TV REVIEW: Rush Reveals His Demons in “Because I Got High”

We’ve seen Will Rush spiralling out of control through this first season of USA’s doc for hire drama. We knew his fall was coming. We just didn’t know it would be through a drug induced flashback, and that the stumble would lead to an epiphany for our hard partying doctor. Let’s look at “Because I Got High” where Rush did get really, really high, Alex got to play Rush for a day, and Eve showed she’s got about as many demons as Rush.

Rush’s Man Crush

Sad Rush greets us at the beginning of the latest offering. Will is sitting on a couch while a party gyrates around him, two girls making out right beside him. He looks bored and somber. There’s a knock at his door and Arturo, the elevator boy, says the famous singer, Tyler Duggan, is having a heart problem in another suite. It seems to be stopping and starting, darn ticker. Rush has a heart problem of his own when he sees his idol Tyler sprawled out unconscious on the floor. It takes a little longer than usual, but Will gets his heart beating again before returning to his own party.

We see Eve getting ready for work, looking for a shirt that she can’t find. Mysterious music plays, so we know somethings up. Maybe that creepy ex boyfriend? She makes it to Rush’s place, disgusted with the Animal House II look of it and reminding Rush he’s got a client at noon. Rush can’t believe she scheduled something so early. They argue and the banter is cute between these two with her as mom and him as petulant two year old. He says it would’ve been nice to have been told about the appointment sooner with her saying I did. “Rush just once, admit you’re wrong.”

“I will.  When it happens,” he counters.

“Impossible,” she mutters. That gets Rush going and up. A phone call interrupts their spat. He’s being summoned to his rock god’s room.

Photo by: Alan Zenuk/USA Network

Rush fangurls big time knowing every song, every album (yeah, before CD’s and downloads) that this former big deal in music has ever made. They bond over their past demons and drug use … two peas. Rush admits he used to spend hours playing along to Tyler’s records.

They decide to write a song together, and Rush comes up with “Never Been Wrong” as a title. Eve’s going to love that one. Rush is all smiles, and it’s nice to see him cheery and back to even.

Tyler brings out a mason jar of something that looks like a body byproduct. It’s some “good stuff,” like a hallucinogen on steroids. Tyler pressures Rush to drink up and then bails on his new song writing partner, saying “Enjoy the ride” before he leaves.

Rush empties the entire jar waiting for something to happen, to feel something. Nothing. Then right before he’s going to leave, he collapses, wakes up and staggers to the bathroom trying to shake it off. He flashes back to his first Manny meet up, complete with strippers and coke sniffing. Manny knows this is the start of a beautiful relationship, but Rush gets an urgent phone call from the hospital. He’s needed now.

Alex Gets a Little Taste

Alex and Laurel are stressed about the gutters on their house. Ah, the romance of marriage is strong in these two. It’s going to cost a small fortune to fix the house, so it’s either Cabo or gutter fixing. Cabo wins out. Score one for the married couple!

Rush’s wing man takes that pesky early appointment that Eve obviously forgot to tell him about and he gets his own day in the life of.

Alex meets Rush’s client, a big time movie producer who is going through in vitro fertilization. One problem, she can’t stand needles. Alex gets the injection ready and she freaks out. “Rush usually sings to me.” Alex goes with the Itsy Bitsy spider.” Mission accomplished.

He’s ready to leave but something happened on set and a scantily clad actress isn’t breathing. She choked on gum (really), but never fear, Alex removes it with chopsticks (really). Everyone cheers for the lifesaving hero as he leaves with his brown bag of money and a Rush-like smug look on his face.

Alex likes this little taste of Rush life. Back at home, his cute smug look is pretty precious when he tells wifey he hired commoners to fix the gutters, and they get to go to Cabo.

Pictured: Tom Ellis as Dr. William Rush — (Photo by: Alan Zenuk/USA Network)

Eve Makes Her Own Drama

Eve calls her new beau asking where her missing clothes are. She’s missing two tops, an Ipod and her special toner. He claims innocence only confirming our fear that d-bag ex is behind it.

Eve spends most of tonight’s episode worrying about who’s been in her house and worrying about her mission to renew Rush’s medical license. She ends up in a room that looks worse than your most awful DMV nightmare. She meets a cop who’s complaining about the wait and she picks his cop mind, asking what to do if she thinks someone is taking her stuff. “Change the locks,” he advises. Good point, super cop.

She can’t make herself go back into her place, just staring at her key and freaking herself out a little. She calls new guy and asks him to come over, right away. New boyfriend admits he took her stuff because he wanted to surprise her with a Palm Springs weekend. She’s mad, he’s mad, we’re mad. We thought it was old boyfriend stalking her. “You were right the first time we went out Eve. You’re not ready.” New guy leaves, and poor Eve is left alone.

Pictured: Tom Ellis as Dr. William Rush — (Photo by: Alan Zenuk/USA Network)

Rush’s Trippy Flashback

Rush mind trips back to the hospital and it’s Daddy Rush who needs him. There’s been some disaster because trauma patients are everywhere. Rush takes a six year old into surgery and he messes up a little, blood spurts everywhere. He sees the face of Tyler who says, “Same record all over again.”

Rush seemingly corrects his mistake and saves the kid with the nurse saying, “You are a rock star.” This is one bizarre dream sequence and just gets more bizarre in each frame. Now hee’s walking down the hospital hallway to the cheers of nurses, doctors, and patients.

The next moment, Rush is having to give a urine sample. Dad is forcing him to, suspecting that son was practicing medicine under the influence. Will refuses saying “this is bullshit” and tries to leave. He busts through door after door after door, but on the other side is a toilet with a specimen cup on top.

Tyler is there saying “Dad was right, you were wrong. You almost killed someone.” Old rock star pushes Rush’s head in the toilet trying to drowning him.  “Say it! Say it!”

Rush wakes up and he’s in his shower, suit still on. “I was wrong. I was wrong,” he says shakily.

Eve comes in bearing a Bloody Mary and his renewed license. She says she’s sorry. “I’m not in any position to judge anyone else’s life.”

Rush admits she was right, she did tell him about the appointment. No way, he admitted he was wrong? Sort of.

Later, Tyler sees Rush in the hotel bar and asks, “How was your trip?” Rush decks him. “Your last album sucked.” And there’s your answer.

“Because I Got High” was so fast paced and out of control, it made my heart race as fast as Will’s on that super drug. The backstory revealed put one more piece in that puzzle that is Dr. Will Rush. His downward fall was more of a self revelation. It will be interesting to see where the Rush writers go from this point. Will Rush turn his life around or continue with his party boy ways? For a show criticized for its non-originality, it was an amazing piece of storytelling this week, visually in that dream/nightmare sequence, and in its character exploration, peeking into the souls of not only Rush, but Eve and Alex as well.

What did you think of Rush’s self discovery? Will he change his lifestyle or rock on? Let’s all tune in next week and get those ratings up. Just one season of Rush seems almost criminal.

Rush airs Thursdays on USA Network at 9 pm