, Colin Woodell, and Justina Machado, who work at Maguire Hospital in the Level 1 Trauma Center. 

The show begins with a high school soccer team on their school bus with their coach. There’s a major storm happening. While in traffic, a car swerves, causing multiple vehicles to crash, along with the school bus. It’s not just a storm happening— it’s called ‘Hurricane Abby.’ 

We are introduced to Dr. Daniella Simms (Willa Fitzgerald), her sister Harper (Jessy Yates),  who’s in a wheelchair, Dr. Sam Elijah (Jessie T. Usher), and Dr. Tom Cole (Jack Bannon). Camila Perez (Daniela Nieves) is a medical student, and it’s her first day. 

Natalie Cruz (Justina Machado) comes in and tells the medical staff that the bus of teenagers we saw earlier needs medical attention. Their Resident Chief, Dr. Xander Phillips (Colin Woodell), has been suspended, so Cruz makes Danielle in charge. 

We then get a flashback. Xander makes an appearance, introducing himself to the staff, transferring from a different hospital to Maguire. He throws glances at Danielle while he continues to speak to the staff. 

Back in the present time, Danielle asks why Cruz chose her, and she tells her that it’s because she deserves it. 

The patients begin rushing in. Danielle and Tom take their patients. Tom’s patient lost his hand. He promises the boy that they will find his hand. The boy, Tyler, mentions a Vero Cruz, his best friend. Tom realizes it’s Cruz’s daughter.

Harper meets with his next patient, who needs some stitches. Sam is in the room as well, giving two kids stitches. 

After he’s done with the stitches, Sam goes into the surgical room where Danielle is with the coach. There’s tension between the two of them. She apologizes to him for taking the position he always wanted: Resident Chief. One of the staff members comes in, letting them know that he thinks Cruz’s daughter was on the bus. Danielle tells him that once it’s known, then they can tell Cruz, but not now. 

Throughout the shift, Danielle continues to have flashbacks of her and Xander. It looks like Xander was mentoring Danielle. 

The soccer coach refuses any medical treatment until he knows that all the kids are okay. Danielle goes to visit him in his room. She tells him about Harper, how they used to fight as kids. Danielle pushed Harper down the stairs during a bad argument, which is why she’s in a wheelchair now. She tells him to reconsider the treatment. 

As she walks out of the room, getting ready for her new patient, she sees Xander. He tells her that he’s there because Vero could be there. He follows Danielle, since he knows what Vero looks like. They rush over to the ambulance, and it is, in fact, Vero. 

They wheel her to the trauma room and begin to work on her, getting her heart pumping. Vero needs cardiac surgery. Camila tells Sam, and so he goes over to Cruz, letting her know. 

While Danielle is doing a procedure to get the blood away from her heart, the power shuts off completely in the hospital. She continues the procedure, and the power comes back on after she’s done. Cruz watches close by, and once Danielle’s done, Cruz yells at Danielle for not telling her about Vero. She then begins to degrade Danielle, telling her that she’s not prepared to be chief. 

Tom goes back to Tyler and tells him that they’ve found his hand. 

Danielle holds the coach’s hand as the kids cheer for him through the operating room door. The nurses wheel him out to get his surgery done. Danielle was able to convince him to get medical attention. 

After he gets wheeled off, Danielle sits back down and has another flashback of her and Xander. He almost kisses her, and she walks off.

Going back to the present time, Xander comes to her and tells her that he’s been trying to call her. She tells him that she knows. Xander says he overheard her conversation with the coach, saying he knows she lied to the coach about Harper’s accident: Their father pushed Harper down the stairs, not Danielle.

Cruz comes to them and says that the hospital is going to need Xander with them for the time being, needing all hands on deck because of the storm.

After Danielle’s shift, she goes back home. She changes into different clothes and goes to the bathroom, hearing the shower on. It’s Xander who apologizes for how things were handled during the shift. 

Overall, this was a very interesting first episode. Being able to introduce all of the main characters is important, and that’s exactly what happened here. The choice of cast is great, being able to learn about newer actors and seeing some familiar faces as well. The only thing is, who are they as individuals? What happened between Danielle and Xander, especially with how the episode ended? Are they on good terms, or is there something more that Danielle is hiding?

Rating: 8/10