‘The Knick’ Season Two October Episode Guide

The Knick Michael Angarano, Clive Owen Photo
Michael Angarano and Clive Owen in ‘The Knick’ (Photo: Mary Cybulski / Cinemax)

Season two of Cinemax’s drama The Knick premieres on October 16, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT with Clive Owen, Andre Holland, Eve Hewson, and Juliet Rylance in starring roles. The 10-episode second season was directed by Steven Soderbergh, with Soderbergh, Clive Owen, Gregory Jacobs, writer Michael Begler, writer Jack Amiel, and Michael Sugar executive producing.

The returning cast also includes Jeremy Bobb, Michael Angarano, Chris Sullivan, Cara Seymour, Eric Johnson, Maya Kazan, David Fierro, Grainger Hines, Leon Addison Brown, Tom Lipinski, Charles Aitken, Jennifer Ferrin, Perry Yung, Rachel Korine, and Michael Nathanson. New to the series in season two are Emily Kinney, Arielle Goldman, Annabelle Attanasio, Andrew Rannells, and Zaraah Abrahams.

The Plot:

New York City, 1901: The Knick faces an upheaval, as Dr. John Thackery’s absence (due to his hospitalization for cocaine addiction), a dearth of affluent patients, and financial missteps have led to the board’s decision to shutter The Knickerbocker Hospital in favor of a new building uptown. In this world of corruption, invention and progress, everyone is searching for the new path that will help him or her survive. Whether it’s a path toward justice, freedom, love or just plain survival, nothing comes easy.

As relocation plans proceed, the gifted but under-appreciated Dr. Algernon Edwards jockeys to become Thackery’s successor as chief of surgery, while fellow doctors, nurses, nuns and administrators grapple with challenges at work and in their private lives.

The Characters, Courtesy of Cinemax:

– Dr. John Thackery (Clive Owen), the Knickerbocker’s chief of surgery, is a brilliant but drug-addled surgeon who pushes the boundaries of medicine, morality and race while battling personal demons.

– Dr. Algernon Edwards (André Holland) is a gifted, Harvard-trained surgeon, whose determination to be recognized for his abilities is put to the test as he faces opposition and bigotry among his peers, despite his considerable talents.

– Lucy Elkins (Eve Hewson), once a naïve young nurse from West Virginia, has seen her personal and professional veneer hardened by heartbreak and her abilities challenged as she struggles to find her way.

– Cornelia Robertson (Juliet Rylance), formerly head of the hospital’s social welfare office and chair of the hospital’s board of trustees, must deal with her new married life and her husband’s expectations to forego her job, as well as the community activism and moral responsibility she has come to embrace.

– Herman Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) is an obsequious, deceptively greedy hospital administrator whose seizes the opportunity of the new Knick’s construction to line his pockets and pay off his debts.

– Dr. Bertram “Bertie” Chickering, Jr. (Michael Angarano) has grown from an eager surgeon-in-training to a talented doctor whose allegiance to The Knick comes into question.

– Tom Cleary (Chris Sullivan) is a jovial Irish ambulance driver whose crude, opportunistic behavior takes a turn to help a friend in need.

– Sister Harriet (Cara Seymour) is an Irish Catholic nun who ran the orphanage affiliated with The Knick, until it was discovered she was compassionately terminating pregnancies for the wealthy and the poor.

– Dr. Everett Gallinger (Eric Johnson) is an aspiring, disgruntled surgeon on Thackery’s staff, whose personal problems, innate bigotry and hatred for Dr. Edwards affect his career.

– Jacob Speight (David Fierro) is a health department inspector.

– Eleanor Gallinger (Maya Kazan), the troubled wife of Dr. Gallinger, returns to her home following a brutal stay in the sanatorium, where she was placed after the death of her infant daughter.

– Captain August Robertson (Grainger Hines) is Cornelia’s father and the leading benefactor of The Knick.

– Philip Showalter (Tom Lipinski) is Cornelia’s husband.

– Henry Robertson (Charles Aitken) is Cornelia’s brother.

– Dr. Levi Zinberg (Michael Nathanson), chief surgeon at Mt. Sinai, is Thackery’s rival.

– Opal (Zaraah Abrahams) is a woman from the past.

– Ping Wu (Perry Yung) is a Chinatown druglord.

– Genevieve Everidge (Arielle Goldman) is a fiery young journalist.

– Dorothy Walcott (Annabelle Attanasio) is Eleanor Gallinger’s sister.

– Frazier H. Wingo (Andrew Rannells) is the architect of the new Knickerbocker Hospital.

– Junia (Rachel Korine) is Barrow’s mistress.

– Nurse Daisy Ryan (Emily Kinney) works at The Knick.

The Knick October 2015 Episodes:

Episode #11 (season 2, episode 1)
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 16 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 16 (11:00 p.m., midnight), 17 (9:00 p.m., 12:10 a.m.), 18 (5:30 p.m.), 19 (8:00 p.m., 10:50 p.m.), 20 (10:00 p.m.) and 21 (9:00 p.m.), and Nov. 4 (7:00 p.m.)
As Barrow (Jeremy Bobb) and The Knick prepare to move uptown, Dr. Edwards (André Holland) lobbies the hospital board to be appointed permanent chief of surgery in Dr. Thackery’s (Clive Owen) absence. Though his suspension has been lifted, Dr. Gallinger (Eric Johnson) refuses to return as Edwards’ subordinate, so he heads to Cromartie Hospital in hopes of getting Thackery to return to work.
Lucy’s (Eve Hewson) attempts to make amends with Bertie (Michael Angarano) are rebuffed; Cleary (Chris Sullivan) schemes to make extra money; Ping Wu (Perry Yung) demands regular medical checkups for his prostitutes; Speight (David Fierro) attempts to trace the origins of a new plague; Cornelia (Juliet Rylance) nourishes a quarantined neighborhood in San Francisco.
Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Episode #12 (season 2, episode 2)
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 23 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 23 (11:00 p.m., midnight), 24 (9:00 p.m., 11:35 p.m.), 25 (4:45 p.m.), 26 (8:00 p.m., 11:10 p.m.), 27 (10:00 p.m.) and 28 (9:00 p.m.), and Nov. 4 (8:00 p.m.)
Dr. Thackery sets his sights on a return to The Knick – a request that doesn’t sit well with the board. After a shocking discovery, Cornelia enlists Cleary to do a dirty job, for a price. Bertie makes a change; Robertson (Grainger Hines) pushes a new subway initiative; Barrow drives up construction costs; Lucy is surprised by an unexpected visitor from home.
Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Episode #13 (season 2, episode 3)
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m.)
Other CINEMAX playdates: Oct. 30 (11:00 p.m., midnight) and 31 (9:00 p.m., 11:35 p.m.), and Nov. 1 (5:25 p.m.), 2 (8:00 p.m., 10:50 p.m.), 3 (10:00 p.m.) and 4 (9:00 p.m.)
Thackery enlists Edwards to help him test a new hypothesis. After rejecting Robertson’s advances at The Knick, Lucy learns that confession isn’t always good for the soul. Young journalist Genevieve Everidge (Arielle Goldman) works on a story about one of Thackery’s rivals. Cornelia is dismayed by the limits of her husband’s (Tom Lipinksi) sympathies; Barrow faces a new adversary at Tammany Hall; Gallinger is intrigued by a discussion of eugenics at a class reunion; Edwards deals with a surprise visitor.
Written by Jack Amiel & Michael Begler; directed by Steven Soderbergh.