The Knick – 1×01

I know some people will find other things to appreciate about this or stomach more than I could and will continue watching and I have nothing against that, more power to them. But I’m certainly stopping now.  The first episode actually does touch on a lot of different issues, racism, sexism, corruption, poverty, child labor, and that just makes it worse that they then still choose to center on a gross racist as the lead. He’s not even the equal-opportunity misanthrope that people like to claim their douche white male genius characters are today, he’s very clearly a full-on racist. And the thing is, people will defend it saying that obviously the narrative is calling him out here and this is just how it was at the time and in fact, I bet there will be a lot of liberal reviewers who will praise the show for not glossing over this or having the characters be unrealistically progressive, but then, in what ways could the same aims not have been achieved by making Edwards the lead?

What’s more, as the episode goes on the racist clarifies (of course in the condescending manner he uses when speaking with women) that his actual arguments against having a Black doctor are because the patients won’t agree to being treated by him and they are his concern, that continuing business as usual is more important than progressiveness and social crusades. That comes off so much like the PC and diversity haters today, all these people who’ll actually be nodding along. And of course when he’s told that the Black doctor has been hired anyway, against his wishes, he threatens to resign, because apparently his concern for these racist ass patients is so high he’d rather stop treating them altogether than work with a Black doctor.

I don’t really care if he’s “won over” or if the drama’s good in other ways, I don’t need to watch the same old journeys with a white man with a troubled past who he treats everyone around him terribly and is excused for the work he does. Look how unnecessarily cruel he is in that last row and yet he’s still written as the expert everyone wants to be around, even Edwards.