After four weeks of average episodes, Episode 5 of Watson finally delivers a strong and engaging story. This episode keeps the audience interested from start to finish. It also makes a bold statement about the medical field and how big technology companies have made life-saving medicine too expensive for many people.
Despite its title, “The Man with the Glowing Chest,” this episode focuses on a young Black woman struggling with sickle cell anemia.
The episode begins in 2016. A young woman named Taryn (played by Brittany Adebumola) is practicing her valedictorian speech at home. While speaking, she suddenly starts coughing and gasping for air.
Her family rushes her to the hospital, where she spends the next eight years receiving treatments that never fully work. No doctor has been able to help her completely—until she meets Dr. Watson (Morris Chestnut).
In the present day, Watson meets a man named Hobie McSorley (played by Nat Faxon). Hobie has modified his body using science, making his chest glow green. At first, his condition seems silly and unimportant, but his experiment later becomes the key to saving Taryn’s life.
After Hobie leaves, Dr. Mary Morstan (Rochelle Aytes) approaches Watson about Taryn. She wants Taryn to join a medical trial for sickle cell anemia, but Taryn is too sick to qualify.
Mary hopes Watson can improve her condition enough to make her eligible. Watson quickly agrees, and Mary seems surprised by how willing he is to help. She might still be thinking about last week’s episode, where he agreed to an uncontested divorce.
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Watson’s Fellows Step Back as He Takes Control
Episode 5 is the first time the fellows are not heavily involved in treating the main patient. From the moment Watson meets Taryn, he takes full control of her case. He does not allow much involvement from others, except for Shinwell (Ritchie Coster), who is always ready to assist Watson—even in breaking the rules.
While the fellows take a step back, they still have important moments in the episode. Dr. Ingrid Derian (Eve Harlow) stands out the most. In Episode 3, she was upset about not leading the Spinal Signal Program. However, she has now joined the study, and things are not going well for her.
While others talk about the man with the glowing chest, Derian types emails, trying to get her patients into the study. Dr. Sasha Lubbock (Inga Schlingmann) notices this and offers advice. She tells Derian that instead of simply recommending patients, she should make an emotional argument to persuade those in charge.
Lubbock also shares a personal story. In college, she always took over group projects to ensure she got the best grade. She still uses that skill as a medical fellow. Later in the episode, Derian learns that one of her recommended patients, Gigi, has been accepted into the program.
However, it turns out that Lubbock submitted the recommendation, not Derian. The biggest surprise comes when viewers learn that Derian knows Gigi personally and even lives with her.
Meanwhile, the Croft brothers (played by Peter Mark Kendall) remain difficult to figure out. Previous episodes revealed that Adam and Stephens had a falling out because Adam got involved with Stephen’s ex-fiancée. This episode suggests they have been distant for years.
Stephens invites Adam on a trip to celebrate five years of sobriety, but Adam seems shocked to hear about his brother’s relapse. It is unclear if Adam will go on the trip, but he does attend an AA meeting with Stephens after Taryn’s case is closed.
Watson Breaks the Rules to Save Taryn
When Watson first meets Taryn, she is in terrible condition. She has suffered a stroke, and the hospital was too busy to help her in time. As a result, she has blurry vision due to internal bleeding in her eyes. Watson talks to her about treatment options, but there are not many.
Taryn expresses her frustration about expensive gene therapies for sickle cell that cost over $2 million. Many patients cannot afford these treatments. Watson understands her frustration. As a geneticist, he knows he could perform the procedure himself for a much lower cost.
Watson and Shinwell travel to New York City to convince someone at a biotech company to let Taryn into the medical trial. Before they arrive, Taryn’s condition worsens. They rush back to the hospital, where the fellows report that her hemoglobin levels are dropping dangerously. The only medical option is to provide palliative care to make her comfortable until her body gives out. Watson refuses to accept this.
Later that night, Watson runs tests in his lab and realizes what he must do. He tells Shinwell that he plans to treat Taryn without following the legal process. This means going around Dr. Mary, the FDA, and the law. Shinwell agrees but warns Watson not to involve the fellows, fearing they might crack under pressure. Instead, they bring in Hobie, who has experience with CRISPR gene editing and biohacking.
Watson explains his plan to Taryn. He believes his method will cure her without the harmful side effects of the expensive therapies. Unlike other treatments, his approach will not cause infertility. Taryn is relieved to hear this and shares how her illness has made relationships difficult.
She has always felt like a burden to her loved ones. Watson tells her that by performing this procedure, he is risking everything—his career and his freedom. But he is willing to do it because she deserves a chance at a better life.
The procedure itself is simple. Watson drills a small hole in her ankle, disguising it as a mole removal. He injects genetically modified blood into her bone, which will spread through her body and cure her within days. To keep it secret, Shinwell tells the fellows that Watson is transferring Taryn back to her hematologist.
The fellows are immediately suspicious. They know that transferring a patient is something a normal doctor would do—but not Watson. As they leave for the night, Stephens notices Hobie getting into the elevator. He realizes that Watson is up to something.
When Watson tries to sneak Taryn out of the clinic, the fellows are waiting for him. They are concerned that he may have done something illegal and could ruin their careers. As they discuss what happened, they all come to the same conclusion: it is unfair that life-saving technology exists but is not being used to help people.
A Medical Breakthrough and an Unexpected Surprise
As with most episodes, things get worse before they get better. Taryn spends more time in the hospital before finally improving enough to be discharged. When Mary visits her, she finds Taryn’s ex-boyfriend, George, by her bedside. Although Taryn previously said relationships were difficult for her, George clearly cares about her.
Mary notices the mole removal and questions Taryn about her sudden recovery. Taryn protects Watson by lying. Before she is discharged, Mary orders extra blood samples and confronts Watson. She threatens to send them for testing, which would reveal that something unauthorized was done to Taryn.
Watson does not admit anything but expresses his frustration. He argues that it is cruel to know about treatments that could save lives but be forbidden from using them.
Soon after, Taryn is rushed back to the hospital with a pulmonary embolism. Many believe it is a side effect of Watson’s procedure, but he is not convinced. After more tests, they discover that Taryn is pregnant. She is overjoyed but worried about her health.
Mary reassures her that the treatment Watson used has strengthened her body and given her a second chance at life. Seeing how happy Taryn is, Mary decides to throw away the blood samples and stop investigating Watson.
However, Watson is not in the clear yet. At the end of the episode, viewers see that Derian has been taking detailed notes about the entire situation—from Hobie’s involvement to the illegal procedure. It is likely that this information will become a problem for Watson in future episodes.
Watson’s Bold Choices Lead to Big Consequences
Episode 5 of Watson delivers a powerful story about the challenges of modern medicine, ethical dilemmas, and the risks doctors take to save lives.
Watson refuses to let bureaucracy stop him from curing Taryn, even if it means breaking the law. His bold actions change her life, proving that medical advancements should be used for good rather than being limited by financial barriers.
While Taryn gets a second chance at life, Watson’s troubles are far from over. Mary suspects the truth but chooses to look the other way, while Derian collects evidence that could expose everything. The fellows begin questioning the morality of their profession, realizing that access to life-saving treatments is not always fair.
This episode raises important questions about medical ethics and the power of science. Watson’s willingness to defy the system makes him a hero, but it also puts him in danger. His fight for justice is just beginning.
New episodes of Watson air Sundays on CBS and are available the next day on Paramount+.
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