This post contains spoilers from Netflix's Pulse episode 7 from this point forward.
Picking up after a cathartic but traumatic episode for Danny, Pulse episode 7 begins with her attempting to smooth things over with Harper. Their father is back home and doing better, but Harper's not open to talking to her sister just yet. Trying to maintain a generous spirit, Danny gives Elijah his pick of two traumas coming to the hospital. It's crunch time for them since the academic year has ended and Cruz will be making her choice for next year's chief resident soon. She's keeping a close watch on them.
Elijah cares for a patient suffering from an alligator attack to his face. He's bloodied and in a lot of pain. When Cole arrives to help prep for surgery, he undercuts and overrides a decision Elijah made right in front of Cruz. Meanwhile, Danny cares for a woman who recently had a double lung transplant and collapsed in her home with trouble to breathe. In a flashback to before the resident retreat, Danny's stunned to learn that Xander has some pull in the decision for chief resident.
Xander returns from his run to a visit from his mother, who's worried he'll lose his offer to become an attending thanks to Danny's accusation. He wants to tell Danny the truth about what happened at Kennedy, but his mother forbids him from breaking his NDA. Xander talks his mother down, but Libby's not one to take no for an answer. Danny checks on her patient, Cynthia, who has a pulmonary embolism. When Cynthia asks about her wife, Danny speaks with her and learns Cynthia started smoking again.
Someone else knew about Danny and Xander
When Danny shares what she's learned about Cynthia's smoking with Cruz, she gets a lesson in having empathy without judgment for her patients. Cruz speaks with Cynthia and instead of giving her a stern talking to as a doctor, she talks to her with grace and humanity.
After, Cruz asks Danny about her father, and the lesson in withholding judgment continues. Danny really needed that reminder. Back to the flashback, Danny tells Xander she doesn't want chief just based on his recommendation. He insists that she earned it and they kiss... but Cass walks into the stairwell and catches them.
Cass promises not to tell anyone about what she saw, but Danny worries that Cass will think she's using Xander to get the chief position. She sees it the opposite way: Xander's using chief to get Danny. There doesn't seem to be a quick fix to this mess with everyone getting out unscathed. Cass reveals that Danny's name had been floated for chief before Xander even came to Maguire and if she gets the role, it's because she earned it. Danny doesn't know what to do next.
Danny retracts her accusation against Xander
Cynthia expresses her guilt about ruining her donor's lungs after she'd been killed in a hit-and-run and never got justice. Meanwhile, Cruz receives an unexpected but loaded visit from Xander's mother, who brings flowers for Vero as a Trojan horse for her real agenda. Libby basically wants Cruz to fire Danny for "false reporting" sexual harassment.
Before moving Cynthia to the ICU, she begs to see her wife Amy one last time. Danny promises to find her and convince her to visit. While she's looking, Cynthia's condition worsens. Amy finally arrives, but she and her wife don't have the chance to speak with each other before Cynthia dies.
Danny reflects after the death, and Cruz compliments her work. She also warns that her HR meeting the next day could make the situation worse. "You need to ask yourself: What does winning look like here? And are you willing to live with the consequences?" The next day, Danny arrives to the HR department early for her meeting and informs the receptionist that she would like to drop her complaint.
What else happened in Pulse episode 7:
- Camila asks Elijah if she can present a patient to him, but he rudely blows her off after looking bad in front of Cruz. She's hurt by his reaction. Sophie finds Camila crying in the locker room and gives her a pep talk. Elijah apologizes and allows Camila to present her young ER patient, who's believed to have the flu.
- However, Elijah notices the nine-year-old patient, Blanca, appears sicker than just the flu. They later discover she had her first period, received a tampon from older girls, and was too embarrassed to tell her parents. She never took the tampon out and was beginning to suffer from toxic shock syndrome.
- Sophie thinks she will be scrubbing in with Cole on the alligator bite surgery, but he saddles her with a thick stack of patient orders paperwork.
- Cole works with Soriano and plastic surgeon Dr. Hoffman (David Walton), who gives Cole a pitch to join his private plastics practice. He seems to consider Hoffman's invitation to his yacht party. Cass tries to share her opinion on the matter and Cole isn't receptive to her perspective. Luis gives Cole a talking to after overhearing their conversation.