Everything you need to know for ‘Transplant,’ Season 2

CTV’s Transplant is finally back on January 3rd at 10pET/PT for the premiere of season 2! It’s been a long wait since its season 1 cliffhanger finale (watch all of season 1 now), but since airing in Canada, the show has become a huge hit south of the border, after it was picked up by NBC. So it’s not just us Canucks who are dying to know what has become of our beloved ER staff at Toronto’s York Memorial Hospital.

A lot went down in the first season, especially in the season finale, and there’s a lot of ground for season 2 to cover. Here’s where we left off with Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq) and the rest of the crew last time we saw them, and what we can expect for the season 2 premiere.

Mark your calendars! #Transplant returns for season 2 on Monday Jan 3 on @CTV. #TransplantCTV pic.twitter.com/i7onhjc79D

— Transplant (@TransplantCTV) December 9, 2021

The last cliffhanger

In the season finale, the entire crew at York Memorial was rocked when Dr. Jed Bishop (John Hannah) collapsed right in front of Bash. As Bash performed CPR on Jed, we learned Bishop probably had a stroke due to an undiagnosed ruptured aneurysm from his previous head injury (remember in the pilot when Bash used a power drill to bore a hole into his head? Yeah, that definitely caused some lingering side-effects). As the episode drew to a close, Jed did regain consciousness, but that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods. Will he live or will he die? Hospital dramas such as these aren’t immune to killing off popular characters mid-season just to up the drama, so we’re hoping the loveable Scot pulls through.

In the very last scene of the finale, Bash and his younger sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) were confronted by a mysterious woman from Syria who was assumed dead. They wrap their arms around her, but we don't know who she is, how she relates to the siblings, or what her arrival in Toronto means. Gaaaaah, we need answers in season 2 for her!

Who We’re Shipping

When we last encountered Bash and Mags (Laurence LaBeouf) in York Memorial, they were comforting each other after Bishop’s collapse, and suddenly, their friendship turned into something else. We’re not quite sure what passed between them, but it was definitely something. And if you’re a shipper like us, you’re definitely hoping this is explored more in the new season. What shall we call them? Mash? Bags? We got it – Baggers and Mash. Done. 

Their newfound affection also might cause some waves at the hospital, as Bash last had a secret fling with child services doctor Vivian Barnes (Grace Lynn Kung). This is gonna get interesting…

Excited to see Laurence Leboeuf and the whole team back for an all new season of #Transplant on @CTV. #BellMediaUpfront pic.twitter.com/YPXh7Lf5nc

— Transplant (@TransplantCTV) June 10, 2021

Last season, we were also delighted to see Jed rekindle his long-lost romance with head nurse Claire Malone (Torri Higginson, who was just promoted from recurring to series regular!), but their torrid and oft-times tumultuous love could be tested due to his stroke. We’re not sure he’s okay yet and after a harrowing incident, he may emerge a changed man.

Dr. June Curtis (Ayisha Issa) has also been engaging in an on-again-off-again fling with hospital security guard Lou (last time we saw them, they were definitely off), but it’s her professional relationship with her superior Dr. Ajay Singh (Sugith Varughese) that rocked season 1. At first, it appeared as if the surely and curmudgeonly Dr. Singh was penalizing June out of sexism and misogyny, but after Dr. Singh asserted that he knows a thing or two about oppression after being the only minority in his early days at the hospital, we learn that Dr. Singh is actually unimpressed with June’s hubris and her lack of precision. We loved the conflict between these two and hope they get more scenes together.

June also struggled with the return of her absent Dad in season 1, who ingratiated himself to Dr. Singh despite the fact that he’s dying of cancer. June seemed pretty content to tell him to take a hike, so it would stand to reason that in season 2, both June’s father and superior give her a few headaches.

Bash’s trauma left us shook

During season 1, Bash’s PTSD and haunting visions followed him through every encounter, and they were finally explained when we learned that not only is he an enemy of the state after treating regime soldiers in Syria, but he also was forced to abandon both of his wounded parents (also doctors) after a sniper attack at an Aleppo hospital. That explains why he has been seeing visions of children in gas masks, and why he’s had blackout episodes while treating patients.

When we last left him, he was seeking treatment in therapy, but Bash had a negative view of his sessions, so we are left to wonder if he will continue his journey toward healing in season 2. And if those disturbing visions will return. 

What we can expect from season 2

Transplant wouldn’t be Transplant if it wasn’t graphic. From the very first episode where we watched in close-up as Bash bore a hole into Bishop’s head to relieve the epidural hematoma, to the full-on surgical scenes where the audience isn’t spared scenes of flesh and blood (literally), the show doesn’t shy away from showing the gory reality faced by trauma surgeons every day.

#Transplant Season 2: Bash and Mags Respond to a Crisis — Exclusive 2022 FIRST LOOK https://t.co/SYK1qsrmFJ pic.twitter.com/WH5Z9xH8k5

— TVLine.com (@TVLine) December 15, 2021

In Season 2, we can expect more of that, as it was revealed the season opener will see Bash and crew rushing to the aid of a bus crash full of children. A nail-biter for sure. CTV also announced that season 2 will begin right where the season 1 cliffhanger left off, with the crew grappling with Jed’s collapse and stroke. 

“With life at the hospital destabilized,” the CTV press release reads, “the place Bash was starting to consider home suddenly feels precarious.”

We also know that the entire original cast is returning for season 2, including all the aforementioned characters, and Dr. Theo Hunter (Jim Watson), who will face the repercussions of abandoning his family out west to keep his job at the Toronto hospital. There will be new colleagues joining the ER team at York Memorial too, which of course will bring new drama (and possibly, new relationships). 

We also will find out who the mysterious Syrian woman is and what she means to Bash and Amira, as her reappearance leaves “Bash seriously doubting whether or not his ‘transplant’ into this new world was successful.” 

There are still so many things we don’t know about season 2: will it address the pandemic? It would be perfect for a hospital drama to grapple with the biggest medical crisis of the 21st century, so we’re hoping it finds its place this season (unlike some other dramas that shy away from our current reality). 

Season 2 of Transplant will consist of 13 one-hour episodes, and premieres on CTV on Monday, January 3rd, 2022 at 10pET/PT. Catch up with season 1 on Crave or CTV.ca anytime. 

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